Mysterious Gems Slot Machine
Anyone who likes playing Bejewelled, or even Candy Crush, will be familiar with the workings of the Mysterious Gems video slot from Genesis Gaming, where the aim is to land groups of matching symbols for a win. But there’s lots more to this online casino game than it first appears, as some of these valuable gems trigger extra bonus features, plus there’s free spins, expanding wild symbols and win multipliers to enjoy.
It all adds up to an exciting slot machine that’s plays out against a beautifully drawn backdrop of what we assume is a wizard’s desk, as it’s got a skull candle-holder, a strange old book and a weird glowing ball of purple energy to one side. Whoever this desk belongs to, it looks suitably mysterious and when the bright gems tumble into place in their 6x6 grid pattern, it’s a very colourful place as well.
That 6x6 grid means that this is no ordinary slot machine, as there’s no defined reels or paylines here. New sets of symbols simply drop into place with each spin, and any that become part of a wining cluster will disappear, with any above them dropping down into place, potentially creating a new winning cluster. It’s not a unique concept and different games developers give this feature different names, with Genesis Gaming calling it a Cascade.
A Cascade of Winning Symbols
Just 0.10 is needed to get these precious jewels dropping into place although free Mysterious Gems video slots are provided, and like the rest of the Genesis Gaming casino games range, there’s a high return to players at all bet levels.
Instead of win-lines, punters will be hoping to land groups of matching jewels, with prizes awarded for as few as 5 clustered together, and the top payouts claimed when 20 or more connected symbols land. The amounts won range from a single coin when 5 diamonds land, to 50 coins for groups of 20 diamonds, through to the top-paying blob of orange amber that’s worth between 20 coins and 1,000.
There’s some nice animations as winning clusters explode, and with luck, new wins created as symbols drop into the empty spaces. Tumbling reels features often have multipliers attached to any sequential wins, but not here, although lots of other bonuses should more than make up for this.
Free Spins with Multipliers
In the free spins games however, sequential reel cascade wins will be multiplied, with any initial prizes being paid at 3x the base rate, followed by a 6x multiplier, then 9x, 12x and a high limit payout of 15x the standard value for any 5th sequential win from a single spin.
The free spins are triggered by a star scatter symbol appearing in 3, 4, 5, or 6 places at once, and the number of bonus games will be 5, 10, 20, or 50 respectively.
Special Mysterious Gems Features
A number of in-game bonus features are triggered by special gem symbols. These elaborately-designed icons include the Amethyst, which lands on reel 4 only, awarding a win equal to the total bet and then a second payout of between 2x and 5x the stake.
Gamblers could see the Jade Mysterious Gem appear on reels 5, when it will grant them a win equal to the highest-value jewel currently in view on the grid in the Maximum Win feature, or the Sapphire Mysterious Gem could stop on reel 6, awarding random multipliers of between 2x and 6x to any clusters in a feature called Random Mulipliers.
The strange purple ball of energy will glow and reveal what extra rewards have been claimed in any Mysterious Gems feature, while any time 2 or 3 of these Gems appear, all related features will play out, starting with any extra prizes and then moving on to any multipliers.
Stretching Wilds to Stretch out Winnings
An image of coloured jewels connected by a swirling line is the abstract wild symbol in the Mysterious Gems video slot, and when this oddity stops on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5, it will become an expanding wild, filling the whole reel and substituting for whichever gem symbol required to make up the highest-value win possible.
The wild won’t be able to act as any Mysterious Gem, or the bonus star symbol.
Is this Slot Machine a real Gem?
By turning a classic jewels-themed game into an online casino slot, Genesis Gaming have surely got another hit to add to their range. It’s very similar to the popular Bejewelled Cascades slot from Blueprint gaming, and is suitable for casual gamers and high rollers alike, with a wide choice of coin values, plus it’s mobile-optimised for players to access on desktop PC’s, smartphones and tablet computers.
But the real jewels of this game are the multiple bonus rounds. Most slot machines have wild symbols and free spins, but expanding wilds are a little less common, and the Mysterious Gems features are unique attractions.
By having the potential to trigger multiple features in a single spin, the Mysterious Gems video slot becomes something quite special, that anyone who likes the style, or simply likes lots of extra bonus rounds, should try out.
