Santa Slots
The online gaming world is flooded with Christmas-themed slots, and any such games need a unique atmosphere and cool features to stand out. Pragmatic Play is entering this crowded space with a Christmas-themed game that's simply entitled Santa.
Our main question is whether Pragmatic Play has done enough with this 5-reel, 20-payline game to separate itself from the pack. Let's find out by looking at Santa's atmosphere, features, and betting options.
Atmosphere and Symbols
It's a must that any Christmas slot have good graphics and atmosphere because there are so many similar games to compete with. The good news is that Santa does have both a good atmosphere and quality graphics.
You'll see snow-covered trees on both sides of the reels along with flurries falling from the sky. You'll also hear a nice Christmas jingle while you play the game.
Symbols include an elf, reindeer, bells, candy cane, A, K, Q, J, 10, Santa (wild), present (bonus), and a Christmas tree (free spins). Santa substitutes for everything except the bonus and scatter symbols to form wins. Note that Saint Nick only appears on reels 2, 3, and 4.
The symbol graphics are even better than the background because they feature richer colors. Overall, this is one of the best-looking Christmas slots that we've played.
Santa Slots Special Features - Open Presents in Bonus Round
You trigger a second-screen bonus round whenever you land three or more presents anywhere on the reels. This takes you to a screen where you'll see a stack of 12 presents. You continue selecting presents until you reveal a jackpot symbol, at which point the bonus ends and you collect your prizes.
Speaking of jackpots, these include the Grand, Major, Minor, and Mini Jackpots. The Grand Jackpot is seeded at 250 coins and is the biggest-available payout in the bonus.
One more feature is free spins, which are triggered by three or more Christmas trees anywhere on the reels. You receive 10 free games along with a 2x multiplier.
Another perk to free games besides the multiplier is stacked wild symbols. Santa can appear as a stacked wild in reels 2, 3, and 4.
Betting Options
The 20 paylines in Santa are fixed, but you can adjust your coin size and coins per line. Coin size can be changed from $0.01 to $0.50, while coins per line can be adjusted from 1-10. This makes the minimum bet worth $0.20 per spin, and the max worth $100 with all the options turned to the highest value.
Other options include autoplay, quick spin, and the ability to turn music and sound effects on/off. We found quick spin to be an interesting option because it allows you to speed up the game if you'd like to play faster.
Santa Slots RTP
Santa offers 95.92% payback, which is average for a modern online slot. And the paytable states that this game has medium volatility, meaning you'll win big and small payouts at a standard rate.
Final Thoughts on Santa Slots
Reviewing Christmas-themed slots isn't always the most-exciting thing to do. After all, there are literally hundreds of these games available. But Santa slots offers enough to create its own path in one of the most-crowded slots genres.
Everything begins with the atmosphere, which gives you a colorful and festive look while playing. Santa backs this up by offering three different jackpots, a second-screen bonus round, free spins, and stacked wild symbols. In summary, we definitely recommend that you add Santa into your holiday slots rotation.