Overview
Mines and Riches is a popular online casino slot game developed by Gamesys (also known as Gala Interactive). It’s a classic 5-reel, 30-payline slot with an old-school theme of digging for riches in the mines. This review will delve into every aspect of this engaging game to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of what it has to offer.
Theme and Design
As its name suggests, Mines and Riches is all about uncovering hidden treasures buried deep within abandoned mines. The slot’s background features an atmospheric image of a dimly lit mine shaft, complete with worn Win big with Mines at minesplay wooden beams and flickering lanterns hanging from the ceiling. This immersive setting effectively transports players to a world of mystery and adventure.
The reels are designed with bold, colorful graphics that bring the game’s theme to life. Players will find symbols such as miners’ helmets, gold nuggets, pickaxes, and gemstones on the reels. The high-paying symbols include bags filled with gold coins, treasure chests overflowing with jewels, and a majestic golden crown.
Symbols
There are 12 symbols in total, each bearing some relevance to the game’s theme:
- Miner’s Helmet: Substitutes for any other symbol except scatters. 2-4. Gold Nuggets: Pay out varying amounts depending on their value (10-500 coins).
- Pickaxe: Also substitutes for any other symbol except scatters and pays 50 coins when landed in a line win.
Payouts
The slot offers moderate payout potential, with the highest-paying combination yielding up to 1,000 coins or £100 based on the maximum bet. Players can land wins across adjacent reels from left to right and vice versa for combinations of three to five matching symbols.
Here’s an example of what a full paytable might look like:
Symbol Payout Miner’s Helmet (5+ Scatters) 1,000 coins (£100 maximum bet)
Wilds
The game doesn’t have any dedicated wild symbol, which is unusual for a slot. Instead, it uses the miner’s helmet as an in-game multiplier, discussed below.
However, if three or more scatters appear anywhere on the reels during regular play (excluding bonus games), they award 10 free spins with all wins tripled and a maximum bet of £100 applied automatically.
Scatters
The slot’s scatter symbol features a gold nugget icon. Landing at least three such symbols activates the "Digging Bonus" game, described in more detail below.
When two scatters appear together, players can trigger an instant cash prize between 50-150 coins or their equivalent value in other denominations based on individual casino settings.
Bonus Features
The game includes several interactive features:
- Pickaxe Frenzy : In the event that no bonus games are won during a single spin and at least two scatters appear, the Pickaxe Frenzy mode triggers.
- Any combination of wins with one or more wild miner helmets added to those winning combinations awards 3x multipliers up to three times within each pickaxe frenzy session, depending on how many scatter symbols landed in a sequence.
- Treasure Chest : Activating this feature requires landing at least two scatters and filling the grid’s central reels (1, 4) with the miner’s helmet symbol using only wilds in place of other symbols.
- If achieved during "Digging Bonus" or when two scatters occur without triggering it beforehand within same round as regular play – no bonus wins awarded prior such events happening then three separate pickaxe frenzy activation available each consisting one unique potential multipliers up possible twelve multiplier values for that specific digger level round.