Icy Gems from Just For The Win: Slot Review - snow me the money!

Winter is finally here and with the cold weather already upon us, leading software studio Just For The Win have appropriately released this new winter-inspired slot. Following on from the release of the smash-hit game Reel Talent, the company has gone off stage from a talent show featuring animal performers to transport players to a winter wonderland covered with hidden precious gems and diamonds. Join us as we step foot in the snow and explore the cold surroundings in the hopes of finding lots of cash prizes!

Icy Gems is a 5 reel slot with 20 paylines that includes Respins, Superspins and a Symbol Storage feature.

Special Features

The first feature to discuss is the obligatory Wild symbol which is represented by the letter ‘W’ with the “Wild” displayed in a yellow font. Similar to most Wilds, the main job of this symbol is to replace all other symbols to help form winning combinations on the reels. The most rewarding symbol in the game is the Icy Gems game logo as if you happen to land 5 of these symbols on an active payline then you will win a terrific payout worth 50X your wager!

Every time you form a win on the reels then you will activate the Symbol Storage feature. Once triggered, you will be awarded a Respin and winning symbols are then stored in a column displayed on the left-hand side of the reels. Symbols inside the Storage column cannot be removed during Respins and the only symbol that can’t be stored is the Wild Symbol. The Storage column is emptied if you land a non-winning Respin but if you manage to fill up the column with 3 Stored Symbols then you will trigger the Icy Gems Superspins Bonus Game.

The Superspins feature consists of 3 different stages with only stored symbols present on the reels. The stages trigger based on the symbols that were collected during Respins. For example, 3 different symbols will activate the Silver stage, 2 symbols of the same type and any other symbol will trigger the Gold stage, and 3 symbols of the same type will give you access to the Win Big stage. The most lucrative stage is, of course, the Win Big stage as only the matching symbol used to trigger it will appear on the reels to give you a guaranteed epic win! Wins collected during the Superspins feature are then added to the total win.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

To be fair, the graphics are fairly basic which is quite intentional as Just For The Win wants players to have a simple but exciting gaming experience that’s not upstaged by fancy graphics. The game takes place in front of a light blue background that features intricate snowflake patterns. Symbols are bright and colourful and consist of a range of different coloured diamonds and gems as well as your standard A – J icons. The animations are neat as symbols sparkle when part of a winning combination and are covered by a cool iceblock like effect when stored in the Symbol Storage column.

The music is bouncy and quite gentle with the odd gusty wind sound effect triggering every now and then. It complements the winter theme of the slot really well.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game has 20 paylines, a healthy RTP of 96.03%, and a maximum payout worth 1,215X your total 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 Per Line: 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, 0.50, 0.60, 0.80, 1.00, 1.50, 2.00, 2.50, 3.00, 4.00, 5.00, 6.00, 7.50, 8.00, 10.00, 12.50, 15.00, 20.00, 25.00, 30.00, 40.00, 50.00, 60.00, 80.00, 100.00

• Icy Gems Logo Symbol: 1.50 for 3X, 10.00 for 4X, 50.00 for 5X
• Blue Diamond Symbol: 1.20 for 3X, 6.00 for 4X, 15.00 for 3X
• Purple Gem Symbol: 1.00 for 3X, 5.00 for 4X, 12.00 for 5X
• Red Gem Symbol: 0.80 for 3X, 4.00 for 4X, 9.00 for 5X
• Green Gem Symbol: 0.70 for 3X, 3.50 for 4X, 7.50 for 5X
• A Symbol: 0.60 for 3X, 2.50 for 4X, 5.00 for 5X
• K Symbol: 0.50 for 3X, 2.00 for 4X, 4.50 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 0.40 for 3X, 1.50 for 4X, 4.00 for 5X
• J Symbol: 0.30 for 3X, 1.00 for 4X, 3.50 for 5X

Our Verdict on Icy Gems

This game comes from up-and-coming software studio Just For The Win in association with Microgaming and is a fun and simple game to enjoy over the cold winter season. It is quite similar to Reel Talent when it comes to features and mechanics which is a good thing I suppose but it would have been nice to see something extra here. The Symbol Storage feature provides plenty of entertainment and lots of cash prizes when you rack up a few Respins in a row. The main attraction of this slot is the Superspin feature which can take time to trigger but your patience is greatly rewarded especially when you make it to the Big Win stage where potential payouts can be massive. In terms of variance, I found this slot be High so don’t expect to land big wins right away and be sure to have plenty of bankroll too! For slots with a similar Winter theme, check out Yak, Yeti and Roll and Wolf Cub.

Collect lots of diamonds and gems to get lots of cold cash when you play Icy Gems!