Shimmering Woods

Overview Shimmering Woods

When you think of the search for precious gems, some of the settings that come to mind might include a mine in the middle of a rocky landscape, or a cave or maybe even a gorge somewhere up in a snowy hillside. Usually one thinks subterranean when they think of the search for gems. Not Play ‘n GO however, for this game players will be searching a magical forest in search of valuable stones. Maybe this has more to do with the fact that the setting is magical rather than a forest. Either way, this slot still makes for a fun romp, even if the setting is a little incongruous.

The defining gaming characteristic for this game is the Splitting Symbols dynamic. This is the key to expanding the available pay lines for this game and generating a winning momentum. Players if they play their spins right, can create an amazing 7,776 pay lines. Aside from this feature, players will discover cascading reels, expanding multipliers and a lucrative free spins round.

Theme and Symbols

Play ‘n GO have chosen an enchanted forest for their latest game. Credit should be given to the studio for coming up with something fairly original, considering the number of game producers who relentlessly recycle the same six or so themes.
The said forest is established first by Play ‘n GO’s use of background. Players will see an out of focus woodland glen behind the playing board, that is populated by sturdy-looking trees, an abundance of mushrooms and large flowers. In the foreground, there is more of a clue given to the gem aspect of this game, with shiny crystals protruding from gaps in the earth, coloured in muted blue and purple hues.

The board has been styled to look like it has been made from wood, with precious crystals interwoven into its construction. The poles that prop up the board to the left and right of the playing window, look like wizard’s staffs due to their gnarled appearance and crowning gemstone placed at the top of each.

In terms of symbols, the lower value symbols are simple card numbers and letters such as Queen and 10 etc. The higher value symbols are a collection of gems nestled in various positions in the undergrowth, looking a little like hidden easter eggs. These pay 1, 1.5 or 3 x if you land 3, 4 or 5 in combination, respectively. There is also a wild and a scatter symbol, the wild pays out at the same value as the top-paying gemstone.

Game Play

Shimmering Woods is played on a 5-reel, 3-row playing board with 243 pay lines. However, these expand thanks to the Splitting Symbols dynamic up to a maximum of 7,776 pay lines. To score wins, players must match symbols in paying formations across the board from left to right.

The betting range for Shimmering Woods is 20p and £100 per spin. To change your stake levels all you need to do is select a new stake from the range of options displayed directly under the board. The auto-spins control is the yellow button located to the right of the normal spin button. For the full menu with all the game’s information, including the paytable, go to the bottom left-hand corner click on the three lines.

The return to payer percentage for this game is 96.2%, a decent percentage for an online slot game. The volatility for this slot is rated just into the high category. Therefore, wins should be slightly less frequent than average but more rewarding when they do occur. The top payout for Shimmering Woods is a massive 25,000 x your stake.

Features

There are a lot of features when it comes to this game. The first and most defining of these is the Splitting Symbols feature. At the start of every spin, 1 of the normal symbols is selected at random to be the designated splitting symbol for that spin. Every iteration of that symbol on the board is split into 2, doubling their number. In this way, the number of pay lines is increased. The maximum number of pay lines available in this game is 7,776.

Next is the cascading reels feature. Creating a winning combination in this game doesn’t just lead to a payout, it also destroys the symbols involved in that win and replaces them with new symbols from above. A new payout will then follow after these new symbols have dropped into place. The process continues until a new winner is not formed with the new set of symbols.
There is also a win multiplier feature active on this game. This rewards you for generating cascades. With every new cascade, the win multiplier grows by one. The multiplier reverts to a value of 1x when a winless cascade is created.

The most complex feature for this game though is what Play ‘n GO have called the Shimmer feature (this is the free spins round). This feature is activated when players manage to land 3 or more of the scatter symbols on the board on the same spin. These scatters also have the ability to turn into splitting symbols. The more scatters that you land to trigger the feature, the greater the potential for improved rewards once you enter the free spins round.

The number of scatters landed and the corresponding prizes are outlined below:

Land 3 scatter symbols and you are granted 10 free spins and 1 extra Splitting symbol.
Land 4 scatter symbols and you are granted 13 free spins and 2 extra Splitting symbols.
Land 5 scatter symbols and you are granted 16 free spins and 3 extra Splitting symbols.
Land 6 scatter symbols and you are granted 19 free spins and 4 extra Splitting symbols.

Splitting symbols will give you the chance of opening all the pay lines for this game, which grows your probability of getting the top-end payout dramatically. The Win multiplier feature is also active during the free spins but resets between spins.
Players can also retrigger the bonus from within the feature itself by landing additional scatters. The retrigger bonuses are as follows:

Land 3 scatter symbols and you are granted 3 extra free spins and 1 extra Splitting symbol
Land 4 scatter symbols and you are granted 6 extra free spins and 2 extra Splitting symbols
Land scatter symbols and you are granted 9 extra free spins and 3 extra Splitting symbols.
Land 6 scatter symbols and you are granted 12 extra free spins and 4 extra Splitting symbols.

Conclusion

As reiterated throughout this review, the main advantage of this game is the splitting symbols bonus, which has the potential to open a whole new world of exciting pay line possibilities. However, the bonuses don’t stop there, with cascading reels, a win multiplier and free spins, Shimmering Woods has a lot more than meets the eye. With a fun and multi-layered gaming experience, plus a big top pay out Shimmering Woods is an excellent game for players all types.