Description
Presented over a standard five reels and three rows with 20 Paylines, Holmes and the Stolen Stones is a 2015 release from Swedish slot supremos Yggdrasil Gaming.
It sees the world’s best-loved pipe-smoking sleuth and trusty sidekick Doctor Watson hot on the heels of a new case. Where are the stolen gems they’re looking for?
The setting is a deserted London warehouse, there’s a suspenseful soundtrack, and your mission is to hunt for clues in the form of fragments of the valuable gems, as you play to win one of the five progressive jackpots. There’s also a classic ‘pick me’ feature and a great free spins perk here.
Equally, of course, you can expect all the exquisite design that is this operator’s calling card.
How to play
Spin away to your heart’s content from a mere 20p a pop, up to a comparatively modest £40 upper limit. Up to 0.8% of each bet goes towards the progressive jackpot (see below).
Lines pay from left to right, kicking off from the reel furthest left, and, as usual, you’ll need a trio of similar symbols to scoop a win.
Symbols are all relevant to the theme and include a magnifying glass, diary, Watson and Holmes plus the usual lower-value playing card symbols. Holmes himself is the most lucrative symbol, forking out with a 4,000-coin payday for five in a row.
Holmes and the Stolen Stones special features
Special symbols
The keyhole symbol is the Scatter in Stolen Stones, and this slot has no Wild symbols. Another keyhole represents the second bonus emblem.
Bonus features
Bonus ‘pick me’ round
Trigger this with at least three keyhole bonus icons wherever you like on the reels. Launch it with four or five of them and you rake in a 1,000 or 10,000-coin bonus respectively.
You’ll be sent to a new screen, where there will be 18 boxes to choose from, revealing a line-up of missing diamond shards or cash prizes. Keep choosing until you come across the smoke bomb which ends the round.
The shards kept in your tally and can bring you a shade closer to activating the free spins perk plus the opportunity to scoop one of five jackpots. The tally is shown in little triangular boxes above every reel, and if you get five of the same colour, you win 10 free spins.
Free spins
Land at least three Scatters to gain access to this perk and enjoy 10x free spins with a 3x multiplier. You could also gain a 1,000 or 10,000-coin haul for triggering with four or five Scatters.
Jackpot
Collect five diamonds of a similar colour and you’ll scoop the relevant progressive jackpot.
As a local prize pool, each Yggdrasil site has its own prize pot which grows over time. This is divided into five jackpots, from at least €40 to €10,000 at the highest.
Return to Player (RTP)
RTP or Return to Player is 96.8%, which is pretty generous. You’ll find Stolen Stones is a medium- variance kind of game, while hit rate is a whisker over one in four at 25.4%.
Verdict
Holmes and the Stolen Stones may seem a tad complicated initially, but it really isn’t. Sound is impressively classy as are the visuals, plus the feature-packed gameplay has a lot to recommend it. Channel your inner sleuth today!
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