Zodiac Charms

Overview Zodiac Charms

The practice of interpreting the meaning of the star’s alignment in the sky is something that cultures have been engaged in for thousands of years. Some see the star’s configurations as signs of fortune or auspice, while others use them to interpret the favour of the gods. One of the most popular interpretations is the set of Chinese Zodiac signs which are supposed to frame a person’s character depending on what month in the year they were born. It is this system of beliefs that this new slot game created by Playtech has been themed around.

The feature list for this game is shorter and humbler than Playtech’s usual abundance of bonus content but in a way, this makes the game simpler and more enjoyable. Features in this game include wild symbols which can land only on the middle 3 reels. These symbols can substitute themselves for any paying symbol apart from the specials. This game also has an excellent free spin round that has wilds that carry attached multipliers with them.

Theme and Symbols

Zodiac Charms as we have mentioned is a game that is based around the Chinese Zodiac calendar. This means lots of different auspicious animals, Yin and Yang signs and a theme that is Chinese influenced through and through. Playtech has taken a colourful cartoon approach to the theme, with each of the symbols having a soft, almost children’s cartoon style finish. The colours used are mostly a blend of purples and pinks that harmonise pleasantly with the dusk-like background.

Speaking of the background, it is a rather enchanting sky scene that from the colours reflecting on the clouds, looks to be captured from a twilight inspired painting or drawing. The soft swirling clouds make a calming backdrop to the exciting action playing out on the reels. The combination of clouds and pink/purple colours put one in mind of candy floss, the texture also adds to this impression. A dynamic element might have helped to make the background feel a little more real, however.
The board for Zodiac Charms is a solid gold affair with a standard rectangular shape. Gold is important in Chinese culture as a colour of wealth, power and leadership.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying symbols, high-paying symbols and specials. The low paying symbols comprise the standard 9 to Ace in card royals. Each of these pays out at the same rate, which is 0.75x your stake for 5 on a pay line. Up from these regarding value are the animal symbols. Five pandas on a pay line will pay out at 6.25x your stake, whereas five tigers will payout at 10x the stake. Up again from these two is the dragon symbol, this is the most valuable regular symbol in the game, paying out at 20x your stake for the top combination. In terms of specials, this game has wilds and scatters, the scatters are the Yin and Yang sign and are also the most valuable symbol in the game, paying 30x your stake for five. The wilds are the monkey symbol.

Game Play

Zodiac Charms is played on a 5-reel, 3-row game board with 243 pay lines available. To create winners in this game, players must match a minimum of 3 symbols across a pay line starting on reel 1. The betting range for Zodiac Charms is 20p to £500 per spin.
Further information regarding the slot, including a display of the paytable, can be accessed by clicking on the settings menu. The spin button is located on the right-hand side of the reels. You can set up auto spins in the game’s menu.

The volatility for Zodiac Charms is rated in the medium range of the spectrum. The return to player percentage for Zodiac Charms is 96.46%, a touch over average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 2,400x your stake.

Features

There are only 2 features in this game. The first one is the wild bonus feature which concerns the cheeky monkey symbol. This symbol can only land on the central 3 reels and can substitute itself for any other paying symbol, helping to create more frequent winning combinations. In the base game, the wild carries no value, however, when players move through to the free spin game they are upgraded and carry multiplier values with them. These range between 2x and 5x in size and can help grow the resulting wins from any combinations that they are involved in.

The other bonus for Zodiac Charms is the free spins bonus which concerns the scatter symbol, which as you will remember is the Yin and Yang icon. Landing 3 of these symbols will activate the free spins round which grants players 8 free spins.
In the free spin bonus round, all of the low-paying symbols are removed from the board and as we have mentioned wilds that fall will now come with multiplier values. Landing an additional 3 scatters from within the bonus round will award players another 8 spins too.

Conclusion

Playtech has stuck with a theme that they know works for them and bonuses which are bankers in terms of their ability to please and add value to a gamer’s experience. Although the slightly infantile theme might throw some players, its design is high quality enough that it will appeal to most gamers. The top payout and RTP aren’t half bad either.