Oh, ladybugs, how adorable! These charming little residents of the garden have been celebrated by developer Pragmatic Play in their own online slot game titled “Ladybug Luck.” However, it’s worth noting that Ladybug Luck is essentially a clone of another Pragmatic Play slot, “Wild Hop & Drop,” which, ironically, borrowed ideas from Push Gaming’s “Fat Rabbit.” In the world of online gambling, ideas seem to swirl around, emerge, re-emerge, and transform.
But hey, if you’re going to borrow someone else’s idea, it’s a good idea to choose a great one. So, for those looking for some lively and wild action in free spins with an adorable ladybug character, let’s dive right in.
Just like “Wild Hop & Drop,” Ladybug Luck features bright and cheerful visuals set in a natural environment dominated by green colors. You’ll find what looks like a Smurf mushroom house on one side of the screen, while on the opposite side, a golden ladybug adds to the game’s theme. This ladybug character hovers around, holding a flower parasol, adding a whimsical touch to the game. The music complements the visuals, creating an outdoor atmosphere that’s as cheerful as it gets.
As a reskinned slot game, Ladybug Luck shares a set of familiar statistics, including a default RTP of 96.46% and a high volatility rating (5 out of 5). Players can choose bets ranging from 20 pence/cents to £/€100, and there’s an option to buy free spins at a cost of 100 times the bet. When purchasing free spins, the return value increases slightly to 96.47%. The gameplay involves spinning the reels, which drop symbols onto a 6×6 gaming grid. Wins are created when clusters of 6 or more identical symbols land next to each other either horizontally or vertically connected.
The lower-paying symbols in Ladybug Luck include Dotty J to A card ranks, while the higher-paying symbols consist of a trio of ladybug characters. Winning clusters in the game can reward players with payouts ranging from 0.5 to 4 times the bet for landing a 6-of-a-kind cluster, increasing to 20 to 200 times the bet for achieving a cluster size of 26 or more. Wild symbols have the ability to substitute for regular pay symbols to help create winning clusters. In the base game, wilds can appear as 1×1, 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, or 6×6 symbols. If a wild symbol lands as a 6×6 symbol in the base game, it offers a substantial payout of 5,000 times the bet.
Ladybug Luck: Slot Features
In the base game of Ladybug Luck, aside from the randomly sized wild symbols, there are no additional features or bonuses. However, the game does offer a free spins round, which is triggered when a minimum of 4 bonus symbols land on the grid.
Free Spins
When players hit 4 or more scatter symbols in the base game of Ladybug Luck, they are awarded 6 free spins. These free spins begin with a 1×1 wild symbol that remains on the grid until the feature ends. On each free spin, the wild symbol moves to a random position on the grid. Scatter symbols that land during the free spins are collected as part of a progressive feature. For every 4th scatter symbol collected, 1-3 additional free spins are awarded, and the roaming wild symbol increases in size progressively from 1×1 to 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, and finally 6×6. An additional +1 free spin is added after reaching the last wild level. After the fourth progression, no more retriggers can occur.
It’s important to note that if the free spins feature was triggered with 5 scatter symbols, the round starts with 1 scatter symbol already collected. If the feature was triggered with 6 scatter symbols, then the round starts with 2 scatter symbols already collected.
When players choose to buy free spins, 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols will randomly land to trigger the round.
Ladybug Luck: Slot Verdict
Ladybug Luck, while not the most original slot game, can still provide an enjoyable experience, especially during the bonus round. The base game may have moments of dullness, with the occasional dead spin, but the randomly sized wild symbols and larger regular cluster wins can bring some excitement. The elusive 6×6 wild symbol in the base game can lead to significant wins when it appears.
The real thrill in Ladybug Luck comes from the bonus round, where the growing roaming wild symbol can create exciting opportunities for larger clusters and bigger wins. However, it’s essential to note that the game’s maximum payout is capped at 5,000x the bet, which limits the potential for massive wins.
While Ladybug Luck may lack originality and borrow ideas from other slots like Fat Rabbit, it can still deliver entertaining moments. Pragmatic Play may not have aimed for groundbreaking innovation with this game, but it can provide players with enjoyable gameplay and the potential for exciting wins.