Carnaval Jackpot Slot Machine: Review & Demo
One of the many collaborations that Microgaming has used in recent years to strengthen their portfolio, Carnaval Jackpot was built for them by Pulse 8 Studios. The theme of choice is the Brazilian carnival, the world’s biggest, happening in Rio de Janeiro each year. It’s following in the footsteps of a 2015 slot, adding better graphics and some features to it, but it’s going to have some downsides compared to the original as well. More on what those are below.
9 lines, present over 5x3 reels, will deliver excellent wins of up to 5,000 coins on each line. Its major features, which include wilds, scatters and Jackpot Respins, can bring up to 4,000x the stake as well. You’re looking at a game whose volatility is likely a Medium, while its long-term Returns are expected to be 96.04%.
Carnaval Jackpot Betting and Prizes
For this particular slot machine, which has to activate 9 lines, there are 9 coins in use, and they are each worth between $0.03 and $6. As all coins need to be used, the range for a spin is between $0.27 and $54.
By the looks of it, it’s a 4,000x jackpot that you’re aiming for in Carnaval Jackpot. Use the Jackpot Respins to get there, but know that individual combinations from the base game can also be quite valuable, offering as much as 5,000 coins for a full combo (Carnaval Logo is top symbol).
A Medium volatility rating, which is higher than the one from the first slot of the series, tells us that the game is riskier to play, while its RTP is lower (96.04% vs 96.94% of the original).
Slot Features
Recognizing the Wild symbol on the reels is going to be easy. It’s sporting its own logo, and it’s surrounded by feathers, so it’s designed to stand out. If it ends up landing on an active line, and there are enough regular symbols next to it, together they can form a new combo, and get you paid. It’s helpful as a substitute, but it still needs to meet the requirements for a combo, to be of any use to you.
One more major symbol is used, a scatter which will get you access to the Jackpot Respins. Whenever there are 3 or more symbols with the Scatter logo visible, you get access to this feature. It starts by making the triggering scatters sticky. Next, you go through 3 respins, which reset whenever you get new scatter symbols to land. It’s not as difficult as you might believe, since only scatters and blank positions are used in this mode.
Get to the end of the feature, which either happens by running out of respins or by filling all 15 positions, and you get prizes from each of those scatters that you’ve collected. 4,000x the stake is the highest prize, paid for filling the reels.
Theme & Design
The Rio de Janeiro carnival is the star of Carnaval Jackpot. Lots of good music and Samba dancing, beautiful women and costumes, there are all the usual visuals for you to check out. It’s an improved version of the 2015 slot, with modern graphics, but otherwise the symbols are the same ones.
Among the symbols which were used, you will find three different logos (for wild, scatter and game name), along with dancers, clowns, a flag, music instruments, and the 10 to A Royal logos.
Conclusion
Carnaval Jackpot slot looks colorful, has a bit more volatility and decent potential, but the decrease in RTP is one aspect that I’m not a fan of in this sequel.
