ReefPop

ReefPop, the latest addition to Avatar UX's Pop Wins series, is an underwater-themed game with a familiar set of features borrowed from PiggyPop, including the Pop Wins mechanic, free spins with increasing multipliers, a gamble wheel, and bonus buy facilities. The game features a vibrant coral reef setting with quirky anthropomorphised sea creatures and a 6x4 grid that expands with each pop. The upbeat jazz soundtrack adds to the overall experience, reminiscent of Pragmatic Play's Big Bass Bonanza. The game takes place on a six-reel, four-row matrix with a 96% RTP. The top win here is 10,000x the stake, and the volatility rating sits at the higher end of the spectrum. ReefPop is available to play on mobile, tablet and desktop platforms.

ReefPop Overview

ReefPop has three main features. However, before explaining these, it is important to discuss the Pop Wind dynamic at play in this game. It is brought into play every time a win is found. When one is, all the winning symbols pop off the reels and are replaced by two symbols – increasing the height of the reels. The first genuine feature in this game is the free spins bonus, triggered when players expand at least six reels to their maximum height. Players are then given three free spins. Each win resets the spin count and increases a global multiplier. Before playing these free spins, players have the option of spinning the gamble reel to see if they can land more free spins. Finally, this game also has bonus buy facilities. All features will be explained in greater detail later in the review.

ReefPop Theme and Symbols

ReefPop is an online slot game with an underwater theme. The game takes players on a deep-sea dive to an underwater world full of coral, weeds, and rock formations. The creatures on the reels have a humanistic element- holding bombs, wearing bandanas, or wielding baseball bats, amongst other things. The game features a jazzy soundtrack, which adds to its immersive experience. The game's symbols include different types of fish and sea creatures, including a golden shark symbol that triggers multipliers in the free spins round.

The background for this game is a depiction of underwater exploration and marine life. It features vibrant and colourful underwater landscapes, coral reefs, tropical fish, sea creatures, and bubbles. The graphics are designed to create a cheerful and immersive atmosphere, with lively animations and sound effects that enhance the gameplay experience. The background is static but changes when players enter the free spins round. The playing board for this game is a large Pop Wins gameboard with expandable reels.

The symbols are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the Q, K and A in playing card royals. These pay up to a maximum of 0.6x the stake. The more valuable icons, however, are the various fish and shark characters, which include a puffer fish, a starfish, an angel fish and an octopus. The most valuable icon, though, is the shark with a yellow background that also fulfils the scatter role, paying out at 3x the stake for the top combination.

Game Play

ReefPop is played on a 6-reel, 4-row machine with up to 524,288 pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. The betting range for ReefPop is 20p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stakes up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen. Volatility for this slot is rated in the high range. The return to player percentage for ReefPop is 96%, which is average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 10,000x the stake.

ReefPop Features

The first thing to explain here is the Pop Wins dynamic. The PopWins dynamic is a feature used in PopWins-powered games, where winning symbols "pop" off the game board and are replaced with two new symbols, which increases the height of the reel. This process is known as the PopWins system. The popping action creates a chain reaction where new symbols drop down to fill the gaps created by the popped symbols. This means that a single spin can result in multiple wins, which increases the player's chances of earning larger payouts.

The PopWins system continues to trigger as long as new wins appear, and the reels can grow up to six positions tall during the base game. This means that the size of the game board can increase, providing players with more ways to win. The increased reel height and the potential for multiple wins with a single spin are the key features of the PopWins dynamic, which make it an exciting and potentially lucrative feature for players to enjoy.

In the slot's base game, when all six reels reach their maximum height, players are awarded free spins. During these free spins, the reels can now expand to a maximum height of eight positions. After each free spin, the reels will reset to the lowest height achieved in the previous spin. At the start of the free spins round, players are given three free spins, but any win will reset the spin count to three. Additionally, the round features a global multiplier, which starts at x1 and does not reset between spins. After wins are paid, the multiplier increases by 1 with each subsequent spin, potentially leading to larger payouts.

During the free spins round, if the golden shark symbol lands on the reels, it will possess a multiplier equal to the number of golden sharks in view. Furthermore, if all reels reach their maximum height, the golden shark multiplier will increase to +2x per number of golden sharks on the reels. This means that players can earn even higher payouts if they are lucky enough to land multiple golden shark symbols during the free spins round. In addition, players have the option to gamble their free spins on the Gamble Wheel before the start of the round. A successful gamble increases the starting number of reels, while an unsuccessful gamble returns players to the base game.
Finally, this game also has bonus buy facilities, meaning players can purchase access to bonus content.

Conclusion

While PiggyPop was one of the earlier PopWins releases, there are now close to 80 similar slot games available, making a reskin of PiggyPop feel unnecessary. However, despite this, ReefPop is still an enjoyable Avatar UX production that offers unique features such as potentially huge ways to win, a growing win multiplier, and a high-paying symbol with an additional multiplier. The game's focus on generating multiple wins in free spins keeps the gameplay engaging and prevents the round from ending quickly. Moreover, the exciting top payout is always a good sign of a studio backing its game. Play also Juicy Fruits without download or registration.