To what extent is this of a gem of a slot?
It’s not often that Barcrest make a bad slot and that’s certainly the case here. Not only is this is a clean and sharp slot to look at but its high volatility and presence of the Big Bet feature, make it a thrilling one too.
Jewel in the Crown shines brightly
The Jewel in the Crown slot instantly created a debate amongst the G2G team. Long before I even started playing it, by the way.
Within a few seconds of hearing I had to review it, I started firing questions at the other members of G2G instigated simply by its name. Who’s the Jewel in the Crown (JITC) out of the national cricket team? What’s the JITC from amongst the American states? Which is the JITC of the burgers at McDonald’s? What’s the JITC across all Netflix shows? For the record, the consensus was: Sachin Tendulkar, California, the Big Mac and House of Cards.
Once we’d settled all those debates, I got on with playing the Jewel in the Crown slot. And the consensus about it can be found below…
Barcrest not WMS, even though Barcrest is owned by…
Well, here’s another topic of debate that just won’t go away. What happens when you have a slot making company that buys up other companies, as is the case with SG Interactive? They now own Bally, Barcrest and WMS. Should I treat the new Jewel in the Crown slot as being made by SG Interactive or Barcrest?
After much deliberation, a few tears, the odd bribe, a couple of raised voices and one incident of one colleague unfriending another on Facebook (the ultimate ‘diss’ in this day and age) I decided that the most important thing is the individual company who made it. The fact they were bought up by someone else is less important. It also makes it easier to compare slots made by the individual company with other releases of theirs. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s Jewel in the Crown by Barcrest.
In truth, it’s not often that Barcrest slots arrive at G2G. One exception was Hercules, which I liked some things about but not others. Other slots of theirs you can play at G2G include Wild Times and Moon Shadow.
As a reminder, Barcrest started life making fruit machines for English pubs before making the transition to online slots. And when they did that, they made sure that the mobile version of the game is always as good as the desktop one. That’s certainly the case here.
Luxury has taken over the reels
In addition to being an expression that roughly translates as ‘crème de la crème’ or ‘best of the best’, Jewel in the Crown was also a hit British TV series in the mid-80s. Ask your parents about it. I liked it.
It’s not rocket science as to why jewels often appear in slots. They’re a big feature of Starburst of course and Jewel Strike has plenty of them, as well. The clue is in the name.
It is of course because jewels are associated with riches, wealth and big wins, all of which could arise if you got really lucky playing a slot game. You don’t need to be a qualified shrink to work that one out.
Here, the red jewel is the most valuable symbol. Followed by the green jewel and then the high-value playing cards, followed by the low-value playing cards. There are two Wilds: one with the letters ‘Wild’ on it that only appears during free spins and a blue jewel with gold around it that appears in the base game and substitutes for all symbols except for the crown.
The crown (which inevitably has plenty of jewels in it, hence Jewel in the Crown) is the Scatter. It’s a pretty expensive looking item that wouldn’t look out of place on the head of any Queen. Say, Queen Elizabeth II. Or Queen Latifah. Or Taylor Swift, Queen of Pop and…Twitter.
The slot is a 5×3 reel game and to add to the sense of luxury, there’s a sort of red velvet curtain surrounding the reels. Which isn’t nearly as good as the G2G team’s favourite Friday afternoon treat: the red velvet cake. But anyway.
Jewel in the Crown Big Bet feature ups the ante
Let’s go through the features.
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR STAKE COOKED?
Two credits or over…or under two credits? Make it two or over. Playing at least two credits per spin means you’ll get adjacent wins in addition to ones from left to right and will benefit from bigger wins and a higher RTP (Return to Player). As far as I’m concerned, it’s as much of a no-brainer as X-Factor being better than Strictly Come Dancing. But the choice is there to play at the lower stakes if you wish.
FREE SPINS
Free spins are activated when you get the crown on reels 2,3 and 4. You’ll notice that above the reels at any given time there’s a blue crown (above Reel 1) and a red crown (above Reel 5. They’re there because whatever symbols end up there when you activate free spins become Wild (blue crown) and Mega Stacked (red crown) for the duration the free spins. In case you’re wondering, getting the same symbol in both places results in Mega Stacked Wilds during your free spins.
Initially, you get five free spins but you can re-trigger them by getting Crowns on those same Reels 2, 3 and 4 during the free spins. One Crown on each gets you one more Free Spin, two on each gets you three and three on each gets you a whopping eight additional free spins.
BIG BET FEATURE
This is textbook Barcrest. Most of their games feature this…feature. It’s a good way of breaking the occasional monotony of the base game and bringing into play the immediate chance of a huge win. At a cost, of course.
You can play the three types of this feature for 20, 30 or 50 Pounds/Euros. To choose the one you want, just adjust the stake on the right-hand side. You get five Big Bet spins on each of the three with the difference between them being what else you get. On the first level, you can activate 8 further free spins by getting six crown symbols during the free spins. On the second you also get jewel stacks and on the third, you get jewel stacks plus the possibility of re-activating 16 more free spins rather than the usual 8. Which is why it’s called the Super Crowning Glory trail.
Calling all high rollers…
If I was judging the new Jewel in the Crown slot without the presence of the Big Bet feature, it might just fall into the pile of online casino games which are fun for a bit but lack substance and longevity. The free spins are quite hard to trigger but can be very rewarding indeed when you get them so this must be defined as a relatively volatile slot.
And of course, the Big Bet feature IS there. That not only makes it a slot that will appeal to the high roller but gives the regular player a chance to boost the bank whenever they fancy it as long as they’re prepared to take a risk. The 500 INR option is a little rich for my blood but then again, I don’t have Royal blood like the owner of the Crown. Hence why it’s extra important to pick a casino who has a great welcome offer so that the big bet option feels less intimidating, look below to find the top casinos in India!
A decent effort from our friends at Barcrest, who rarely disappoint.