Wild Harlequin

Wild Harlequin Overview

Developed by Quickspin, Wild Harlequin is a thrilling feature-rich game with an incredibly exciting top prize of 30,000x your stake. In terms of the theme, the main aesthetic inspiration here is from the female Harlequin character. This means lots of playing card references and chequered patterns across the reels. The Harlequin in this game is based on the Batman Villain, Harley Quinn, one of the principal villains in the latest movie franchise, which also heavily features the Joker.

In regards to bonus features, there are three main features in this game. The first of which is called the Nudging Harlequin wild feature. This feature pertains to the Wild Harlequin symbol, which nudges up or down to turn the entire reel wild when it lands. You can, in theory, turn all reels wild in this way and receive a 100x your stake bonus payout. The second feature here is the free spins feature, triggered by landing three or more Harlequin wilds on the same spin. This gives you ten free spins with magic reels and multipliers. Finally, there is also a bonus buy feature, allowing players to buy their way into the free spins round for a price.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for Wild Harlequin is the antics of the famous Harlequin character that we have all come to know in the modern context as the mischievous female counterpart to the Joker in the Batman Movies. However, the Harlequin has much older roots, going as far back as the 16th century. The role of the Harlequin was popularised in the Italian theatre as a character who was an intelligent and amusing servant of the main character, who, despite consistent reprimanding, would often disobey his master to pursue his own desires. They are usually identified by their chequered uniform and by their mask's pained yet amusing expression.

The background for this free slot machine play for fun is a corridor of playing card suits in a bright red, surrounded by a purple backdrop. It is a simple image that speaks to the gambling/casino aspect that the Harlequin is more known for in the contemporary iterations of the character. The background is also static, so there is no confusion with the energetic action on the reels.
The board is of a straightforward design, in a five by three formation and bordered by gold. The glossy and high-quality nature of the board gives the game a feeling of prestige and luxury.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the card suits of Royal Spade, Royal Club, Royal Diamond and Royal Heart. The higher value symbols are the various jewels that you will see on the screen. These comprise the Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond. The Diamond is the most valuable, paying 7.5x the stake for the top combination of 5 on a pay line. The only special in this game is the Wild Harlequin, which fulfils the role of the wild and the bonus spins scatter, replacing regular pay symbols and triggering the free spins bonus.

Game Play

Wild Harlequin is played on a 5-reel, 3-row playing board with ten fixed pay lines. To create winning combinations in this game, players must land three or more of the same symbols across a pay line from left to right, starting on the leftmost reel.

The betting range for Wild Harlequin is 10p to as much as £100 per spin. To change your betting level per spin, use the bet adjuster tool located at the bottom of the playing window.

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 to the bottom right of the reels. You can set up auto spins in the game's menu.
The volatility for Wild Harlequin is rated in the high range of the spectrum. The return to player percentage for Wild Harlequin is 96.27%, which is over average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 30,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the Nudging Wild feature. When one of the Wild Harlequin symbols lands, the Nudging Harlequin Wild feature comes into play. Depending on its position, this special symbol nudges up or down to turn the reel that it is on entirely wild.

You could, as mentioned, manage to get all five reels to turn wild in this way. If you manage to do this, the game will award you a special bonus prize of 100x your stake.
The next feature is the free spins feature, activated by landing three of the Harlequin Wilds on the same spin. After an initial payout, you will then be given ten free spins to play out. The reels with the special Harlequin symbols will then transform into Magic Reels. Every Magic Reel, once established as so, is given an attached multiplier of x2. Then for every Harlequin, that lands on a Magic Reel, the multiplier will grow by x1.

Creating wins with symbols in multiple magic reels will combine the attached multipliers for a greater boost to your payout. For example, if you landed a win with symbols on a x2 reel and a x3 reel, your payout would be boosted by x6.
Every time a Magic Reel's multiplier value reaches a multiple of five, another two free spins are added to your total. Getting these multipliers to these sizes is how you manage to win that top payout of 30,000x your stake.
Finally, this game also has a bonus buy feature, which allows you to buy your way into the free spins game. However, this feature is not available in the UK.

Conclusion

Big wins, feature-rich gameplay and amazing fast-paced spins make this an enjoyable slot. These aspects, combined with the fact that you can land a massive top prize, make this a very tempting prospect indeed. The RTP is also promisingly high in comparison to some other games of this type.