Nine Gems

Nine Gems Overview

Players in this game will be taken to the home of Guinness, Hurling and the Blarney Stone – Ireland or it is affectionately known by tourists and natives alike, the Emerald Isle. This game is a simple one but still manages to impress with its joyful music, classic playing window and rewarding set of features. The design of this game is reminiscent of some of the very first slot machines. The game has even picked one of the original themes that you might see an old pub fruity adopt. If you fancy a little nostalgia with your wins, you have come to the right place.

The features for this game are not overly abundant, but there are still a couple worth mentioning. The first is this game’s wild which can show up anywhere on the reels. It replaces all regular symbols to help players score more wins. This game also provides mixed symbols payouts, meaning that players can still register wins if, for instance, different types of 7s arrive on the reels in a formation. Finally, this game also has a gem feature. This bonus relates to the various gems that land on the reels and correlate to a range of jackpots. All bonuses will be explained in more detail later on in this review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is one of the oldest and most established in the gambling world, let alone online slots. We are, of course, referring here to the luck of the Irish. There are many explanations for why Irish people have built up a reputation for being lucky, some coming from as far back as medieval times. However, one of the more logical, at least in recent history, is that when the Californian gold rush during the 19th century occurred, many people who found the greatest wealth came from an Irish or Irish American lineage. Hence the beginning of the phrase “the luck of the Irish”.

The background for this game is a jaunty green pattern of four-leaved clovers, harp strings and all sorts of growing shoots and natural shapes. The image doesn’t seem to represent anything in particular but is more designed as an Irish-inspired graphic design project with much of the symbolism and colour of the Irish culture. Its simple looks are a nice contrast to the bold gold reels and exciting symbols that fall on them.
The playing board is a sturdy set of golden reels with ornate Celtic designs in the corners.

The symbols for this game are quite strange but are still split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the clover, the single BAR, the double BAR and the triple BAR. The triple BAR is worth the most out of these, paying out at 5x the stake for the top combination. On the other hand, the higher value symbols are the single and double 7s, which like the BARs, can be mixed to form combinations. The double seven, however, is still the most valuable, worth 50x the stake for the top combination. The specials in this game comprise the wild icon, worth 100x the stake for three in combination across the reels and the clover gem icons that help score jackpots.

Game Play

Nine Gems is played on a 3-reel, 3-row machine with 5 fixed 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 Nine Gems is 1p to £250 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake 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 low range. The return to player percentage for Nine Gems is 95%, which is below average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 5,000x your stake.

Features

The first bonus feature in this game is the wild feature. The wild icon in this game is the bar that says wild. It can replace any other symbol on the board apart from the clover to help players score more wins.
The second feature in this game is the mixed symbols feature. This bonus allows payers to score combinations of the various lucky sevens, upping your chances of finding winning combos significantly in comparison to a normal game.
Finally, we have the gems. These symbols help players win one of the nine separate jackpot amounts. You are guaranteed a jackpot amount whenever you land four or more of these clover gems on the reels. The more gems that you land, the bigger the jackpot, however. The biggest jackpot, the grand prize, is worth an awesome 5,000x the stake.

Conclusion

If you love simple games with great themes and fun yet straightforward features, you’ll love this game. The win potential here isn’t too bad either, although the RTP is a little low to expect anything special. What you really need to keep an eye out for are those clover gems. They are the key to bringing home the larger payouts.