The wombat says: Ahh, Xmas in ‘Straya: beach barbies on Christmas Eve, Santa coming into town on a surf board and in-between cold beers under the sun. Well, at least that’s the version the tourism board of Australia would like you to believe. In my experience, it’s more like scorpions in your stockings, a jellyfish bite & funnel spiders hiding under your plum pudding on Boxing Day. So for me Christmas is the season for hiding out at home and treating myself to a festive slot.
The ol’ beardy fella has just got back from starring in the Secret Santa slot machine– but there’s no rest for Nicky Boy! There’s a new slot in town and it’s called Santa’s Wild Ride…
Look and Feel
This Xmas-themed slot is from Microgaming- the designers behind the Jewels of the Orient slot, Hot as Hades and Santa Paws. This time around, Father Christmas has turned into big bad biker. Apparently Rudolf and his other buddies have been sent into retirement, and all that biker Santa needs now is a full tank, his shades and off he zooms into the holy night. So you better watch out, you better not cry – because biker Santa detests wussies!
Your reels are set on a background of a snowy landscape, with a full moon and a starry sky. An off-beat christmas tune with carols galore adds to the festive atmosphere.
Game Play
Santa’s Wild Ride sounds like the old bearded guy turned up at the Ladies Nite slot but it’s more festive than that. The game features 5 reels and is a ‘243 ways to win’ slot. In this game you can win as long as matching symbols appear on adjacent reels.
The highest paying symbol on the reels is the bearded present giver himself. Then there is a juicy sandwich and a pitcher of beer, as delivering presents is hard and apparently also very thirsty work. You’ll also find a north pole sign, Santa’s mechanic elf and also Santa’s female helper aka his personal hot biker babe. As in most Microgaming slots, the game logo acts as Wild and every time it lands on a reel, you’ll see Santa zooming across it, full throttle. And finally there are keys to Santa’s precious hog, which act as Scatters and which also unlock the free spin round.
Free Spins Bonus Game
Being the biker dude he is, Santa had one festive pitcher of Yule beer too many and has now lost his keys for his two-wheeled sleigh. If you can find them, our white-bearded motorbike enthusiast will express his gratitude by dishing out Free Spins.
So whenever a player lands 3x or more of the Scatter blitzin” key symbol, it will trigger a round of 25x free games. And as an extra treat you also get to choose between 3 bonus features – all based on variations of the Wild symbols. The options are Stacked Wilds, Expanding Wilds, or Trailing Wilds (hence the slot’s title).
And as you are now officially in the good books of Santa, all winnings during the bonus round will be multiplied by two! Merry Christmas!
Conclusion
Santa’s Wild Ride is a really fun game with a not-so-serious take on the festive season. Highly recommended, not just for the good kids among you. This an extremely entertaining game, but my wombat slot sense also tells me that the payout rate is in the upper region, too! So there’s a good chance for you to really clean up nicely, and isn’t that what Christmas always has been about Wombat Fans?!
Wombat Score: 5/5
This game is no longer available at Wombat Casino – sorry about that!