With Halloween just a few days away and the spooky atmosphere at its peak, AvatarUX, an online slots developer based in Malta, has officially released Witchy Poppins™. This witch-themed slot features an enchanting forest or rather a dimly lit part of the forest, that is full of witches whose main task is to scare players as they travel through magical lands. However, the game is currently available for its direct integration partners and will be released globally at a later date.
Additionally, the provider’s previous similar installment is PixiePop™, and the previous slot that came out just before Witchy Poppins™ is Donkey & the GOATS™.
Enchanting visual:
True to its name, the main theme of the slot is the aforementioned witches who have years of experience in creating magical spells of any kind. The game is set on an eerily serene night in a spectral forest lit by the ghostly glow of Jack-o’-lanterns, where witches lurk in penumbral shelters. The reels enjoy a supernatural aura, hosting intricately carved low-paying symbols alongside a colorful coven of Witch individuals. But, as soon as players get to the Free Spins round, the scene undergoes a transformation, replacing the darkness of the night with a bright orange luminescence, casting the once-dark realm into a stunning glow.
The game is boosted by the PopWins™ game mechanic, exclusive only to the AvatarUX brand, which makes every winning symbol “pop” and be replaced by two symbols, increasing the height of the reels. But that’s not all; because it can make multiple wins, as long as the “pops” keep creating more wins.
To win, players must form a winning combinations of 3 or more matching symbols on consecutive reels, beginning from the reel furthest on the left or right on a dynamic grid consisting of 5 reels and 3 to 8 rows offering up to 32,768 paylines. Additionally, this game may be played on any device, has high volatility, a default RTP of 96.04% and a maximum win of 20,000x a player’s wager.
As for the symbols, the low-value ones are 10, J, Q, K and A, while the high-value bonus symbols are witches in various colors. A combination of 5 low-value symbols is worth 1x to 1.5x, increasing to 2x to 6x a player’s wager for the combination of 5 high-value bonus symbols, with the red witch representing the highest-paying symbol.
Slot features:
Popwins – description is mentioned above.
Nudge – this feature randomly appears on the reels, moving the reels up and down, further leading to an enhanced win. In addition, it can nudge a bonus symbol to activate Free Spins in the base game or additional free spins in the bonus game, a symbol to activate a higher reel height, a Pay Anywhere Symbol or a Wild Symbol.
Wild Symbol – the Wild, aka the pot, may only land on reels 2, 3 and 4. Its main task is to replace any regular paying symbol to trigger wins.
Scatter Symbol – if players land 3 or more Scatters, aka pumpkins, the Free Spins bonus round is triggered.
Ante Bet – to trigger this one, players must pay an additional 1.25x of the wager. Once activated, it definitely doubles their odds of activating the most anticipated Free Spins feature.
Free Spins – this feature is activated when 3 or more Scatters land on the reels as mentioned above, further leading to:
- 3 Scatters reward at least 5 free spins on a 4-row grid
- 4 Scatters reward at least 6 free spins on a 5-row grid
- 5 Scatters reward at least 7 free spins on a 6-row grid
Extending all reels to 8 rows rewards 2 additional spins.
A short time before the feature begins, one of the high-value bonus symbols is randomly selected to be the Pay Anywhere Symbol, which rewards wins even if the symbols aren’t on adjacent reels. But, it still needs a minimum 3 symbols on individual reels to count as a win.
Furthermore, the Pay Anywhere Symbol pays in any position, as follows:
- 5-6 of them = 12,5x
- 7-8 of them = 25x
- 9-10 of them = 50x
- 11-15 of them = 100x
- 16-20 of them = 125x
- 21-25 of them = 200x
- 26-30 of them = 400x
- 31-35 of them = 500x
Moreover, there is also a Win Multiplier that begins at 1x and grows by 1 for each PopWin players make. A random Multiplicative Multiplier Symbol may appear throughout the feature, which exponentially increases the Global Multiplier. Just 1 symbol may land per pop-spin or per spin. Players may additionally land an Additive Multiplier Symbol, which applies an extra multiplier to the Global Multiplier. Also, just 1 symbol may land per pop-spin or per spin.
Bonus Buy – this feature is available to players from certain jurisdictions. Additionally, during this feature, they can purchase these bonus rounds:
- Buy Bonus – 5-7 free spins with 1,024 winning ways for 125x the bet;
- Buy Bonus Plus – 6-8 free spins with 3,125 winning ways for 250x the bet;
- Buy Bonus Premium – 7-9 free spins with 7,776 winning ways for 500x the bet;
- Buy Bonus Max – 8-10 free spins with 7,776 winning ways in addition to higher multiplicative and additive multipliers for 1,000x the bet.
Commenting on the launch, Nicola Longmuir, CEO of AvatarUX, said: “Halloween is always a fantastic time to create fantastic games with a theme that really appeals to players with its seasonality. Powered by our PopWins™ mechanic, Witchy Poppins™ is another engaging, exciting title in our portfolio that we’re certain will resonate with our fans across the world. With the success of our PopWins™ mechanic, we are now excited to rollout a new type of game, jam-packed with features and win potential, that showcases the innovation and diversity that AvatarUX can offer.”