Reel Gems from Microgaming: Slot Review - so many gems to choose from!

This game is all about a treasure chest full of colourful jewels. It features a range of sparkling jewellery from diamonds, rubies, emeralds through to sapphires and opals. If you like sparkling jewellery and precious gems then you are in for a real treat with this slot! It is a very glamorous looking game and was one of the first slots made by Microgaming to introduce the respin feature.

The slot has 5 reels with 243 ways to win and comes with free spins and respins.

Special Features

The first feature I encountered while playing this slot was the Scatter symbol and this is depicted by a sparkling diamond ring. It substitutes for all symbols except the Wild symbol and if you land 3 or more of these symbols anywhere across the reels then you will trigger the Free Spins feature. In this game, you will be awarded 15 Free Spins and all wins landed in this feature will be tripled. This greatly enhances your chances of a big payout so make sure to make each Free Spin count!

The Wild symbol is illustrated by a Reel Gems logo with a red background and this symbol only appears on reels 2 and 4. It substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter symbol.

The last feature to highlight is the Respin mode, after each spin, you have the option to respin one of the reels while the other reels stay stationary. There is a Respin button below each reel in order to do this. It is possible to respin different reels but you can only respin reels that are set within the same betting parameters as each respin is charged at an extra cost. It is also worth noting that on a respin, only wins that involve a respun reel are paid out.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The graphics are a little dated when you compare this slot to more modern games but there is definitely a certain charm to it. It is all about elegance with this game and there is a beautiful velvet curtain adorning the background. The symbols are full of colour and detail and are an assortment of exquisite gems as well as your standard A, J, K, Q, 10, 9 icons. They run sleekly along the reels and dazzle brightly when you land a winning combination.

The music is very relaxing with some soft piano beats and it creates a rather mellow atmosphere as you play the game.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game has 243 ways to win, a nice RTP ranging between 96.52% and 97.49%, and a low maximum payout worth 480X your stake.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 1.25, 2.50, 3.75, 5.00, 6.25, 7.50, 10.00, 12.50, 15.00, 18.75, 20.00, 25.00, 50.00..125.00

• Silver Diamond Symbol: 10 for 2X, 40 for 3X, 400 for 4X, 4,000 for 5X
• Red Ruby Symbol: 5 for 2X, 25 for 3X, 250 for 4X, 2,500 for 5X
• Green Emerald Symbol: 20 for 3X, 200 for 4X, 2,000 for 5X
• Blue Sapphire Symbol: 15 for 3X, 150 for 4X, 1,000 for 5X
• Orange Topal Symbol: 10 for 3X, 100 for 4X, 500 for 5X
• Star Symbol: 15 for 3X, 40 for 4X, 80 for 5X
• A Symbol: 5 for 3X, 30 for 3X, 200 for 5X
• K Symbol: 5 for 3X, 30 for 4X, 200 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 4 for 3X, 20 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• J Symbol: 4 for 3X, 20 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 2 for 3X, 12 for 4X, 100 for 5X
• 9 Symbol: 2 for 3X, 12 for 4X, 100 for 5X

Our Verdict on Reel Gems

Reel Gems is produced by Microgaming and it's a gem of slot (pun intended!). Although the graphics are a little dated compared to more modern games, there is still plenty of fun to be had with this game. The Free Spins and Respins features certainly provided me with lots of entertainment. In particular, I liked how it was possible to retrigger the Free Spins game. The slot is of Low volatility so you won’t be expecting too long for a nice payout.

Sparkle brightly with Reel Gems!