Take Santa's Shop Slots
Every year, we can expect a reliable slew of new Christmassy slots to play. We have an excellent one for you here that is packed with potential. Take Santa's Shop may have an unusual title, but does that supply a clue to what you might see in the game itself? Let's find out.
Which developer created this game?
No doubt you have heard of Betsoft Gaming. If you know how good their slots are, you'll already feel confident of having another excellent one to play in this title.
Demo access supplied
It would be unusual for Betsoft to let us down and not give us a practice version to try. Fortunately, we've got the chance to try a demo for this new title.
You can work out the theme
Yes, we are in Christmas mode here for sure, although there are some surprising elements involved as you'll see.
Supported by a strong festive design
Whatever you think of when you think of Christmas, you'll find it in this game. Candy canes, wreaths shaped as letters and numbers, golden bells, gingerbread men… all this and more appears on the reels of this slot game.
How to play Take Santa's Shop
Once you get past the odd title, you'll see a 5 x 4 format in action in this game. No progressive jackpots are included, but there are ample prizes available inside the paytable.
The robber is a wild symbol, wearing a festive jumper and a Santa hat to suit the theme. Each appearance sees the robber replaced by a floating ornament bomb as the game continues. We'll cover this part of the game shortly. However, it's enough to know that the wild doesn't replace the scattered sleigh, which appears with a BONUS label on it.
Paylines in action
There is a generous quantity here, with 75 fixed paylines involved in the action.
Place those festive bets
Fixed bets range from 20 cents to $20 in this slot game. You can easily move through the amounts to find your ideal wager per spin by using the controls provided.
Check out the paytable
It's always good to do this before taking the slot game for its first spin - even in demo mode. Betsoft has done an excellent job of explaining everything and displaying the various icons in action on the reels.
Does the game have a bonus round?
Of sorts, yes, although it doesn't feature on another screen. Instead, you'll see all the ornament bombs that have collected on the reels during the 10 spins of the game detonating in one hit. You can see where you are in the count by looking at the ornament in the bottom right corner.
When all the wilds appear on the reels after that final spin, you can potentially pick up several prizes in one go. This happened to us a few times as we played. Once the wilds have paid out anything won, another set of 10 spins begin with the ornament bomb in place once again.
Free spins are available too
Find three scattered sleigh icons anywhere in the same spin and you can play through 15 free games. The ornament bomb doesn't work during these spins, so whichever number it is on stays in place.
Before the feature begins, the game reveals how many wilds you'll see on the reels for each spin. Five is the smallest number, but you could have seven or even 10 of them. We had five when we triggered the round, and that had a huge effect on winnings on each spin, so even the smallest quantity is cool!
When you complete your free spins (which you don't seem to be able to retrigger), you can resume the base game with your ornament bomb ticking down from its frozen position once more.
RTP details
You'd expect a good percentage from Betsoft and it turns out to be 96.08%, which is cool to see.
How much do we like this game?
It's festive, for sure, with a few twists to keep things interesting with this popular theme. If you've played their Take the Bank slot, you'll notice the countdown element in this one is identical to that.
The exploding wild element is a real highlight though, enough to earn this festive game 9/10.
What's the prize potential like?
The details of the game reveal you could net up to 359.7x your bet while playing the game.
Practice play makes it easier to understand how the game works
The game might sound more complex than it is. After a few spins, it's easy to see how the game pans out with those ornament bombs.
Switch to the real game at a Betsoft casino
Plenty of sites have the full collection of Betsoft games to look through. You'll find this new addition to check out too if you sign up to a participating casino.
Mobile access is a breeze
You can play Take Santa's Shop on Android and iOS if you prefer that to computer play.