Gnome Wood Slot

One cannot help but be awed at the intro to this game with its flawless 3D animations. You would swear that you were playing one of the top slots from premium makers such as NetEnt or Yggdrasil Gaming, such is the quality of the graphics and soundtrack on hand.

The reels are placed on the background of an enchanting place in the woods, where a small entrance to a small home is visible, with a number of scattered building ruins here and there. Our spritely, mouse-riding Gnome is the main character of our game, and he leads you from reel to reel to aid you in the magical favour of the reels. Each time a winning combo strikes, a wave of his enchanting little wand transforms the combination into a win on your credit roll.

The friendly demeanour of our tiny friend coupled with bright serene colours, makes for a peaceful atmosphere to the game. The musical attributes of the game sound as if they come from a fairy tale fantasy film, and keep the theme of the game alive.

Symbols of the Game

All the game symbols represented on the reels are uniquely crafted to suit the theme, and the game makers have stayed away from generic looking symbols such as the lower-end card deck symbols, which many other developers fall back on every time they lack a bit of innovation.

In this game, the lower paying symbols include blazing carvings in rock that seem to symbolise the 4 elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. Higher values are represented by our main character, the Gnome, his harnessed rodent, a cauldron, lantern, spell book, and his magical staff. The game scatter is the Golden Medallion Free Spins Scatter, which if landed on the screen in multiples, will trigger the main feature round. There are two WILD symbols. One is a regular WILD which will substitute for all icons except the scatter, and the second is a WILD that carries a x2 multiplier, which is applied to all combination wins in which the WILD was involved in completing.

Just because the quality of the game is next level, do not be fooled into thinking that it is too complicated to understand. Gameplay is quite simple, if you know where the controls are and what they do. The rest of the slot will lead you as it goes. Just remember to adjust your bet before you spin, and you won’t have any issues.

The game controls are all situated on various rocks under the reels and include from right to left:

• MAX BET – If you do not want to interfere with your comfortable default bet setting, but every now and then want to play a big bet, then press this button and the maximum bet per line will be wagered.

• GAMBLE – Should you want to gamble your last win. Simply press this button to enter the double or nothing gamble round (more about this in the Special Features section).

• SPIN – This circular arrow is the trigger that spins your reels manually.

• AUTOSPIN – Smaller circular arrow with letter “A” in it. This control feature allows for you to pre-set a selected number of spins that the machine will automatically spin for you, so that you don’t have to press SPIN every time. This comes in handy if you need to step away from the game for a few minutes.

• BET – This display will show your current bet. Toggle left to drop the bet and right to raise the stake. Your total bet will vary between 0.25 to 50, depending on how many lines you are playing.

• LINES – Here you can select the amount of paylines that you would like to play, up to 25. The more lines, the higher the chance of wins.

The ‘Available Credit’ and ‘Last Win’ displays are found on the far left of the screen.

Special Features

Special features are the bargaining chip in just about every modern online slot machine now, as gamblers are seeking more and more thrills as the years go by. It is a good thing then that this title offers three different bonus features to keep you busy. 

Wandering Wilds

One of the 2 WILD symbols may appear on the screen anywhere from the 2^nd to the 5^th reels. With every spin that passes, it will wander one space to the left. When it reaches reel 1 it will disappear. Each time the WILD appears on the reels a free spin will be triggered. So, if you land a wandering wild on reel 5, you will trigger 5 free spins.

This feature stems from one of the first slots to make it popular, called Jack & The Beanstalk. Since then, a number of developers make use of it to spruce up their games.

Free Spins Bonus Round (Main Feature)

Should you land 3 golden medallion scatters anywhere on the screen, you will trigger the free spins bonus game. Here, you will be awarded with 10 free spins, which can be re-triggered during the feature’s gameplay. The wandering WILDS will appear far more frequently in this feature, to prolong the round, and to help complete winning combos. What’s more, is that unlike in the base game, the WANDERING WILDS can land on reel 1 as well.

Gamble Feature

Should you want to try and double your smaller wins, you can click on the GAMBLE button and take a chance in a game of double or nothing.

Just pick between a gold and a bronze pot. If magic appears above the pot you have won the gamble and effectively doubled the stake and can either cash out, or gamble this higher stake again. Should the pot fall to the ground, you will lose your last win and the feature will end. You can GAMBLE up to 5 successive times, or until you have won 10 000 cash.

What I really love about this feature, is that Rabcat have spent the extra time needed to create a unique little game that stands in stark contrast to the card deck pick game offered by most developers during the gamble feature. It adds an extra special touch of fun.

Payouts and Maximum Winnings

This slot has a return to player rating (RTP) of 96.16% and a medium volatility. This means that you can expect smaller to medium wins every so often. In my experience you need to wait for the free spins in order to bring anything worthwhile home. Top win stats are as follows:

• Jackpot = 40x

• Max Free Spin Win = 3600x

• Max Win = 180 000

Final Verdict

I am glad that Games Global are rounding up some premium developers to make use of their platform, as it is doing a lot to lift the quality of the brand. The thought of Goldwyn’s Fairies, from “Just for the Win” also spring to mind as an addition to the stable that boosts the Games Global name.

This game is worth a number of spins, and if it’s pretty slots you like, you need to do yourself a favour and add this to your online slots gaming portfolio.

Although the base game can be a bit infuriating at times, you can always play around with the GAMBLE feature to boost wins. But not too much, or you’ll end up bankrupt in no time at all. Wait around for the feature free spins, and the game will have you smiling once again.