Beetle Jewels Slot Machine
Combine beetles and jewels and what do you get? That’s right, Beetle Jewels. There are free spins and expanding symbols in this charming game, one whose delicate soundtrack – all brushed strings and plucked harps – perfectly complements the croaking of crickets at dusk. Night is about to fall and the animals and insects are coming out to play. Spiders, grasshoppers and, yes, beetles.
There are many ways to portray creepy crawlies but there’s only one word with which to describe iBetSoft’s effort and that word is magical. The beetles, the reels, the background – hell, even the playing card symbols – are all beautifully designed, like something out of a fairy tale. The backdrop features a forest lit by fireflies that looks enchanted, like it’s been sprinkled in pixie dust.
Meet the Beetles
There are beetles everywhere in this game and some of these colourful creatures have special powers. There’s a purple beetle that acts as wild, substituting for other symbols on the reels. Then there’s scatter, which is played by the same symbol, and will trigger 10 free spins when you land between 3 and 5 in view. A special symbol will also kick in for free spins, to help you record additional wins. With expanding symbols swelling to dominate the game board, there’s a lot going on in Beetle Jewels.
The game is iSoftBet’s first foray into HTML5 slots, as they seek to target the lucrative mobile and tablet audience. The game should work in-browser and can be played on the go. It also works well on desktop. Because wild doubles as scatter, it’s a busy little purple beetle. You’ll hopefully be seeing a lot of it in the game, dispensing free spins or earning you 2,000 for 5 on a line. The playing card symbols, conversely, are worth 150 for 5 at the most. They’re nicely designed though, in a font that can best be described as fairy tale.
Wings of Win
There are also four regular beetles you’ll be encountering in the game, all winged. You did know that beetles can fly, right? These ones certainly can. The red beetle is the pick of the bunch, worth 5,000 for 5. In Beetle Jewels, it proves relatively easy to trigger free spins. Those scatters aren’t so shy, and the moment three of the purple beetles alight on the reels, your luck’s in and it’s into the free spins zone. It’s at this stage that one of the 9 symbols visible on the reels will become special. It will subsequently expand, awarding wins on reels for that symbol, even those in positions that aren’t adjacent. In other words, all of the special symbols that appear will count towards any wins.
Got the Bug?
As a new release from iSoftBet, few other insect based slots can compete with the quality of the graphics or the audio here. It’s pretty special. If you’d like to try something similar to this medium to high variance slot, which has an RTP of 96.5%, give Red Lady by Novomatic a go. It’s also got 10 paylines and up to 10 free spins to be won. Faust, also by Novomatic, is another option.
For something by a different developer, check out Royal Gardens by EGT or Play N Go’s Book of Dead. Both of these 10 payline slots have something to offer including between 10 and 12 free spins. On a beetle theme, there is Novomatic’s Beetle Mania to try, a 9 payline slot that’s pretty cute. There’s also Beetle Frenzy, a 3-reel NetEnt slot that’s simple but fun.
A Fabulous Fantasy World
Beetle Jewels is an awesome looking game. It’s the sort of slot you could potentially play for hours, or at least put some quality time in with. The graphics and atmospheric audio combine beautifully, making for an immersive slot that sucks you into its fantasy world. In terms of gameplay, there’s plenty of action to be had with the aid of the dual scatter and wild symbol. While it would be nice for there to have been another bonus game built in, what you do get in Beetle Jewels is still impressive to behold.
