Christmas Carol Megaways Slot

Sing Along with the Gameplay

This Pragmatic Play slot was initially released in 2020, but as Christmas approaches, it’s time to dust the snow off the reels and see what it’s made of. The reels might not be made from gingerbread, but the gameplay is as sweet.

With each win, symbols will crack like ice and disappear, allowing new ones to tumble onto the reels. There are six reels and reels one and six can have up to seven rows, while reels two to five have an additional row at the top of the reels.

Play with the auto spin feature to spin the reels 10 to 1,000 times and choose whether the spin speed is turbo, quick, or skip screens fast.

Storyline Unveiled

This slot bases its gameplay on the famous Dicken’s novella, A Christmas Carol. The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a grumpy old man, and on Christmas, his former business partner’s ghost visits him. 

Following the ghost’s visit, the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come also appear on the reels as symbols. Like the novella, this slot aims to showcase the joy of Christmas and how it can transform people.

Meet Christmas Characters: Enticing Designs

With snowy weather and ice-covered reels, this slot features excellent graphics and beautiful art. The spirits of Past, Present, and Yet to Come are the highest-paying symbols, while Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim follow them. 

The low-paying symbols are the card symbols 10, J, Q, K, and A, while the Wild is Ebenezer Scrooge himself. The golden pocket watch is the scatter, and all of these boast excellent art which boosts the player experience.

Unwrap the Free Spins in Christmas Carol Megaways

Free spins trigger when four or more scatters land on the reels. You can choose between four different types of spin features. You can also choose between a 1x, 5x, and 10x starting multiplier, though the corresponding spins will vary depending on how many scatters you landed. 

You can also choose the Mystery Spins, which gives you a random number of spins and a starting multiplier.

With each win, the multiplier will increase by one. The multiplier can increase infinitely, and you can land more than one win per spin, thanks to the tumbling reels.

Celebrate the Holiday Spirit with Bonus Features

If you don’t want to rely on luck, you can use the Bonus Buy feature. It costs 100x your bet and will instantly activate the free spins feature. However, remember there’s no guarantee you’ll win more than you paid using the Bonus Buy.

Another option is the 25x Ante Bet feature. Your bet will become 1.25x larger, and you’ll get double the chance to trigger free spins.

Playing Christmas Carol Megaways

Playing this game is similar to any slot:

1. Open the game and use the paytable to see the slot’s payouts, mechanics, and features

2. Press the Menu button, which is three stripes, to change your bet total

3. Ensure to make your stake an amount your bankroll can comfortably support

4. Adjust the settings on the same screen to fit your preferences

5. Start playing this slot by pressing the Spin button and see what appears in your past, present, and future

The RTP and Bets of Christmas Carol Megaways

This game’s RTP ranges from 96.47% to 96.58%. It falls right in the industry niche I’ve seen from testing various other online slots. Playing the game, I found it easy to place a bet, as you can choose a stake between €0.20 and €125.

The game’s volatility is very high. What that means is that wins will be less frequent than in low to mid-volatility slots. However, it also means the wins tend to be more significant.

How You Win in Christmas Carol Megaways

This is a Megaways slot, which means there are up to 200,704 ways to win. If you land three or more matching symbols, it becomes a win if they're on adjacent reels starting from the leftmost one. 

The only exception is the highest-paying symbol, the Spirit of Yet to Come. This symbol can trigger a win if two land. It also has the highest payout, where six of them award you 50x your stake.

Improve Your Player Experience with These Pro Tips

While there’s no way to affect your wins, as this is a game of luck, you can manage your bankroll more effectively to minimise your losses. There are some tips to consider when playing this slot:

• It’s a very high-volatility game. As such, carefully decide your stake, as you’re likely to spin the reels more times before a win lands, than you would with a low-volatility slot.

• After the free spins trigger and play out, lower your bet. With higher volatilities, it’s unlikely for the bonus feature to trigger again soon, so keep it lower for a few spins.

• If you decide to use the Bonus Buy or Ante Bet, do so cautiously. Using the Ante Bet is slightly better, as it doesn’t spend as much of your bankroll as the Bonus Buy does.

• If you trigger the free spins, choose the balanced option. Instead of picking the most free spins or the highest multiplier, I activated the 5x multiplier, as this option gives you a bit of both.

My Personal Experience with Christmas Carol Megaways

I found this game exciting, and it brought back memories of the novella. However, you don’t need to know the story behind it to enjoy this game. 

• With the high volatility, I found the wins to be few and far between. It means I played a decent chunk of my bankroll before landing wins.

• I got a few significant wins, once after using the Bonus Buy to trigger the free spins feature and once by landing the reaper symbol five times. However, I still ended up in the minus at the end of my session.

• Even using Ante Bet, it took a lot of patience to trigger the free spins, with scatters frequently teasing two or three symbols on the reels.

Sing Off: Christmas Carol Megaways vs Similar Slots

I had a look at how it compared to other slots and found similar titles in theme and game mechanics to compare it to below.

Name	Christmas Carol Megaways	Christmas Big Bass Bonanza	Great Rhino Megaways
RTP	96.58%	96.71%	96.58%
Theme	Christmas	Christmas-Fishing	Africa Wildlife
Main bonus feature	Free spins and increasing multiplier	Free spins and money symbols	Free spins and increasing multiplier
Max win/Jackpot	20,000x	2,100x	20,000x

Beyond Christmas Carol Megaways: Experience Other Slots

If you want more Christmas-themed or Megaways slots, consider the following options.

Santa King Megaways

Inspired Gaming created this slot, featuring the standard Reel King game mechanics but with Santa in the King’s chair. You can spin mini-slots in the Santa King feature, which triggers when you collect six yellow reels. You're able to land 25 free spins with the Free Spins trail.

Sweet Bonanza Xmas

If you’re a Sweet Bonanza slot fan, you’ll love its Xmas edition. Powdered sugar covers the reels like snow, and multipliers drop like presents during the gameplay. The free spins bring the jingles to life as you spin the reels with sugar-covered fruits and candy.

Santa

Wild Saint Nick can appear on the three middle reels as stacked symbols during the free spins, with the chance of awarding massive wins. You can also choose gifts under the Christmas tree to reveal one of the jackpot wins. This Pragmatic Play slot has various jackpots that award wins up to 250x your stake. 

The Verdict: My Final Impression

I enjoyed this game, though you should know the risks before playing. Very high volatility slots like this game can mean significant wins but also substantial losses. However, the max win is impressive, and the free spins with its multiplier feature keep the gameplay interesting. 

If you’re a fan of the Dickens novella, then I recommend you give this slot a chance.