Forge of Gems

Forge of Gems Overview

Dive into the intense heat of a mighty forge that creates stunning jewels and gems in this new game from Play' n GO. With a cascade dynamic, plenty of features and a strong theme, this game has lots to offer players of professional and amateur levels. The win potential here isn't too bad either, with an RTP of 96.2% and a maximum win of 20,000x the stake. If you enjoy classic style slots with lots of additional levels of playing experience and can't get enough of shiny gemstones, this could be the perfect slot for you.

The features for this game include, first and foremost, the cascade feature. This feature is activated every time a win is registered on the board. When this happens, all of the winning symbols on the board are removed and replaced by a new set, giving players multiple chances to score wins from the same spin. Next on the feature list is the Forge Reel feature that concerns the horizontally spinning reel atop the regular reel set. When this reel becomes active, it can bring into play a range of modifiers that improve the game's playing experience. Finally, the Gem Box feature is an instant cash prize and free spin bonus. All features will be explained in greater detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is a mythical forge theme with gemstones taking the visual limelight. The screen looks to have been inspired by the steampunk aesthetic, with a huge blazing forge at the centre of all the action. The forge doesn't seem to be operated by anyone, however, implying that it is an automatic forge, cranking out stunning sets of jewellery without external input from humans. This could imply that it is a magical forge, perhaps. Whatever the reasoning, this is just another variation on the producer's gem series of slots that seems to be popular with the gamer.

The background is, of course, the large forge and the darkroom that it sits in. On the left and right of the playing board are two oven doors that presumably can be fed with coal or whatever fuel this device uses. In the very centre of the reel is the large opening where objects are inserted and then removed from the blistering heat, making them malleable enough to manipulate into shapes and patterns. The whole background is rather dark, so it's good that the gems and board are so colourful and bright.
The playing board matches its surroundings as a metal display of interesting cogs, sheets and rods.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the 10, J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. The most valuable one of these is the A, paying out at 0.4x the stake for the top combination. The more valuable symbols are the various gemstones. These come in pink, green, orange and blue. The blue one is the most valuable, worth 1x the stake for the top combination. The specials here are the diamond wild, the red flower jewel scatters, the vertical wild, the horizontal wild, the vertical splitter, the horizontal splitter and finally, the multiplier.

Game Play

Forge of Gems is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with up to 36,288 pay lines (via the modifiers). 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 Forge of Gems is 20p to £100 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 very high range. The return to player percentage for Forge of Gems is 96.2%, which is just above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 20,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the cascade bonus. This bonus comes into play every time that a player registers a win. When this happens, all of the winning symbols are removed from the board and replaced by a new set from above. This dynamic gives players multiple chances of winning from the same spin. The dynamic only stops when the new cascade does not form a win.

The next feature is the Forge Reel feature which concerns the reel that sits above the regular reels. When the reel becomes active, symbols in this reel come into play, each representing a modifier. Each one is explained below:

Vertical Wild: Turns all icons (except scatter) into wilds on the reel.
Horizontal Wild: Turns all matching symbols on the row into wilds.
Vertical Splitter: Splits matching symbols on the reel, giving you more ways to win.
Horizontal Splitter: Splits symbols (except scatter) on a row and is also wild.
Multiplier: Increases the multiplier by 1 (it resets between each base game spin).
Blank: This is removed when cascading.
These modifiers could mean you are playing with a multiplier up to 37x the stake and playing on as many as 36,288 pay lines.
Finally, there is the Gem Box feature. This feature is triggered when players land three or more of the red flower scatter on the reels simultaneously. Doing so will reward you with an instant cash payout and free spins. The more scatters that you land to trigger the bonus, the larger your cash payout and the more spins you win. The most you can win is a 40x the stake prize and 20 free spins. The multiplier also has no limit in the free spins round.

Conclusion

As one of Play' n GO's latest gem slots, this offers all the normal things we expect from this series, including a decent win potential and a high-quality theme. If we were being hyper critical, the volatility brings this game down a bit, but on the whole, there is not a lot to complain about. If you are into gem slots with plenty of features, you should love this game.