Tropicool 5

Tropicool 5: Slot Overview

Online slots might be played for a range of different reasons, but if one of the reasons is an escape from reality, then we might just have a contender for that. It is Tropicool 5, the fifth instalment in an ice-cool range that developer ELK Studios has been running since 2021. Tropicool slots have taken players to various ice-coated destinations across the years and introduced us to a number of quirky characters in the process. Tropicool 5 introduces a new one, Kyle the Crocodile, and it calls on players to 'Cancel your flight to reality and report immediately to the coldest beach in existence… sanity optional.' If that sounds like the escape your mind needs, let's parka up and have a look-see.

Slots in the Tropicool range have a few things in common, and one of them is an embracing of all things chilly. Tropicool 5 is no different, and on this occasion, it takes place in the water, cold water, where icebergs float, as does Elmo the sloth on a hoverboard, up at the top left, collecting pearls. For a 'celebration to a frozen legend', it's kind of an odd spot, but players are not dealing with rationality when they play a Tropicool slot. Here, the mood is playful irreverence, which, let's not forget, Tropicool began when Tony Toucano and Fiona Flamingo got bored with migration and decided to make the most of their icy hometown instead. This is a series that lives on quirky characters inhabiting quirky places, and this Tropicool 5 delivers.

The gaming area is split into two parts. Down below is the main 6x5 grid, where there are 15,625 ways to win, while up top is the Cool Reel. After winning combinations hit on the main grid, the winning symbols except Wild Eggs and Locked Wilds are removed. Feature symbols from the Cool Reel drop onto the main grid, followed by new symbols filling the rest of it. Avalanching continues like this till no new win appears. A highly volatile math model lies buried in the ice, producing an RTP of 94% when betting $/€0.10 to $/€100 per spin or buying features from the X-iter.

All pay symbols in Tropicool 5 are encased in ice. There are four berries as the low pays, then grapes, watermelons, limes, pineapples, and strawberries as the high pays. Six matching lows in a win award 0.4x the stake, and 6 matching premiums pay 0.6x to 2x the stake. Pay symbols, Row Swap, Wild, and Locked Wilds can land as 2x2 big symbols paying as the amount of 1x1 symbols they cover. If a big symbol cannot completely drop down from the Cool Reel, it splits into 1x1 symbols so some of them can drop. Empty spaces below a big symbol are filled by matching 1x1 symbols.

Tropicool 5: Slot Features

The Cool Reel and its feature symbols are back, joined by Character Features, a free spins round, and X-iter bonus buys.

Cool Reel

The Cool Reel sits above the main reels, comprising 2 rows of feature symbols, empty ice cubes, and empty cells. Feature symbols activate when they drop onto the main grid. Ice cubes are crushed to make room for more features and symbols. The Cool Reel is filled from the right, pushing symbols to the left, avalanching like this till no more wins occur. Mystery symbols trigger first, followed by Row Swap, Elmo, and bonus triggers.

• Mystery Symbols - These reveal the same paying symbols or feature symbols when there are no more wins.
• Golden Symbols - Pay symbols may appear as a Golden symbol with a win multiplier depending on its position. The multiplier is x2 when the symbol is on the top row, and it increases by 1 for each row below, up to x6. Multiple win multipliers in the same column are added, while multiple win multipliers in different columns are multiplied.
• Row Swap - One pay symbol on its row is selected, and all symbols on the row change to match it. If the Flamingo, Toucan, Wild Egg, or wild symbol is selected, it replaces all other symbols with wilds. Any extra Row Swap on the same row extends the symbol replacement to its column. A big symbol will be completely replaced. A big Row Swap symbol replaces all symbols on the rows it covers with the same symbol. If a symbol position is affected by 2 Row Swap actions, it becomes wild. Wilds are not replaced, and scatters or Pearls are temporarily replaced before reverting back.
• Wild Symbols - Substitute for all regular paying symbols. Wilds have the same value as the highest paying symbol if they make a wild only win.
• Locked Wild - These stay on screen for the number of wins they display before being removed. They remain on the grid between spins in the bonus game until used.
• Pearls - Are used to trigger the Elmo Drop.

Character Features

Tropicool 5's character features are Wild Eggs, Wild Birds, Elmo Drop, and Mystery Crocodile.

• Wild Eggs - Act as a sticky wild. If there is one or more empty positions on its column, it transforms into a Wild Bird Toucan or Flamingo.
• Wild Birds - Created from the Wild Egg. Act as wilds that are removed when part of a win. Depending on the empty positions, they can be 1x2 to 1x5 in size.
• Elmo Drop - Can trigger in the base or bonus round when there are no more wins, and Elmo collects a pearl. When triggered, it removes all pay symbols from the top three main rows and any remaining empty pearl symbols, causing symbols in the Cool Reel to drop onto the grid. Each time Elmo collects, there is an equal chance of him triggering the feature. The amount of collected pearls is kept for each bet level.
• Mystery Crocodile - Appears on the Cool Reel as a 6x2 symbol. Empty cells on the main grid beneath him are filled with Mystery symbols. The Crocodile moves to the left when no more empty positions can be filled and remains between game rounds.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 scatters on the main grid triggers 6, 9, 12, or 15 free spins, respectively. In the bonus round, the Cool Reel can also contain Extra Drop symbols and Multiplier symbols. Extra Drop symbols add the number of spins (1-3) they display, while the Multiplier symbol adds its value (x1-x3) to the win multiplier. They trigger when falling into the main grid and cannot appear as big symbols. The round starts with new symbols on the reels and on the Cool Reel. The win multiplier starts at x1.

X-iter

Tropicool 5's X-iter lets players activate the Bonus Hunt for 3x the bet to buy a game round with more than 4 times the chance of triggering free spins or Mega Hunt at 10x, which makes it 15x more likely. Locked Wilds costs 25x to guarantee 3 Locked Wild symbols, while the regular bonus can be bought for 100x or the super bonus with 3 Locked Wilds on each spin for 500x the stake.

Tropicool 5: Slot Verdict

Tropicool 5 keeps the series running with its cast of loveable eccentrics and some new technicalities to explore. A key part of the game remains the interplay between avalanches, Cool Reel, and feature symbols tumbling downwards onto the main reels. We're probably more likely to see Tony and Fiona get the boot before this trinity of mechanics does. ELK Studios has fine-tuned them too, so whether they do or don't dump a load of riches onto the screen, the animations and effects are silky smooth, increasing the game's overall enjoyment.

One thing that has changed is that where the previous four slots used a 6x6 grid, Tropicool 5 has dropped a row somewhere on its travels. Unclear why ELK Studios chose to decrease the play area, but it does mean there are a lot fewer ways to win. Perhaps it was to accommodate the new Golden symbols, which have a higher multiplier the lower down the reel they are. Maybe not, but Golden symbols are quite a cool new trick to have in the pocket. The uber-cool Kyle the Crocodile is a potentially potent trick as well, since, if he appears, he produces Mystery symbols wherever there is room for them below. As he's done before, the Elmo effect is pretty chill, too, since he'll dump everything from the Cool Reel onto the main reels when he's in the mood to trigger.

While in the free spins phase, cross your fingers multiplier symbols are falling, because they might be crucial in getting close or even achieving the 25,000x the bet max win - the same figure that has appeared in each Tropicool slot so far except the first one. As far as Tropicool games go, Tropicool 5 is another good one, packed with oddball characters, a bevy of features, and an icy spot on the planet to enjoy them in.