Ice Dice Slot Machine

Brrrrr... is it cold in here, or have you just been playing one of the most beautiful gamblers we’ve come across all year? The only problem being that this particular attractive one is also freezing, meaning it might not be possible to spend too much time around it.

Ice Dice is another in ETG’s much-lauded ‘dice’ series of online casino games. And within a moment of loading up you’ll know exactly what to expect from the experience. The whole thing is basically trapped in ice, with every dice on the five reels stuck within blocks of the very, very cold stuff, waiting for you to come and spin, win, and break down that icy prison.

It’s certainly unique, and makes for a game that’s both brightly colored and fun-looking, but not silly. Nor is there a tenuous historic or cultural feel, which sometimes can begin to get quite annoying if you’re on a gambling binge and trying out new titles. As such you can safely say that Ice Dice is the sort of thing you want to get involved with, just remember to wrap up before you do, because this one is definitely cooler than you.

Preparing for the Elements

As with every dice title by this developer, the matches and imagery is pretty simple- lots of dice, each with spotted numbers. The idea is to match up twos, threes, fours or fives of the same image.

So that could be three ones, four fives or whatever. The actual dice themselves look great, and there’s even a really nice little effect that makes the number slightly warped, as though you are literally looking through blocks of ice. When you win the aesthetics only get better, with ice breaking open to reveal finally-freed die. It’s definitely one of the nicest touches we’ve seen in ages, and certainly makes you want to stick around.

Dice in the Freezer

You know how to play, then, but do you know how many different ways of playing there are?

In truth not as many as some, but still it’s worth pointing out. In the bottom of the game screen you’ll see a number of pre-set bet sizes. These are 20, 40, 100, 200 and 400. These literally correspond to how much you are putting down, and obviously the more you put down the more you stand the chance of winning if things go well. There are also 20 fixed pay lines – you’re looking to match on pay lines, any matches not on pay lines won’t be valid, so having a good number to go at is a bonus.

Life Below Zero

OK, so you’re now pretty much ready to play, so let’s get cracking. Or rather rolling, and shivering. There are other dice and symbols involved in the game, such as the penguin in the top hat that acts as a Wild card- this means it can substitute for any other on the reels to make up a combination with a multiplier effect boosting your winnings. Which is obviously great.

One of the nicest in-play touches is the fact that when you win the ice melts and frees the dice, but also the dice often fade away to reveal a funny little penguin character – different win combinations reveal different penguins. One of our favorites is the happy guy with the fish bowl and goldfish – hopefully he’s not going to eat the fish. It’s a really cute but also very professionally achieved touch and one we’ve not seen enough. And, given the fact we all love penguins thanks to Happy Feet and the like.

Nice Ice, Baby

In many ways you would think that an adult male wouldn’t really got too much from a game that’s cuter than a cat in a jumper wearing a small hat. However you’d be thinking wrong. Very wrong indeed.

It’s impossible not to love Ice Dice, simply because it’s so well done. The animation touches are stunning, and the game itself really makes you want to play. We also love the Gamble feature – this flashes in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, hit it and you’ll open a mini game where you’re betting on the next card- red or black. It’s a great alternative to simply hitting spin time and time again, and as such should add longevity to this experience.