Ariana Slot Review
The underwater princess Ariana invites you to explore her charming world where you will see all kinds of majestic beauties from magnificent starfish to elegant seahorses and sunken treasure chests waiting for you at the bottom of the ocean, amongst coral hills. What makes this slot so special? Expanding symbols. Tons of expanding symbols that create multiple opportunities for big wins during base game and free spins. Plunge into the aquatic adventure with the mermaid princess and win a delightful $30,000 in this entertaining slot from Microgaming.
Played over 25 adjustable lines, the five reels spin against the transparent blue water and brilliantly colored tropical reefs, making the player feel as if scuba diving. The amount of paylines is always fixed and you cannot choose to bet on less than 25 lines at all times. However the bet amounts are very flexible and range between $0.25 and $125 on each spin; this is because you can up and down a coin size and the number of coins per line. Given the specified limits, the wagering range is quite comfortable for all kinds of betting preferences.
Symbols and payouts
Card values are a fixture in modern slot building and the Ariana slot is no exception. Microgaming have equipped it with five playing cards (10, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces) that are all low-paying symbols with the awards of x3 to x60 for three, four or five of a kind.
High symbols are made fitting the theme and they pay as follows: x125 (Boulders on the seafloor), x150 (Treasure Chests), x175 (Seahorses) and x200 (Mermaid Ariana), all for five of each kind. So if you have placed the highest acceptable stake and land five Arianas on a line, you win $1000. As you see, basic symbols are hardly generous, but they do occur very often. Besides, the secret of big payouts is in stacked symbols described below in details.
Stacked and expanding symbols
It has always been common sense for slot fans that expanding symbols have strong potential for big wins. And this is true. The advantage and highlight of this slot is that four different symbols can become expanding in certain situations, and very few online slots can boast of this.
As said above, there are four high symbols used in the game and all of them come stacked on the first reel. Sure, there is no guarantee you get all three symbol positions occupied by the same symbol on each spin but chances are you will land two or even three stacked symbols on reel 1. When the entire first reel is filled with any matching high-paying symbols, all corresponding images on the other reels will expand up and/or down and cover the reel fully. What you finally get is a symbol stack on reel 1 and the same stack on one or more of the remaining reels. Now look at the above payouts from a different perspective. If, say, all the four reels get loaded with Ariana symbols, your win will be genuinely big!
Wild symbol and scatter
Wilds are the symbols that today’s slots games can rarely do without. Yes, you have a wild symbol in this 5-reel slot and this is depicted by the word ‘Ariana’. The wild is nothing to rave over. It substitutes for all basic icons and bears no additional multiplier when it is involved in a winning combination. However, it has two benefits to talk about. First, it gives away a jackpot of $1250 when five of them line up. And second, it appears in stacks during free spins and acts in a manner similar to how high symbols behave in the base game when they are stacked on the first reel.
A purple starfish resting on the bottom is a scatter and the most fruitful symbol if you manage to get five of them in any position, in which case the winning will be x100 times your total bet or $12,500 at max. Three or more scatters activate a free spin round.
Free spins
The number of triggering scatters is of no importance, since you always receive 15 free spins. This feature is your fair opportunity to scoop a truckload of money thanks to expanding wilds. Furthermore, free spins can be re-triggered and earn you a lot of extra coins.