Reel Diamonds Review
As 2021 kicks in, the developer studio 1x2gaming expands its ’1×2 Classics’ slot series with yet another fruit-themed game, Reel Diamonds. While it’s being stated that Reel Diamonds is the adaptation of the developer’s older slot, Classic Fruits, it actually seems to be a beefed-up reskin of the Smoking Hot Fruits slot, with some tweaks made to the design and gameplay.
Reel Diamonds – Slot Outlook
Players familiar with the above-mentioned slots won’t find anything innovative here. As far as the game is a part of the ’1×2 Classics’ series, it offers straight-forward gameplay with an equally simple design. A standard semi-transparent 5×3 grid with 10 ways to play dominates the view, while behind it a blue wallpaper with shiny diamonds on either side of the screen makes up the backdrop.
Reel Diamonds – Reel Screen
As for the stats, Reel Diamonds comes with a math model similar to the one found in the Smoking Hot Fruits slot, except the betting range is cut half, so now players can bet from 0.1$ to 50$ per spin. Other than that, the rest of the figures are more or less average. Thus, the RTP is solid at 96%, while the volatility tends to the middle side of the spectrum. The potential is decent since wins of up to 5,000x of the bet are possible.
The symbol collection includes 7 regular symbols alongside a bunch of specials. In ascending order we get cherries, lemons, oranges, plums, grapes, watermelons, and red lucky sevens. Scoring wins requires landing at least 3 instances of the same symbol on a payline starting from the leftmost reel, while full combos are achieved by landing 5 matching symbols. Individual values are moderate, with 5-of-a-kind fruit wins paying from 10x to 50x the stake, and sevens up to 500x.
Reel Diamonds – Bonus Features
Gameplay-wise, Reel Diamonds is light on features and relies heavily on Scatter Pays and Expanding Wild symbols. What’s more, the developers even omitted the Free Spins feature, so no bonus game to be found here.
Reel Diamonds – Scatter Symbols
There are two Scatter symbols included in the Reel Diamonds slot, represented by gold and silver stars. Gold stars can only appear on reels 1, 3, and 5, while silver ones can land anywhere in view. However, as alluded to earlier, they have nothing to do with a bonus game, and matching Scatters on reels just gives you extra prizes. Matching 3 gold Scatters will award a cash prize of 10x of the bet. Silver stars act in the same way, yet you can land more than 3 of them simultaneously on the reels, and the payout you get depends on the number of stars in view. Hence, 3, 4, and 5 Scatters in view award 2,5x, 25x, and 50x the stake.
As the title implies, diamonds play a crucial role in the gameplay. Those shiny gems are Wild and can appear on any spin on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5 to substitute for any other regular symbol and help you form winning combinations. They don’t have any own value, yet whenever they land anywhere on the grid, they expand to cover the entire reel and significantly boost your odds of hitting a decent win.
Reel Diamonds – Expanding Wilds feature
Reel Diamonds – Slot Verdict
Reel Diamonds does precisely what classic-styled slots are supposed to do – evokes nostalgic feelings and offers utter simplicity both in terms of the design and gameplay. However, when comparing it to other slot machines in the ’1×2 Classics’ series, it sticks out with its more or less balanced gameplay. Take Smoking Hot Fruits for instance. While it boasts a similar design, once you take a peek under the hood, you’ll quickly notice what’s the difference. The developers doubled the number of paylines and implemented Expanding Wild symbols, as well as kept the Scatter Pays feature. As a result, Reel Diamonds appears to be a much better option.
Pros
- Decent RTP and potential
- Classic fruit theme
Cons
- No Bonus Game