Dragon Pearls: Hold & Win is a slot game I didn’t expect much from, but after having played it for a few hours I grew quite fond of it, mostly because of the main bonus feature. The game does have its pros and cons, so let’s have a closer look at these.
The Black Diamond machine is an oasis for fans of the old mechanical slot machines who want a little trip back in time. Players who are tired of trying to hit it big in bonus rounds or interactive games will appreciate the simple mechanics. The main game for Dragon Pearls is a five reel slot with three rows and twenty-five winlines. Although there is no gamble feature, there are a series of interesting bonuses (outlined below). These bonuses elevate the game from simple ‘click and win’ gameplay to something a little more exciting. Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins.
The game is played on a 5×3 board with 25 fixed paylines, and there are eight normal symbols plus three special symbols that can land on your reels. The four card symbols all pay the same, 2x your bet when you land five-of-a-kind, and the four high-win symbols then take this a step further by paying 4x, 6x, 8x and 10x respectively. This paytable serves a purpose of keeping you in the game but can’t pay well on its own. This is one of those slots in which you wait for bonus features, and the two that are present here are very good.
The main bonus feature in Dragon Pearls: Hold & Win are the bonus coins which you’ll often see on your reels with different cash values. This is where the title of the game comes from, as you need six or more Bonus symbols to trigger the bonus game, and the Bonus symbols that triggered the game will stick throughout the feature.
You’ll be given 3 re-spins with your initial Bonus symbols held, and only blanks or Bonus symbols can land on your 5×3 board. If you land at least another Bonus symbol, the re-spins counter is reset to 3. When the game ends, the values of all Bonus symbols on your board are summed up and the win is paid. You can also land a Mini symbol or a Major symbol, and then you’d win the respective Mini or Major jackpot. To win the Grand jackpot, you’d have to collect 15 Bonus symbols. These aren’t progressive jackpots but depend on your bet, and the three jackpots are 30x, 150x and 1000x your bet respectively.
There is also a free spins game, and it has really high variance. You’ll trigger it when you land all three Scatters on reels 2, 3 and 4, and will be given 8 free spins with only high-win symbols, plus a Scatter, Wild and Bonus symbols. This sounds great but most often it won’t lead to a big win, and you need a lot of luck to get something from this game. But once you do win, you’ll win big.
While the theoretical return to player (RTP) of this slot game is nothing to write home about, 95.01%, this is one of those rare slots that are worth playing for real money despite the not-so-good theoretical payout. The two bonus rounds are really fun, especially the main one in which you can even win one of three jackpots. This is a good slot game and the relatively low RTP doesn’t hurt it.
Any game that gives you a decent route to winning a jackpot is a good one, and depending on your luck you can get an equivalent of a good coin win or a true jackpot, and in addition to this you often will get to play the free spins game with high-win symbols only. This game is set up just right, so it’s recommended to try it out or even play for real money right away. You never know when that Grand jackpot is going to land, and you wouldn’t want it to happen while you’re playing in fun mode.