The Dog House Muttley Crew: Slot Overview

You know what's about as far away from staid suburban life as it possibly gets? Piracy, yep, piracy, and the reason these two contrasting ways of life have crossed paths, as it were, is thanks to Pragmatic Play's cluster paying slot, The Dog House Muttley Crew. Experienced slot players are probably well aware of the classic sticky multiplier wild slot The Dog House, released to a warm, fluffy, patting-on-the-head reception in 2019. Since then, Pragmatic Play has expanded the doggie charm with additions such as a Megaways version, a Multihold version, and a Western. Now, a pirate version?

Yeah, the theme change is random, but maybe the dogs in this game were lazing about the garden one day and were hit with the thought they were going to be peeing on the same lampposts and sniffing the same butts forever more. Like, that's it, forever. A doggie mid-life crisis, in other words, prompting a drastic life change. So, players catch up with the playful hounds aboard a wooden sailing ship cresting the waves somewhere sunny and warm. The furry characters are back, but this time, they're wearing pirate hats.

The Dog House Muttley Crew is a cluster paying slot, so making winning combinations requires at least 5 matching symbols to be connected to each other in horizontal and/or vertical directions. Highly volatile, players have access to bets of 20 c to $/€240 per base game spin and three bonus buy options. The game's most preferable RTP version is 96.5%, but return values vary slightly when buying the feature.

Ten through to Ace symbols are The Dog House Muttley Crew's low pays, then a bone plus 4 character symbols are the higher value bunch. Clusters containing 5 matching symbols award 0.25 to 2.5 times the bet, while the biggest clusters of 20+ pay 7.5 to 50 times the bet.

The Dog House Muttley Crew: Slot Features

Wild Multipliers, free spins, and bonus buys are the features players can look out for on this voyage.

Wild Multiplier

The chest symbol is wild and lands on all reels, substituting for any symbol except the scatter. Wilds hit with a random multiplier of x2, x3, x5, or x10, which applies to all wins they are part of. If more than one wild is part of the same win, their multipliers are added to each other. A win of 25 clustered wilds pays 50x the bet.

Free Spins

Scatters also appear on all reels. Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatters pays 2x the bet and awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. During free spins, any wild that lands remains on the reels until the feature ends. Scatter symbol overlays may randomly appear on top of any symbol. Hitting 2, 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols awards a further +5, +10, +20, or +30 free spins.

Bonus Buy

The free spins round can be instantly triggered from the base game for a set cost. Paying 100x, 250x, or 500x the bet triggers free spins with 3, 4, or 5 scatters.

The Dog House Muttley Crew: Slot Verdict

The dogs do look cute in their little pirate hats, but it's likely that players are more interested in seeing the return of those sticky wild multipliers hitting the screen. The good news is they can potentially work just as well in a cluster pays slot as they did in the original game. As before, free spins are really where you want to be despite the rough weather on display there. It's the sticky quality that makes it so, and getting a collection of wild multipliers crowding up the play area might come in useful for connecting winning clusters. The base game was okay, though, as mentioned, free spins are where The Dog House Muttley Crew woofed into alive.

Perhaps one area where The Dog House Muttley Crew lags is that it didn't feel especially cutting edge or as innovative, let's say, as The Dog House Multihold did, for example. It basically is just The Dog House mashed with a cluster pays mechanic, full stop. In saying that, there are bound to be plenty of players with fond memories of earlier The Dog House games who will lap this one up as well. The game world has an amiable buccaneering quality, it's got history, and it was just a fun wee doggies on the water slot to play. No, The Dog House Muttley Crew doesn't send The Dog House series into blisteringly original territory, yet it's a dependable cluster pays entry into the range.

A 7,500x the bet win cap completes the picture, putting it slightly above the original but lower than others in the series. After seeing the doggies transition to a cluster pays game, what are the odds of getting a scatter-paying slot in a future outing? After giving The Dog House Muttley Crew a go, that would be no bad thing.

Wisdom of Athena 1000: Slot Overview

'Knowledge is power', so says the main character in today's game, repeatedly, and she would know, being Athena, the goddess of wisdom, amongst other things. The slot is Wisdom of Athena 1000 and is part of software provider Pragmatic Play's '1000' series, where the studio goes back over past releases, in this case Wisdom of Athena, and gives them a serious overhaul. Kind of like pushing an old Fiat 126 out of storage and dropping a Hemi in it. In other words, these 1000 slots are bigger and gruntier than the originals, though the tweaks tend to be quite surgical, meaning the gameplay in general is usually very similar.

To provide a dab of variety, Pragmatic Play has changed the view for Wisdom of Athena 1000, so the base game has less of a cloudy, peach-hued look about it, more of an outdoor in the middle of the daytime feel. Athena remains to the right of the main play area, providing a constant stream of voice-over comments as the game goes on. The scene gets more romantic for free spins however, and at all times, players should be in no doubt they're playing an Ancient Greek slot.

Wisdom of Athena 1000's gaming area is a 6-reel, 5-row matrix with an extra row of symbols on the top, which are locked but can be accessed when the required number of consecutive tumbles occurs to unlock them. Each blocked position displays a number that counts down so players can track the unlocking progress. Wisdom of Athena 1000 stays highly volatile, while its maximum RTP has taken a slight drop to 96%. This return figure is the same whether buying free spins, betting a straight 20 c to $/€100 per spin, or using the ante bet. When on, the ante bet increases the stake by 25%, doubling the chance of winning the feature.

Landing 8 identical pay symbols in any position creates a winning combination, triggering a payout and the tumble feature. Pay symbols include 5 low pay icons of Ancient Greece, then a scroll, a vase, a helmet, and a shield. Combinations of 8-9 OAK are worth 0.25-5 times the bet, going up to 2.5-50 times the bet for 15+ OAK. Wisdom of Athena 1000 is a scatter-paying slot that does not have wild symbols.

Wisdom of Athena 1000: Slot Features

In this part of the review, we look at Wisdom of Athena 1000's tumble feature, which is tied to its row-unlocking aspect, multiplier symbols, free spins, and the feature buy.

Tumble Feature

After winning combinations pay, the tumble feature removes the winning symbols from the reels. The gaps this creates are filled by symbols tumbling down from above. Tumbling continues until no new win appears. Above the basic 6x5 matrix is a locked row of symbols. Consecutive tumbles on the same spin unlock positions one by one, left to right. When unlocked, the new positions land symbols as part of the main grid until the tumble run ends. Positions unlock sequentially: 1 after 1 tumble, 2 after 4, 3 after 10, 4 after 19, 5 after 31, and the rightmost reel after 46 tumbles.

Multiplier Symbols

Multiplier symbols with values of x2 to x1,000 may land in the base game or in free spins. When a tumble sequence ends, all multiplier values in view are added and applied to the total win.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols land in any position. Players win 10 free spins plus a payout of 2x, 15x, or 100x their bet when 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols, respectively, land. Free spins start with the top row locked, but the progress of unlocking them persists between free spins, so unlocked positions stay unlocked till the feature ends. On top of this, whenever a multiplier symbol hits, its value is added to the total multiplier. For free spins, the total multiplier is used to multiply any win. Getting 3 or more scatter symbols in view triggers an extra +5 free spins.

Buy Free Spins

By paying 100 times the stake, players can buy a triggering spin that lands 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols.

Wisdom of Athena 1000: Slot Verdict

The features found in Wisdom of Athena 1000 are more or less the same as those of the previous game - tumbles, row unlocking, multiplier symbols, free spins, and a feature buy, but one key piece of the game has been doubled, giving the game its 1000 status. That would be, of course, the higher possible multiplier symbol value. Where the previous game maxed out with an x500 symbol, Wisdom of Athena 1000 is able to drop an almighty x1,000. This is unlikely to happen super often, so don't be expecting a game that rains down eye-watering multiplier symbols like a broken candy toss.

But it's there, lurking, just waiting to break into the game and boost a win with its x1,000 multiplier hammer. As we've come to expect by now, these 1000 slots blow the potential wide open, and the win cap in Wisdom of Athena 1000 is double the previous game at 10,000x the bet. It's all impressive stuff in theory, but in practice, there isn't much separating the two slots, gameplay-wise.

That's no bad thing, though, since after dropping games like Sweet Bonanza 1000 and Gates of Olympus 1000, Pragmatic Play does know how to throw together an impressive scatter-paying slot. Wisdom of Athena 1000 is another one that makes excellent use of tumbles and multiplier symbols before turning the heat up further in free spins due to the persistent grid unlocking progress and, more importantly, the persistent total multiplier. With Wisdom of Athena 1000, Pragmatic Play has taken an already highly playable scatter-paying slot and significantly increased what the game is capable of.

Divine Divas: Slot Overview

According to interpretations of Ancient Greek Mythology, the goddess of strife, Eris, was left off the guest list for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, despite all other gods getting an invite. To get revenge, she threw the Apple of Discord into the crowd, with the words 'To The Fairest' written on it, triggering a dispute between Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera that led to the famous Trojan War. This story from antiquity lays the foundation for Divine Divas, an online slot developed by software provider Play'n GO featuring scatter pays, mystery symbols, free spins, multipliers, and more.

Players are invited into Divine Divas' world by warm, dreamy graphics that lay out an attractive realm up in the clouds, with Greek-style buildings dotting the landscape, burning braziers by the grid, ivy wrapped around columns and so on. Divine Divas throws out hints of the mythical story backing the game, which does not affect the action, of course, but adds a measure of depth if you're aware of it.

Divine Divas is a 5x5 scatter-paying cascading slot, where getting on board means picking a stake of 10 c to $/€100 per spin. The game might look like a light-hearted Greek God cartoon show on the outside, but it's actually a highly volatile machine. Play'n GO usually creates several RTP configurations for its slots, and Divine Divas is no exception, so if you're looking for the most favourable version, that would be the 96.25% one.

Landing 6 or more matching symbols in any position of the matrix creates a winning combination. The winning symbols vanish after paying out, and symbols drop downwards to fill the gaps, continuing like this until no new win appears. Paying 10-20 times the bet for 14+ combinations are the low-pay diamonds, clubs, spades, hearts, and hexagons. Next are the 3 high pay symbols, Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, worth 100x the bet for 14+ OAK. Six-of-a-kind wins award 0.1 to 0.4 times the stake.

Divine Divas: Slot Features

Players hop on quests in Divine Divas via Tri-symbols while attempting to hit mystery symbols and trigger free spins where each Goddess may be picked, altering the way the bonus round plays out.

Tri-Symbols

Tri-Symbols present what's called a quest and act as wild for the high pay symbols on the spin it appears. It substitutes for any of the high-paying symbols once per spin. When used in a win, it is highlighted with the colour of the high pay symbol that used it. The quest is complete when the Tri-Symbol has been used by all 3 high pay symbols. Tri-Symbols in the base game award 1x to 5x the bet after completing their quest.

Mystery Symbols

Mystery symbols may appear on any spin, though only on the initial spin, not on cascades. At least 5 mystery symbols appear when triggered. In the base game, mystery symbols reveal any of the 3 high pay symbols or Tri-symbols. Mystery symbols do not all reveal the same symbol type.

Free Spins

Landing 3 or more scatter symbols triggers the Pick Bonus. Players choose between:

• Athena - awards 16 free spins with a chance for revealed high pay symbols from Mystery symbols to turn into golden versions with random multipliers of x2, x3, or x5.
• Hera - awards 12 free spins with a chance for revealed high pay symbols from Mystery symbols to turn into golden versions with a multiplier of x5.
• Aphrodite - awards 6 free spins guaranteeing Mystery symbols on every spin where revealed high pay symbols from Mystery symbols can turn into golden versions with random multipliers of x2, x3, or x5.

In free spins, mystery symbols may reveal Tri-symbols or golden versions of the high-pay symbols, holding multipliers of x2, x3, or x5 - unless affected by the chosen Goddess in the Pick Bonus. Tri-symbols in free award 1x to 5x the bet plus 1 free spin. Free spins are capped at 75 spins.

Divine Divas: Slot Verdict

Divine Divas set itself up nicely, what with the animated intro nodding to the mythological story underpinning the slot, before leading into the pleasing sights and accompanying sounds of the actual game. Six matching symbols is quite a low requirement for a scatter-paying slot, so wins, repeat wins, and so forth were plentiful during the test session. However, it was interesting, a lot of the time, to see how much activity was needed to create even meagre to modest-sized wins. Divine Divas kept the pace going, but it was mostly low-thrill action that might get irritating and even come across as somewhat slow-paced.

Tri-symbols were revealed every so often to break up the flow, but completing their associated quest could be tricky to accomplish. And even when completed 1-5 times the bet isn't amazing. Ho hum, on to free spins, where players anguish over which bonus round to pick from the three available options. Each has its ups and downs, though it was hard to look past Aphrodite and her Mystery symbol on each free spin guarantee. Multipliers are critical to Divine Divas, so any help you can get putting them up on the screen is appreciated.

When pushed to the limit, Divine Divas can knock out wins of up to 5,000 times the stake, so all the questing, mystery, and multipliers can lead somewhere of value. Divine Divas is an active game, which looks nice, but it can drag despite this due to an abundance of low-value payouts. There is potential here as well, however, should the slot's more potent elements flex.

Davy Bones: Slot Overview

Davy Bones is an online slot designed by Octoplay studio Twice As Nice that conjoins the old 'Davy Jones' Locker' concept with bones, or skeletons in this case. Davy Jones' Locker, as many are aware, is a nautical metaphor for the final oceanic resting place for dead sailors or sunken ships. The origins of the saying aren't clear, though one early reference to the term came from 'The Four Years Voyage of Capt. George Roberts' by Daniel Defoe, the guy who wrote Robinson Crusoe, in 1726. It's still a well-known saying even now, 300 or so years later, even amongst land lubbers and helps set an immediate tone for Octoplay's slot Davy Bones.

If a metaphor about perishing at sea is a bit grim, wait till you catch a look at Davy Bones. The base game takes place on a dark and stormy night, as the skies flash with lightning and the seas heave. Thallasophobes will not enjoy this view, which is loaded with spectral dread and dark foreboding water. There's no real backstory accompanying Davy Bones, but the heavy sights and sounds do a good enough job of saying all it really needs to say.

While the background bobs around, a steady 5x5 gaming grid sits in the middle of it all, dropping 25 symbols in on each spin, where 15 paylines evaluate combinations that start from the leftmost reel. Players can expect a base game hit frequency of 19.3% and an RTP of 95.77%. The game is highly volatile and takes wagers of 10 c to $/€80. Or, activating the Double Chance increases the stake by 40%, doubling the chance of winning the in-game feature.

Davy Bones's regular pays include nine different symbols. These are 10 to Ace card ranks paying 1x the bet for a 5 OAK combination, then a bottle of liquid, an anchor, a gun, and a chest. Winning lines made of 5 matching premium symbols pays 5 to 20 times the bet.

Davy Bones: Slot Features

In this locker, players may uncover Pirate Wilds, two forms of Cannon symbol, two forms of Monkey symbols, Pirate Spins, free spins, and a bonus buy.

Pirate Wild

The Pirate Wild expands to cover the whole reel it lands on, substituting all regular pay symbols. The Pirate Wild gets the multiplier displayed above it, which is applied to all winning lines the Pirate Wild is part of. If the Pirate Wild will not form a win, if it expands, it does not expand. A line of 5 wilds pays 20 times the bet.

Cannons & Monkeys

Cannon symbols and Reinforced Cannon symbols may land on the reels. Cannon symbols increase the reel multiplier above it by +2 to +5, while the Reinforced Cannon grows all reel multipliers by +2 to +5. Multipliers have a maximum value of x100. Monkey symbols and Monkey Captain symbols may also land on the reels. Monkey symbols multiply the multiplier above them by x2 to x5, while the Monkey Captain symbols grow all multipliers by x2 to x5.

Pirate Spins

Landing either Cannon symbols or either Monkey symbols in the base game triggers Pirate Spins. Pirate Spins continue until a spin occurs where no type of Monkey or Cannon symbol hits. Multiplier growth is persistent through Pirate Spins.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols may land on reels 2, 3, and 4. Hitting 3 scatter symbols triggers the free spins feature. The feature starts with 3 free spins. Each time any Cannon or Monkey symbol hits, the free spins are reset to 3. In addition, reel multiplier growth is persistent until the end of the round.

Feature Buy

It is possible to buy rather than naturally trigger the free spins round. The cost for this is 200 times the bet.

Davy Bones: Slot Verdict

If Iron Dog Studio's Pirate Kingdom Megaways had a fling with one or two slots in Hacksaw Gaming's portfolio, it might, just might, end up spawning offspring in the form of Davy Bones. There was something about the bones and symbols that brought Pirate Kingdom Megaways to mind, and the reel multiplier system had a whiff of Hacksaw Gaming about it. Whatever the internal or external inspiration might have been, Davy Bones turned out to be not a bad buccaneering escapade on the reels at all, with several compelling factors contributing to the game's enjoyment.

One of these factors was the use of Pirate Spins in the base game. Without this feature, building reel multipliers using either Cannon or Monkey symbols types, then hitting Pirate Wilds beneath them would be quite a task, bordering on the impossible. Pirate Spins sidestep this issue and could be quite fun, though they were often more of a teaser. Their inclusion strengthens the impression of Davy Bones being a highly volatile slot that can drift aimlessly for stretches of time before letting loose a barrage of cannon fire to turn out a solid result. Pirate Spins were responsible for this in the base game, and the free spins round itself could be a bumpy ride, dependent on the landing of those Monkey, Cannon, and Pirate Wild type symbols.

Get those symbols landing in great numbers, and Davy Bones' full reel multiplier wilds are about as effective as one could hope for. When waving its cutlass around with reckless abandon, Davy Bones' winning potential is capped at 12,500x the bet, and after mentally calculating the winlines, symbol values, and possible reel multipliers, that seems theoretically doable. Gamblers will need a few parts to converge in order to hit sizable returns, but Davy Bones has the goods to do so and is able to unleash everything it's got in exciting ways.

Big Game Fishing: Slot Overview

It's fishing time, players, actually, scratch that, it's Big Game Fishing time thanks to the efforts of Yggdrasil partner Reflex Gaming. If you were wondering what the difference is, big game fishing, also known as blue water fishing or offshore sport fishing, typically takes place way out at sea as anglers chase trophy fish such as marlin, tuna, or swordfish. That's instead of casting off a jetty in the hopes of hooking anything at all, including old boots. In the grand old tradition, Big Game Fishing has a cash symbol collection feature, plus a few extras like a TopHit reel, symbol to wild transformations, multipliers, and free spins.

Big game fishing might often take place way out at sea, but it doesn't seem like players are far offshore for this game. More like a river or a lake surrounded by towering pine trees. A big wide sky and clean blue water help transport imaginative gamblers away from their regular lives for a moment to drop them in a virtual outdoor setting in order to attempt reeling in Cash Fish symbols. Big Game Fishing isn't the most beautiful or engaging outdoors slot ever made, but alright, its graphics do the job okay.

By pressing the on-screen coins icon, users are able to choose their preferred wager from 20 c per spin up to a maximum of $/€100. However, the stake increases by 50% when using the Golden Bet, which always nudges Fisherman and scatter symbols to be fully stacked when activated. The theoretical RTP players can expect, whether using the Golden Bet, buying free spins, or just regular betting, is 94%, while the volatility is medium-high. A 5x3 matrix is the main set of reels, plus a 5-position TopHit row sits above it. Running along the grid, creating winlines from left to right, are 20 paylines for evaluating combinations.

Hit 5 matching 10 to A card royals, and the rewards for doing so come out at 1 to 1.2 times the bet. Up from them are Cash Fish symbols, floats, reels, tackle boxes, and boats, worth 1.6 to 5 times the bet. Wilds may appear on all reels to help complete wins. They do this by substituting for all of the regular paying symbols, and they have the same payout values when making wins of themselves as the boat symbol.

Big Game Fishing: Slot Features

Big Game Fishing's box of features includes the TopHit, Cash Fish, a nudge feature, free spins, a free spins gamble, and a bonus buy.

TopHit

The TopHit reel is a row which sits above the main reels. It lands blanks or symbols fully or partially in view. When a high pay symbol lands fully in view on the TopHit reel, instances of it turn wild for that spin. If more than one of the same high pay symbols lands on the TopHit, the wilds they transform into get a multiplier. The more of the same symbol that lands, the higher the multiplier, up to x5. A win with multiple multipliers, multiply each other.

Cash Fish

Any Cash Fish symbols that land have a cash value attached to them of 0.5x to 200x the bet. If a fully visible Fisherman lands on the TopHit reel or is nudged there, all Cash Fish values in view are awarded.

Nudge Feature

A nudge symbol may land on the rightmost reel. The nudge feature pushes all partially visible symbols on the special reels to make them fully visible.

Free Spins

Hitting 3+ scatter symbols anywhere in the base game, including on the TopHit reel, triggers 8+ free spins. In free spins, all features triggered on the TopHit persist through the whole free spins round. Landing a scatter symbol awards +1 free spin, or landing 6 or more of the same high-pay symbols on the TopHit reel awards +1 free spin. A landed Fisherman symbol in the free spins round catches any Cash Fish in view. Each time a Fisherman symbol lands, a Cash Fish Multiplier increases by +1. Fish caught by the Fisherman symbols have their values multiplied, then the multiplier advances for the next spin. The biggest multiplier Reflex Gaming recorded is x22.

Free Spins Gamble

Before free spins begin, players may gamble for more on a gamble wheel. Landing a needle in a green segment of the wheel progresses to the next level. Landing in red means no free spins are awarded.

Bonus Buy

For 70 times the bet, players can buy 8 or more (random) free spins.

Big Game Fishing: Slot Verdict

Gamblers who can't get enough fishing action in their days and are looking for an alternative to the Fishin' Frenzies and Big Bass Bonanzas of the world might be tempted to have a look over Big Game Fishing. However, there are a lot, like, a lot of alternatives already, from 4ThePlayer's Fantastic Fish range, Big Time Gaming's Golden Catch, and a barrel load of others from crabs to lobsters to also try. You name it, if it resides in the sea, it feels as though sooner or later a casino game maker is going to attempt to drag it up onto dry land and slapping cash values on there.

Reflex Gaming's contribution to this popular slot variety played out okay. It's got Fisherman symbols collecting Cash Fish values for players, which is a cornerstone of this game style. Cash values aren't bad at the higher levels, and the symbol to wild transformation (including the chance of getting multis) beefs out the experience. The Fisherman symbol is also able to get a multiplier in free spins, increasing each time a Fisherman hits, which helps up the suspense. On the numbers side of things, a max win of 5,000x the bet is a pretty decent figure compared to some of the competition, though the return to player value is hardly one of Big Game Fishing's strong selling points.

By the end of the review, Big Game Fishing turned out alright. Nothing blazingly special, though a few fairly singular add-ons put something of a unique spin on the usual way the action in these sorts of games unfolds. All in all, Big Game Fishing doesn't do enough to be considered one of the Chads of the genre, but some fish slot radicals might be entertained.