Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches

Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches: Overview

Bust out your magnifying glasses people, it's time to crack a case with Sherlock Holmes, one of the world's greatest detectives. In this slot from developer Play’n GO, players get to take on the criminal underworld and beat them at their own game in a bonus game chock full of clues. It wouldn't be a crime without a weapon, and if you can bring the elements together, substantial wins are there for the taking.

He might not have been the first fictional detective, but Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most well-known. The mysterious pipe smoking, deerstalker hat-wearing sleuth first appeared back in 1887, in A Study in Scarlet. Study being the appropriate word here. The man was famous for deducing someone's life story just by looking at them. Players will need some of these powers of deduction in Play’n GO's atmospheric slot, Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches.

Well, not so much, it's more a case of luck, but it's always fun to have a little pretend now and then. The case cracking takes place on a 3x3 grid that uses 9 fixed paylines - a classic fruit slot set up. Despite being set on the crime-ridden streets of 19th Century London, the game feels a little like Charlie Chance in Hell to Pay. It's the same format, the symbols have a similar clear look, and the reels are decorated in some ornate flourishes. They both feel old school while getting more complicated during the bonus game.

Playable on any device, from 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin, Riddle Reels comes shipped with medium volatility, rated 5/10, and a default RTP of 96.22%. As always from Play’n GO, operators have a certain sway over the RTP which can be configured at a lower level, so make sure to do a bit of detective work first. Although Play'n GO never discloses the hit frequency, it's likely on the lower side of the spectrum due to the fruit slot elements of the game.

There are eight pay symbols split into two groups; the low pay weapon symbols and the high pay suspects. Weapons include a noose, a tool, a dagger, and a pistol, worth 0.4 to 1 times the stake. The higher paying suspects are a purple lady, a green glassed man, a golden damsel, and a dastardly looking man holding a cane. Values in this lot range from 2 to 12 times the stake.

Wilds are handy here, and the game offers three of them. There is a standard one as well as an x2 and an x3 version - each can substitute for any regular pay symbol. More than one multiplier wild in action sees their values combined up to x27. Because a line of three standard wilds is worth 12x on their own, then a line of x3 wilds pays out 324 times the stake.

Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches: Features

The main game is pretty straight forward, but a couple of features are on hand to lend some complexity. These are respins, the Mystery Feature, and the Bonus feature. All come into play off the back of the scatter symbol.

If there are scatters in view on two reels, then the Respin feature is triggered. The two reels with the scatters are locked while the third is respun in the hopes of landing a third scatter. If another scatters does not land on the respin, then the Mystery feature is triggered instead. Each scatter duplicates to cover their respective reels, revealing either a suspect or weapon symbol.

The Free Spins feature is triggered by landing 3 scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. Here's where things get more complicated, so powers of deduction may be required. Players are presented with a game board covered in 14 spaces; each space consists of a clue. The feature provides five clues, one is obtained at the start, while the remaining 4 are obtained as you move around the board. A dice is rolled four times, moving players 1 to 6 spaces. Each clue space awards 1-3 free spins, plus 1 of 4 spin variations. These are:

• Weapon – all weapon symbols convert to the same weapon.
• Suspect – all suspect symbols convert to the same suspect.
• A guaranteed wild reel.
• Nothing, better luck next time.

Players must obtain 1, 2 or 4 winning spins during free spins to complete the clue. This gains clue points to fill a Clue Point Wheel meter. If the meter is fully charged after the 4 dice rolls have been used, the player is awarded a Mega Spin. A Mega Spin is one free spin where a reel is fully wild (or multiplier wild), while the other two reels are a suspect or a weapon. After the Mega Spin, the bonus is retriggered.

If the meter is not charged after the 4 dice rolls, the Clue Point Wheel feature comes into play. The meter expands, spins, and if the arrow lands within the charged area, then a Mega Spin is awarded.

Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches: Verdict

Right, now it's our turn to bust out the pipe and cap for a spot of inductive reasoning. Riddle Reels is a game of two halves. The base game is a 3x3 spot of simplistic gaming, while the features get quite complex, although more so in writing than during actual gameplay. If it was a little bit of a riddle on paper, no worries, the features will make sense in action. Basically, it's a case of moving around a board picking up spins and rewards as you solve clues.

Sure, Riddle Reels won't be for everybody, but there are positives. For one, the bonus round can end up lasting quite a while, so you do get a certain amount of entertainment for your coins. The feature can be quite lucrative too, providing wins of up to 5,000 times the stake.

Riddle Reels is less a high powered gambling tool, more a fun wee romp along Baker Street, with an in-depth bonus game. The presentation is great, a little simple, but the cartoon handing of the theme works perfectly with the features and the overall feeling of the game.

Riddle Reels comes off as gritty, but not too gritty, like a theme park version of a dangerous part of London. This analogy might not appeal to some hardcore gamblers, but that's cool, plenty of people like to get their kicks in a relatively 'safer' environment. At the end of the day, Riddle Reels: A Case of Riches is a modern day fruit slot with a lot of bells and whistles added to enhance the experience. It might not go down in history as a classic, but is yet another solid release from Play'n GO.