Beautiful Bones from Microgaming: Slot Review - a celebration of the dead

The Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos as it is known in Spanish is a famous Mexican holiday that is all about remembering loved ones who have passed away. The holiday kicks off at the end of October and lasts for 3 days. Throughout these 3 days, people dress up in elaborate clothes complete with skull facepaint and bring the favourite foods and beverages of the departed to the graves of their loved ones and leave them as gifts. The holiday has become so popular now that it has spread throughout the world and become a whole new way of honouring the dead. Software developer Microgaming decided to release this slot to celebrate this hugely important holiday in Mexico.

The slot has 5 reels with 243 ways to win and comes with a Wild Spin Again Feature, Free Spins, Stacked Symbols, and Multipliers.

Special Features

The first thing I noticed while playing this slot is that it does not contain a traditional payline structure but instead features a massive 243 ways to win! This means that wins can be formed as long as there matching symbols in adjacent rows beginning from the left-hand side of the reels.

The Wild symbol is represented by a big colourful red heart and like standard Wild symbols, it substitutes for all other symbols except the Scatter to help form winning combinations. As you play the game, keep a close eye on the 3 female skull symbols as they will only show up on the 3 middle reels but the nice thing about these symbols is that they come fully stacked to further boost your winnings.

The Scatter symbol is illustrated by a very colourful white skull complete with flowers surrounding it. Every time this symbol pops up, you will fill up a meter that is located on the left-hand side of the reels. Once you have collected 10 symbols then you will trigger the Free Spins feature and you’ll receive 10 Free Spins and a 3X Multiplier. A neat feature of Free Spins is that you have the choice of triggering it or you can keep collecting more Scatter Symbols for even bigger bonus games. For example, if you collect 20 Scatter symbols then you will receive 15 Free Spins and a 4X multiplier but if you are patient enough to collect 30 symbols then you’ll be awarded 18 Free Spins and a lovely 5X Multiplier.

Theme and Graphics

The graphics are bright, full of colour, and a wonderful tribute to the Day of the Dead holiday. The background of the slot is filled with bright sparkling lights, colourful confetti, and a nice purple hue surrounds the reels. Symbols consist of various male and female characters wearing skull facepaint as well as the standard A- 10 icons. The animations are lively as symbols enlarge and spring into life when you form a win along the reels.

The music has a nice Latino flavour to it with lots of slow guitar strums. It suits the Mexican theme of the game really well.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game features 243 ways to win, a respectable RTP of 96.5%, and a maximum payout of 2,733X your original bet.

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: 0.30, 0.60, 0.90, 1.20, 1.50, 1.80, 2.10, 2.40, 2.70, 3.00, 3.30, 3.60, 4.20, 4.50, 4.80, 5.40, 6.00, 6.60, 7.50, 9.00, 10.50, 12.00, 13.50, 15.00, 18.00, 21.00, 24.00, 27.00, 30.00

Based on a bet of 0.30:

• Lady with Red Rose Symbol: 0.15 for 2X, 0.60 for 3X, 1.20 for 4X, 3.00 for 5X
• Lady with Yellow Rose Symbol: 0.15 for 2X, 0.60 for 3X, 1.20 for 4X, 3.00 for 5X
• Lady with Cards Symbol: 0.15 for 2X, 0.60 for 3X, 1.20 for 4X, 3.00 for 5X
• Man with Green Hat Symbol: 0.06 for 2X, 0.45 for 3X, 0.90 for 4X, 1.50 for 5X
• Man with Blue Hat Symbol: 0.06 for 2X, 0.45 for 3X, 0.90 for 3X, 1.50 for 5X
• A Symbol: 0.30 for 3X, 0.60 for 3X, 1.50 for 5X
• K Symbol: 0.30 for 3X, 0.60 for 4X, 1.50 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.45 for 4X, 1.20 for 5X
• J Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.45 for 4X, 1.20 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.30 for 4X, 1.00 for 5X
• 9 Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.30 for 4X, 1.00 for 5X

Our Verdict on Beautiful Bones

Microgaming produced this highly entertaining slot and it is a fantastic tribute to a very famous Mexican holiday. The game is a real visual treat for the eyes and it is super easy to just pick up and play. The main attraction of the game is the Free Spins feature and although it can take you some time to trigger this feature, it is well worth the wait as not only will you be awarded many Free Spins but also a nice multiplier ranging from 3X – 5X. I found this slot to be of Medium variance so you will find that payouts are nicely balanced the more you spin those reels.

Celebrate Día de Muertos in real style in Beautiful Bones!