Description
In Russian, the word means grandmas and also refers generically to elderly women, as well as the headscarves they often wear. But Babushkas is also the name of a slot from innovative Swedish gaming geniuses Thunderkick.
There’s a charming woven tapestry background, and this slot is themed on those famous wooden Russian dolls which fit inside each other. (Known as matryoshka.) Don’t be fooled by all the twee cuteness, though – this is a serious game!
It’s a five-reeler with a conventional three rows and played across 17 Paylines on your device of choice, on reels which are see-through.
How to play
Spins in Babushkas kick off from as little as 10p a pop, or if you’re feeling lucky, up to £100 a go. Hit Spin or set up Autoplay and you’re good to go. And, as you’d expect, it’s all fully set up for mobile.
The basic premise is that you’ll be chasing the dolls across the reels in a bid to create unique winning combinations of symbols and set in motion chain reactions to rake in the best prizes.
Seven regular icons incorporate the wooden dolls in different colours and sizes, while you’ll see other symbols rock up less frequently. Each symbol is also given its own number, between 0 and 6.
Special features
Special symbols
The Wild egg symbol will only land on the central reel, where, as usual, it replaces other emblems. If, when it comes to rest, it features a star, your luck is in, since it triggers one of the hat-tricks of mystery features described below.
Bonus features
As mentioned, these are triggered by the Wild:
- Charm Bear: Each symbol is upgraded by one level.
- Scare Bear: Your least lucrative icons here get upgraded up to three times.
Free spins feature
Should you scoop a Wild with a Dance Bear icon, you’ll be granted seven free whirls. In fact, however, this feature isn’t as important a part of this game as you may have thought. What’s more, you’ll bag a Wild egg on Reel 3 with each spin, creating more chances to launch the bonus perks.
Winning icon upgrade
With this, all winning icons of the same worth upgrade to become the next most lucrative ones. Should all 15 icons on your screen be identical, they’re all upgraded in a move known as a ‘wipe’, but don’t expect this to happen too often.
Jackpot
Unfortunately, you won’t find a progressive jackpot in Babushkas.
Return to Player (RTP)
The variance here falls within the low-to-medium range, so you should find Babushkas provides reasonable bang for your buck.
RTP is perhaps a shade below average at 95.8%, although it’s not spectacularly low. Be warned that the regular rewards in Babushkas are likely to be relatively modest – and look out for those chain reactions.
Verdict
Babushkas has a unique concept with some eye-catching graphics, and the developers have shown meticulous attention to detail here. And, as always, it really isn’t as complicated as it may sound once you start turning those reels. It’s also a game which oozes charm.
Give it a go and let us know how you got on!
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