Santa’s Reel Wheel Slots

Having learned the lesson from the last year’s Swindle All The Way, a Christmas-themed slot game that garnered lukewarm reviews, being basically a refurbished version of Cash Bandits 2, RealTime Gaming decided to go with something original for this year’s holiday season.

Slot machines and originality generally don’t go together well, but Santa’s Reel Wheel by RealTime Gaming begs to differ. It features a curious progression system where more of the playing board becomes available as you make it to a new level, up to three active reels. On top of that, there’s a Wheel-of-Fortune sort of thing that we shall put under scrutiny in its due time, so stay tuned!

Game Design

While there are no Santas to be found anywhere in the game, the decorations look cute and festive - just the right thing for a relaxed evening session. Typically for RTG, the game is not overloaded with flashy animations, allowing for a smooth experience even on obsolete devices. Of course, in addition to that, you get obligatory Christmas-style symbols and a simple piece of music that we found a tad bit repetitive but not obnoxious.

Basic Rules

The gameplay is, without a doubt, among the game’s highlights. The variety on the seemingly small board is stunning - for instance, the scatters do not only serve as Free Game triggers but have three more dedicated functions, including a Fireworks mode - basically, a game within a game. While this mode is active, you can win a Grand Bonus that multiplies your bet a thousandfold if you cover all the reels with Fireworks (the scatter symbol).

In-Game Extras

Your top goal in the game is to progress through all three levels as fast as possible since only on level 3 you get to spin the Bonus Wheel. It has instant rewards and an Advance feature that triggers the Fireworks mode, described above, or Free Games, which are mechanics-wise not too different from what you’ll see in other RTG titles. Choosing between these two can dramatically influence your chance to grab the top award of 50 thousand times the bet, so you should approach it strategically and practice playing the game for free.

Parting Shot

We believe this Santa’s Reel Wheel slot review will soon be joined by many other favorable comments online - with this title, RTG has proven they still got what it takes to produce a genuinely captivating slot machine. Any player, experienced or not, will surely appreciate how different it feels compared to almost everything RTG has churned out previously, and we at Las Atlantis were unanimous in dubbing Santa’s Reel Wheel a solid nominee for the game of the year.