Gemscapades Slots
Gemscapades is a 5-reel video slot from the reputable online gaming platform Betsoft. With 10 completely configurable paylines and a wide betting range, the gem-themed casino slot should suit a number of gamers, whether you like to play in short bursts or over the long haul, whether you prefer high stakes or low.
Featuring several varicoloured glittering gems, Gemscapades is an old-school slot game, although that’s not to say there aren’t some modern twists. For example, the title is one of the few ‘both ways pay’ slots on the market. This means gamers can form winning combinations from right to left as well as left to right. As such, users can expect more frequent wins. But what else is there to like about Gemscapades? Let’s delve a little deeper…
Betting range
As stated, Gemscapades features a wide betting range. Indeed, the coin values stretch from 0.02 to 1.00, and you can stake between one and 10 coins per line. At max bet, therefore, you can wager 100 credits per spin of the reels. You can also bet as little as one credit per spin.
Visuals
Gemscapades is quite a simple looking game. The title appears at the top of the screen and light shimmers in the purplish background. There are five reels separated by a golden strip, and numbers running up the sides which represent the number of paylines in play. At the bottom of the screen, there are controls to regulate your coin value, number of paylines, bet-per-line and also a spin button. In the top left-hand corner, you can regulate the game settings, toggling the game audio, animations and quality.
Gems, gems everywhere
There are no less than eight symbols in Gemscapades, most of them being – wait for it – gems! Indeed, there is a refreshing lack of playing card icons in this game. In addition to gems, there is a number 7, which appears as part of a complex circular design, and a Gem Flower. There’s also a BAR logo. In terms of gems, there is a red ruby, a blue crystal, a golden diamond, a pink gemstone and an emerald-green gem. The sound effects are also pretty cool: not the generic casino slot effects, but a dramatic, atmospheric soundtrack. When the gems fall into place, they do so with an audible clink, like a diamond falling into a zinc bucket.
There’s a lot to like about the game. Animations wise, we like the shooting comet graphic which connotes your wins. It’s a nice touch. The winning symbols also loom out of the reels until you press ‘Spin’ once more.
At max bet, the jackpot in Gemscapades is 2,500. You’ll win this sum if you manage to find five BAR icons on the grid. For four, it’s still 2,000 and for three, it’s 500.
Other high-paying symbols include the 7, which furnishes your pockets with 1,200 for five, 600 for four or 250 for three. The golden gem pays 600 for five, 250 for four and 100 for three. Next best is the green gem (500/200/80), followed by the red (400/150/70) and then the blue (250/100/50), the latter of which features identical pay-values to the pink gem.
Disappointingly, there is no bonus round in Gemscapades. Instead, there is an expanding wild, which crops up on the middle three reels. The elongating wild expands to fill the entire reel, and since this is a ‘both ways pay’ slot, that means an even greater number of chances to win cash prizes. The wild symbol is the Gem Flower, and as well as expanding, it serves to trigger a free spin, which can be re-triggered if a wild symbol appears on an additional reel.
Players eagerly looking for a scatter will be disappointed. Most five-reelers feature a scatter, which engenders free spins bonuses, but this isn’t one of them. As stated, the wild can provide a free spin, but it’s just that – a single free spin. On the plus side, at least it re-triggers.
Gem of a game?
Gemscapades is a solid offering from Betsoft, but let’s face it, it’s not going to rock your world. The pay values are reasonable but hardly eye-popping, and the lack of a scatter is quite disappointing. Ten paylines is also rather modest, so if you’re hunting big game, you should probably take your business elsewhere. That being said, there are far worse slots out there than Gemscapades.
