Reel Gems has some elements which recommend it as a modern slot machine, but there are some classic influences as well in it, which are mostly visible in the design and the theme. You will find that Microgaming used quite a few features that are very good, like the Respin buttons or the ways to win, so it’s not a game that you will get bored with too quickly. The theme is gem related, with lots of playing cards thrown in as well.
Despite the rather bland theme, it’s a slot with 243 ways to win, which is one important feature, along with the free spins, scatter symbols and limited wilds. $20,000 is the highest value of the top jackpot.
Features of Reel Gems
The surprising features are the ways to win and the Respin buttons which you see at the bottom of each reel. The regular ones would be the wild symbol, the multipliers, scatter symbols and free spins.
The 243 ways to win of Reel Gems are used in more and more slots that are released these days, the system being quite attractive to the players. Instead of requiring symbols to show up on fixed paylines, the ways to win only need them to be on neighboring reels, starting from the left.
The Reel Gems Logo would be the game’s wild symbol. You’re going to be disappointed with the way it works, being a wild that only shows up on reels 2 and 4. Still, from those positions it will try to be part of newly formed combinations, by taking the place of symbols which are missing. It will not substitute for the scatter symbol though.
The Diamond Ring is another symbol which you can expect to bring you something extra. As a scatter, it can appear anywhere in the game, offering cash prizes and free spins. The cash prizes, valued at 1x to 100x the wager, are triggered by two to five symbols with Diamond Rings.
Free Games Feature
Getting access to free spins is easily done, the requirement being for 3 to 5 Diamond Rings to be scattered on the reels, it doesn’t matter exactly where. In exchange, you’re going to win 15 games for free, while all wins obtained during this feature are tripled. If that’s not enough, if you have a bit of luck you can even retrigger this feature.
Betting options and jackpots
You get to bet on the equivalent of 25 bet lines at all times, instead of activating every single way to win. Wagers start at $0.25, with $0.01 per line, and they reach a maximum of $125, with line bets of up to $5.
You can expect top payouts of up to $20,000, which is quite generous for a slot with ways to win. You can get 4,000x the line bet, or up to 40,000 coins.
Design and symbols
The design is the most dated part about this slot. It has a blue background, with black reels and with old style playing cards, to which they’ve added a series of gems of different types (rubies, emeralds, diamonds, etc). With the theme being rather boring, and the design being a bit on the old side, the game fails to impress in these areas.
Symbols: Diamond Ring (scatter, 100x wager), Reel Gems Logo (wild), Diamond (4,000x), Ruby (2,500x), Emerald (2,000x), Sapphire (1,000x), Yellow Gemstone (500x), Ace (200x), King (200x), Queen (150x), Jack (150x), 10 (100x) and 9 (100x).
Is It Worth Playing?
I loved its features and even its top prize, especially with so many ways to win and chances to get paid. The theme and the design used for it are true disappointments though.
The Reel Gems slot machine is offered through the Microgaming platform, so if you want to play it for real or just to practice, look out for casinos that use it.
