Sugar 'n' Spice Hummin' Slot
Already a favourite game at land-based casinos, the Sugar ‘n’ Spice Hummin video slot is now available in an online version that carries over the colourful creatures and bonuses that have made it such as hit. It’s come from Australian company Ainsworth, who are one of the best known, longest-running and most respected developers of slot machines, who know a thing or two about what gamblers are looking for and have brought out a huge range to cater for them.
Set on a volcanic island, the reels are filled with vividly-coloured frogs, humming birds, lizards and birds, alongside the high-card symbols that are standard across the Ainsworth portfolio of online slot machines. Players can trigger some decent bonuses such as a wild hummingbird that substitutes for others and a free spins round where flower symbols help to create extra chances to land some big wins before the bonus games end.
It's a traditionally laid out 5-reel, 30-payline slot machine, where players are hoping to land 3 or more of the same kind of symbol across a line, on adjacent reels from the left side for a winning spin, and while free Sugar ‘n’ Spice Hummin video slots can be used for practice games, the entry point for a real spin is set at 0.30. A high limit of 3000.00 should be more than enough for even the highest of bankrolls and to add to the convenience of a huge bet range, there’s other options such as an Autoplay function that sets the reels spinning for a set number of times, stopping once certain win or loss limits have been reached.
Playing Sugar ‘n’ Spice Hummin
A patterned orange background may look like wallpaper from the 1970’s but it sets off the blue-tinted reels quite nicely and the gold surround really stands out. It’s the symbols that make this such a visual delight however, and while the usual 9, 10, J, Q, K and A icons are common to Ainsworth slots, they are all nice and colourful. They also land on the game to pay out the smaller, and therefore, most frequent coin wins.
Higher prizes are awarded with the unique animal symbols, starting with a chameleon and going steadily up in value through a bright green frog, multi-coloured toucan, bird of paradise and the top-paying jungle cat.
The humming bird that gives its name to this game is a wild symbol. It’s able to act as any other, with the exception of a scatter symbol that we will come to in a bit, and complete winning lines if possible. It’s not actually worth anything on its own though, so the only value comes from the extra wins that it helps to create.
Scatters and Free Spins
The best wins of the game come from the volcano symbol, which pays multiplies of the total staked per spin, rather than just the coin value. It won’t even need to be on a payline, as it’s a scatter, and once the prize of up to 500x the bet has been awarded, a free spins round will follow on.
But not before a couple of bonus wheels have spun, with the first determining how many free games will play out, and the second reveals how many reels will be filled with flower symbols. The ideal combination is for 10 free games with 4 flower reels.
When any flower symbols land during the bonus spins, all of them will be transformed into the same type, which should be enough for players to get a few nice payouts before the round comes to an end. It’s certainly not guaranteed though, as it’s just as possible to get just 5 spins and a single flower reel, which won’t be much of a bonus round. But players will still have been awarded a prize for the scatter symbol and a few free spins are always going to be better than none.
The Verdict
This beautifully-designed game is available in desktop and mobile-optimised formats, and of course, can still be found at land-based casino worldwide. It’s brilliantly-coloured reels spin up some reliable wins and when those come from the high-paying picture symbols, those awards can be quite substantial.
If players get a good number of free spins and several flower reels in the bonus games, it’s potentially quite rewarding, but if the spins and flower reels don’t fall favourably, it’s a fairly short feature that could well end without a win at all.
Despite this, the standard gameplay is enough to attract punters looking for a good return to player percentage, regular awards and enough colour to brighten up any day.
