The Nutcracker from iSoftBet: Slot Review - a fun and festive gaming experience!

With Christmas just around the corner, software developers everywhere are released holiday-themed slots to get in on the action. This new release from iSoftBet is another one to the add the mix as it’s based on the much-loved Christmas story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” which was written by E.TA. Hoffman way back in 1816! This classic fairy tale tells the story of a young girl called Marie and her favourite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, which comes to life after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle. Marie is then whisked off to a magical kingdom run by dolls and fairies. This story was so popular that it was adapted into a ballet which is now known the world over. Let’s see if we can defeat the Mouse King to earn a nice profit on the reels in this Christmas based online slot!

The Nutcracker is a 5 reel slot with 20 paylines and comes with Free Spins, Increasing Win Multipliers, and Stacked Wilds.

Special Features

To form a winning combination in this game, you will need to land 3 or more matching symbols on an active payline. The symbols are made up of Marie, the Mouse King, some Toys, and your typical A – 10 playing cards. Keep a close eye on the Mouse King symbol as it is the highest paying symbol in the game. Match 5 of these symbols on a payline and you will be rewarded with a fine payout worth 50X your initial wager.

The Wild symbol is represented by the title character which is a toy soldier called The Nutcracker. The main job of this symbol is to replace all other symbols apart from the Scatter to help form winning combinations on the reels. This symbol also comes stacked on the reels and if you land a fully stacked Wild on reel 3 then you will trigger the Nutcracker Gift Bonus. In this feature, you will get to choose from 4 different gifts to reveal 5, 7, 8, or 10 Nutcracker Free Spins. The fully stacked Wild will remain in place throughout the feature and on each Nutcracker Free Spin, winning symbols will lock into place and award a Free Respin. Respins continue until the win is no longer improved and a neat feature of Respins is that they do not decrease the remaining number of Nutcracker Free Spins.

The Scatter symbol is illustrated by an image of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Get 3 or more of these symbols on the reels to trigger the Fairy Free Spins feature. The more Scatters you land then the more Free Spins you will be awarded. 3 gives 10 Free Spins, 4 gives 20, and if you get 5 Scatters then you will receive a fine set of 30 Free Spins. If you land additional Scatters while in this feature then you will be awarded Extra Free Spins. For example, 1 will get you an Extra Free Spin, whereas 5 will get you 30 Free Spins which means you can receive up to 60 Free Spins in total. In addition to Extra Free Spins, if you land a fully stacked Wild on reel 3 then you will increase the win multiplier by 1. Incredibly, this can reach a high of 10X! One final thing to mention is that unfortunately, it is not possible to trigger the Nutcracker Free Spins while in the Fairy Free Spins feature.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The presentation of the game is second to none as it features a wonderfully constructed reel set made of gold and a nighttime background featuring lots of cute little snow-covered houses. It is quite effective as it is not over the top like other festive themed online slots which generally splash the screen with as much Christmas lights as possible! Symbols are superbly rendered onscreen and consist of Marie, a Train, a Teddy Bear, the Mouse King, the Nutcracker, as well as A – 10 icons. The animations are smooth as symbols drop into place on the reels and then enlarge and spring into life when part of a winning payline.

The music features lots of soft piano sounds and sleigh bell effects. It complements the Christmas theme of the game perfectly.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game features 20 paylines, a decent RTP of 95.97%, and a top maximum payout worth 5,000X your initial wager.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.20, 0.40, 1.00, 2.00, 4.00, 10.00, 20.00

• Mouse King Symbol: 30 for 3X, 100 for 4X, 500 for 5X
• Marie Symbol: 20 for 3X, 80 for 4X, 300 for 5X
• Toy Train Symbol: 15 for 3X, 60 for 4X, 200 for 5X
• Teddy bear Symbol: 10 for 3X, 50 for 4X, 150 for 5X
• A Symbol: 8 for 3X, 30 for 4X, 100 for 5X
• K Symbol: 7 for 3X, 20 for 4X, 80 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• J Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 5 for 3X, 10 for 4X, 50 for 5X

Our Verdict on The Nutcracker

Leading software producer iSoftBet produced this slot and it’s a very good adaptation of a classic Christmas story. The Nutcracker features outstanding visuals, an enchanting soundtrack, and a reasonable amount of bonus features. I was able to trigger the Nutcracker Gift Bonus feature on more than one occasion when playing and I nabbed quite a few cash prizes with the Respins in play. The Fairy Free Spins feature took longer to trigger but is definitely worth your patience as you can land up to 60 Free Spins as well as win a top prize of 5,000X your stake with the lucrative 10X multiplier here! Variance-wise, I found this slot to be Medium so it won’t take you too long to rack up a few big wins on the reels. For slots with a similar Christmas theme, check out Fat Santa and Ho Ho Tower.

Defeat the Mouse King to win massive cash prizes when you play The Nutcracker!