Diamonds Downunder is a Rival slot machine that seems to be themed around a diamond seeking expedition in Australia, a treasure search that even has its own map that is used in one of the symbols. Australia has been a topic for a number of slot machines already, but none of them have had this exact topic. The various inhabitants and creatures of this continent are on the slot’s reels, the game managing to show off the dangerous landscape of its deserts quite well, though graphics wise I’m not a fan of some of its images.
A 5 reel & 15 line game, Diamonds Downunder has all the right features to be successful, from the huge number of free spins, to their multipliers, wild symbols, scatters and bonus games. A $25,000 top jackpot tries to be the best reason of all to play the game.
Features of Diamonds Downunder
The bonus round that you win through the treasure map is one attraction you get inside, along with the wild symbol and the scatter symbol that can award you free spins, and a lot of them.
A pickaxe is the wild symbol of Diamonds Downunder, not quite the impressive image that so many games have chosen for a feature that is so important. The reason why this symbol is great to have around is twofold. First of all, you can get 5,000x the line wager with its help, meaning that you can take home the top jackpot when five wilds take over an entire payline. When you get only one wild, you can count on it to be used as a symbol that can substitute for another. It has the power to be part of a combo with a set of matching symbols, taking the same role as them and allowing for that new combo to be formed.
Free Games Feature
The Native Man is one of the scatter symbols, and the one that is the most important. The reason is the huge number of free spins that can be triggered by it, the game offering 10, 20 or 100 free rounds when you have 3, 4 or 5 scatters on the reels, respectively.
In case 100 spins for free weren’t enough to make your eyes sparkle, you should know that all free spins have triple the usual prizes, responsible for that being the x3 multiplier they offer.
Bonus Game
The Treasure Map is the slot’s second scatter, the one that actually has a connection with the theme chosen in this case. Once you get a minimum of three Treasure Maps to appear at the same time, you are taken to the bonus game. In it, you are asked to pick the spots where the explorer needs to dig, the result being various cash prizes.
Betting options and jackpots
The betting system allows for wagers to be done in the $0.01 to $75 range, though the minimum I mentioned doesn’t cover all the lines. With all the lines selected, plus 1 coin of $0.01 chosen for each one, you get a wager of $0.15 at the minimum end of that range. The lines get up to 5 coins though, values of up to $1 for each one, so the maximum line bet is at $5.
A 5,000x top prize means that players with bigger bets will take home up to $25,000. The x3 multiplier of the free spins could take this amount to $75,000.
Design and symbols
While some of the symbols seem to lack the details to make them truly stand out, others are much better designed, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag design wise. The theme isn’t that helpful, Australian desert themed slots generally not managing to bring forward the beauty of this dangerous part of the country very well. There is the Native Aborigine element as well in the game, in the design and in at least one of the symbols.
Symbols: Pickaxe (wild, 5,000x), Treasure Map (bonus), Native Man (scatter), Explorer (500x), Diamonds (400x), Boomerang (350x), Lizard (300x), Crocodile (150x), Kangaroo (100x), Koala Bear (100x), Beer Can (65x) and Warning Sign (65x).
Is It Worth Playing?
As a game that’s about Australia, it does a pretty good job at showing off some of its best features, though the design doesn’t manage to make it very appealing. Feature wise it’s also a good choice, especially with up to 100 free spins that can be won.
Diamonds Downunder can be found at any Rival casino, where you get a chance to play it for real money or in free mode.
