Christmas Catch: Slot Overview
It’s common knowledge that children adore Christmas, and why wouldn’t they, given the gifts, delicious food, and family festivities, for those fortunate enough to experience it. Interestingly, casino game developers also seem to share the holiday excitement. Supporting this notion is the release of another Christmas-themed gambling game titled Christmas Catch. Designed by the Australian-based studio Big Time Gaming, Christmas Catch is a festive adaptation of its fishing slot, Golden Catch.
While Golden Catch unfolded at sea, Christmas Catch takes a land-based approach. The game grid is situated within a brick-built structure adorned with neon lights spelling out ‘Santa’s Workshop’ over a wreathed doorway. Flashing lights frame the reels, and on the rooftop, reindeer-drawn Sleighs stand by for later use in collecting cash prizes. To enhance the holiday atmosphere, the background resonates with the festive tunes of Jingle Bells, providing the final touch to make Christmas Catch delightfully Christmassy.
Upon closer inspection, the main numerical distinction between Christmas Catch and Golden Catch lies in the extended range of betting options, now ranging from 20 cents to a maximum of $/€30 per spin. The core elements remain consistent, featuring a familiar RTP of 96.53% derived from a highly volatile mathematical model. Employing the Megaways mechanic, the active grid comprises 6 reels, each displaying 2 to 7 symbols per spin, resulting in a dynamic range of ways to win peaking at 117,649.
Triggering a win involves landing matching symbols consecutively from the initial reel across adjacent reels, activating the reaction mechanic. This mechanism clears all winning symbols from the reels, allowing symbols to cascade from above to fill the vacated spaces. Following each reaction, any visible Sleigh above the second reel is removed, while any other Sleigh shifts one reel to the left. Standard payouts feature 9-A card royals as lower values and 4 socks/stockings as premium symbols. Achieving a 6-of-a-kind winning combination yields rewards ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 times the bet for card royals or 0.6 to 50 times the bet for socks. The wild symbol, positioned on reels 2 to 5 in Christmas Catch, functions as a versatile substitute for all symbols except the scatter.
Christmas Catch: Slot Features
Now, turning our attention to the game’s features, it encompasses an array of elements including Sleighs, Gift Bonus Prizes, free spins featuring an unrestricted Sleigh multiplier, and the Win Exchange.
Sleighs and the Gift Bonuses
With every spin or reaction, a Sleigh has the potential to emerge above reels 2 to 5. As winning symbols are cleared, one or more Gift Bonus Prizes may materialize. These prizes are granted for each Sleigh, regardless of its position. The value of Gift Bonus Prizes can reach up to 500 times the bet, contingent upon the number of symbols on the respective reel.
Free Spins
Securing 3 Christmas pudding scatters during the base game triggers the reward of 10 free spins, with an additional +2 free spins granted for each extra scatter visible beyond the third. In the free spins round, the multiplier for the first Sleigh that lands is x1, and subsequent Sleights increase in multiplier value (e.g., x2 for the second Sleigh). Gift Bonus Prizes are subject to multiplication by all the in-view Sleigh Multipliers.
Furthermore, landing 3 scatter symbols not only provides an extra +4 free spins, but players also receive 2 supplementary free spins for each scatter beyond the initial 3. This adds an extra layer of excitement and potential rewards to the free spins feature.
Win Exchange
An inclusion commonly found in BTG (Big Time Gaming) offerings, the Win Exchange provides players with alternative avenues to access the free spins round. One method involves achieving a win equivalent to or surpassing 100 times the stake, allowing players the choice to exchange this amount for an immediate 10 free spins. The second option comes into play when winnings fall within the range of 25 to 100 times the stake. In this scenario, players have the opportunity to wager the amount on a gamble wheel, with the potential to secure 10 free spins as the prize.
Christmas Catch: Slot Verdict
Situated in the expansive landscapes of Australia, the team at Big Time Gaming finds themselves celebrating Christmas under the warm summer sun, a stark contrast to the Northern Hemisphere’s wintry scenes. While countries up north brace against the cold with wind, rain, and snow, the Aussie locals indulge in the stereotypical activities of barbecues and beach outings. Acknowledging the clichés, it might have been intriguing if the team had crafted a Christmas slot with a unique twist, departing from the conventional snowy holiday theme seen in Christmas Catch. However, given the game’s setting outside Santa’s Workshop, the snow-covered brick building aligns logically with the traditional Christmas imagery.
In terms of gameplay, Christmas Catch closely resembles its counterpart, Golden Catch, offering moments of both generosity and teasing. Gift Bonus Prizes occasionally manifest even when no Sleigh is in sight, leading to suspenseful moments that may end without any significant impact. The game introduces near misses and occasional misses, where an abundance of Gifts might appear, remain uncollected, and then a Sleigh lands on the very next spin. Despite the twists and turns, the base game allows for cash collection, a feature not always present in fishing slots with a money symbol collect mechanic, which often remains dormant until the free spin trigger.
Christmas Catch boasts a noteworthy base game maximum exposure of 10,550 times the bet, surpassing many other fishing slots and cash-collecting games. Once the free spins are activated, the winning potential skyrockets to an impressive 31,430 times the bet, solidifying its position as one of the more lucrative Christmas-themed slots available.
While Christmas Catch may not always deliver sweetness and charm, its combination of escalating multiplier values in free spins, retrigger opportunities, and Gift Bonus Prize collections holds the potential to generate substantial joy for fortunate players.