Christmas Tree 2: Slot Overview
We hadn't had a Christmas slot for a few days, so it seemed like the Xmas rush might have been over for the year. But no, here comes another one from TrueLab Games called Christmas Tree 2. As you can no doubt tell, this is the sequel to the original game Christmas Tree, released roughly a year previous just in time for the season. So, what's changed? Not a whole heck of a lot. Amongst a few things, a new Snowman Bet feature has been jammed on, and the new RTP is quite heart-warming, definitely more so than the previous one. Let's look at them all in the review and see how much Xmas-ness we can squeeze out.
The graphics have had a minor spruce up for one. Squint, and you'll miss it, but the baubles on the tree-shaped game grid appear more defined than they were before. Hey, we did say minor. The layout remains the same, so from top to bottom, symbols are arranged in a 2-3-4-5-6-7 formation which might have been more confusing if TrueLab hadn't incorporated a cluster pays system. On the left, dipping and diving, the Snowman chap is as chipper as ever and ready to lob snowballs onto the game panel to trigger a modifier. Overall, the game has a certain amount of Christmas cheer going on; there's trees, snow, and decorations, good enough.
Opposite the Snowman, on the right-hand side of the screen, is one of the new bits. This is the Snowman Bet feature which makes a massive difference to the cost of each spin. Without it, stakes can be set from 40 p/c to $/€400, or, when the Snowman Bet is activated, the cost rockets to a mind-bending $/€8 to $/€8,000 per pop (although this number is likely to be limited on most casinos). Another mind-bender is the new RTP value of 98.03% in the default mode, or 98.07% when Snowman betting.
On this tree, you need at least 5 matching symbols to land in connecting positions to create a winning cluster, thereby activating the cascade mechanic in the process. Regular symbols are all baubles ready to hang on a tree, such as three various coloured low pay balls, mid pay canes, sweets, bells, then high pay angels, and Santas. The most valuable clusters are comprised of 27 symbols and are worth a monstrous 3,000 to 15,000x the base bet. One more symbol to keep an eye out for is the snow globe wild which substitutes for anything except mystery symbols or scatters.
Christmas Tree 2: Slot Features
Features to look forward to while playing Christmas Tree 2 include cascades, the Snowman extra, Blizzards, and Miracle Spins.
Snowman
Every so often, the Snowman chucks snowballs at low and medium symbols at the beginning of a random spin. All current and future instances of hit symbols transform into Golden wilds. There is nothing special about Golden wilds, despite the name. They are simply wild versions of regular symbols. If the Snowman Bet is active, the Snowman feature triggers on every spin.
Blizzard
When no winning clusters are left, a Blizzard may sweep the board, leaving 3-9 mystery symbols behind. Mystery symbols all turn into the same symbol, which can be anything, including wilds or scatters. Blizzards blow through in the base game or in free spins.
Miracle Spins
Miracle Spins are triggered when 3 gold star scatters land on the reels. Just to be clear, scatters only appear when they are revealed by the Blizzard feature. Also, every additional scatter in view after the third awards an extra free spin. The Snowman is active on each Miracle Spin and, after every cascade payout, a progressive win multiplier increases by +1.
Christmas Tree 2: Slot Verdict
Well, it's not hugely different from Christmas Tree part one, but there have been a few changes. One of the less popular decisions was axing the Christmas Present feature, which used to be awarded for scoring at least three consecutive cascading wins. Sure, Christmas isn't only about presents, yet they do make up much of the fun. As a compensator, TrueLab has dialled up the RTP to eye-catching proportions. It's been a while since we last saw such a high figure, and fitting that it should occur in a Christmas themed slot of all things.
The other major alteration is the new Snowman Bet which might be easy to get carried away with. Lobbing snowballs onto the tree on every spin does boost excitement levels, fair enough. Yet, you pay the price, and increasing the bet by x20 is particularly noticeable when trying to stretch a budget since the lowest base stake of 40 p/c now equates to $/€8 per spin. A colossal price difference, but hey, it's totally optional and provides players who like to go large a potential outlet. On the topic of potential, Christmas Tree 2 isn't as rosy as the original. This time around, TrueLab has capped things at 15,000x the bet, still substantial, though far shy of the 25,000x the first one boasted.
Despite the few changes, Christmas Tree 2 was largely on par with the original release. The triangular grid is a novelty worth test running if you're into cluster paying grid slots, and the new betting options might prove enticing for high rollers to get stuck into. Other than that, Christmas Tree 2 is as good as most other Xmas slots. Playable on one day of the year, perhaps not so much on the others.
While not doing much that the original wasn't already capable of, the higher RTP and new betting option in Christmas Tree 2 might be enough to tempt players in for a holiday spin.
