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Merlin’s Mania
Wed Dec 18, 2024
Merlyn, the fabled wizard, seems to be an increasingly common sight in online slots, popping up time and again to add a smidgen of magic dust. Play’n GO has often placed this mystical figure in its Arthurian-themed games, but they’re not alone in being inspired by the wizard’s magic. Bullshark Games is a studio working in collaboration with Hacksaw Gaming, and they, too, fell in love with the charms of this wizard. They introduced him to the readers in Merlin’s Alchemy and brought him back for another spellbinding experience in Merlin’s Mania.
Overview
When you open Merlin’s Mania, you are transported into some sort of moody, dark room. There, outside the grid, stands Merlin, laced up, holding a spellbook in one hand and a bottle of potion in the other. It is mystical, with just that hint of mystery. Although the features are well known for those who have played Merlin’s Alchemy, there is still magic to be discovered here.
The game plays on a 6×5 grid. It uses the scatter-pays system, whereby the winning symbols pop up anywhere in view so long as eight or more of a kind appear. When a win lands, the successful symbols disappear and new ones cascade down to fill the gaps. Repeat until no more wins are in view. A medium volatility model props up the gameplay from behind the scenes. Bets range from 10 cents to $100, while the default RTP is 96.31%.
From 8 matching symbols to wins of 0.4 to 2 times your bet, this rises significantly at 19 or more matching symbols, with a reward of between 50 and 400 times your wager. Of course, there are also wilds in the mix that substitute for any regular symbol to boost your wins. Whenever one of them forms part of a win, the wild disappears alongside the other symbols, or if at the end the grid has only just wilds, they form the payoff as though they were top-paying.
Mystery Symbols: What They Bring to the Game
With every spin, 2 to 30 mystery symbols can appear on the reels, each hiding a surprise. In the base game, these symbols can reveal one of the following:
- Any Regular Paying Symbol: Just the standard symbols you’d expect for payouts.
- Adder Wilds: This special symbol increases the Global Multiplier by 1 to 100 before any win evaluation, substitutes for paying symbols, and disappears after being part of a winning combination.
- Activator Wild: When this lands, it applies the Global Multiplier to any wins it’s part of and substitutes for paying symbols. If there’s more than one Activator Wild—or its sticky version—on the reels, each adds its value to the multiplier. Like the Adder Wild, these are also removed once they help form a win.
- Regular Wild: The classic wild symbol that steps in to complete winning combinations.
During the free spins feature, mystery symbols can reveal sticky activator wilds, which work like regular activator wilds but remain locked for the whole free spins feature, providing more and more chances of big wins.
Global Multiplier
The Global Multiplier starts at x1 and is reset with each new spin during the base game. During the free spins round, however, it’s progressive, meaning it just keeps building up until that feature is over, making it a key element for racking up those larger payouts.
This is Merlin’s Mania
The interesting thing about Merlin’s Mania is how closely it follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Merlin’s Alchemy. The gameplay follows a familiar pattern: land scatter wins, trigger cascades, and use mystery symbols to unleash wilds, boost the global multiplier, and build it up. Anyone hoping for a big departure from the original or a fresh twist in features might feel a bit let down. That said, the game still has plenty of magical moments, offering solid entertainment with the mechanics it brings to the table.
One of the standout features of Merlin’s Mania is the amount of wilds it introduces. Many scatter-based slots prefer to avoid such wilds; this game genuinely embraces them. All the way from the ordinary wilds right through the more exciting-to-encounter Adder and Activator Wilds, each adds an extra layer. The last two mentioned truly take centre stage by being directly related to that all-important Global Multiplier system.
One of the main differences in Merlin’s Mania is how the global multiplier works. Whereas Merlin’s Alchemy allowed both values and multipliers to be added, here it’s purely about adding values to the multiplier. On the plus side, there’s an additional higher-tier bonus round where the multiplier starts at x5, combined with a higher maximum win of 12,000x the bet. This shows evolution rather than revolution, in a slow and iterative manner.
In the end, Merlin’s Mania is a good scatter-pays game, but it doesn’t really go far enough from its predecessor to make it that much different. It is an entertaining slot, though maybe not so exciting for those players who seek something really new.
