Magic Charms Slots
If you read our review of the similarly-titled Magic Boxes, you’ll know Microgaming went through a phase where they several thematic concepts at a wall at once to see which ones would stick.
This is certainly true of the software company’s Magic Charms slot as well. Is it Irish? Is it fairytale? Is it something else entirely? We’re honestly not really sure, but what we do know is that the game offers 243 ways to win across its 5 reels and is jam-packed with enough bonus features to keep even the most demanding of players entertained. Read on to find out more about what lies in store.
This charming slot
Given Magic Charms’ 243 ways to win are fixed at all times, the only buttons players need concern themselves with before each spin are the coin value and total number of coins. While these two configurations alone allow for plenty of scope on how you structure your bets, all you really need to know is that the game can be played from as little as ￡0.25 per spin up to a maximum bet of ￡50.
For that investment, players will have the chance to land a maximum regular payout of 600x their bet amount for matching five jackpot icons on consecutive reels, while there are also a number of smaller prizes on offer for matching any three-of-a-kind combination. These winnings can be further boosted by a Magic Wand wild symbol on the central reel, which doubles the value of any payline.
All winnings in Magic Charms can be gambled at the end of each spin in a picking mini-game, with players able to choose the colour of a card to double their bet and the correct suit to quadruple it. Should they guess incorrectly, however, they’ll forfeit their entire winnings from the previous spin.
A mixed bag
As we observed earlier, Magic Charms doesn’t really know what it wants to be in terms of theme and visuals. Though we’d say the slot is leaning slightly towards the fairytale genre, the presence of symbols like pots of gold at the end of a rainbow are more commonly found in Irish-themed titles.
Indeed, the symbols used across Magic Charms’ 5 reels are a bit of a mish-mash in general, with a red rose, a diamond ring and the standard Ace-through-Nine playing card symbols all also featuring. Additionally, there are a number of different wild icons present on individual reels in the game, with a frog, princess, treasure chest, key and magic wand all playing an important role in the bonuses.
The game is set to a background of giant toadstools to further muddy the waters, but at least the audio effects and animations are a bit more straightforward – namely because there are hardly any!
Variety is the spice of life
While we wouldn’t go so far as to call them bonus rounds, there are a number of cool features in Magic Charms that can help players significantly boost their winnings. Activated by landing certain unique symbols on specific reels, these can award free spins, cash prizes and several enhanced wilds.
The most traditional of these features is the free spins that are awarded whenever a frog icon appears on reel 2 and a princess symbol appears on reel 4. When landed, this awards players with three free spins, and while that number sounds a little miserly, the frog will turn into a prince and both he and the princess will expand to turn the entire reels wild, creating plenty of prize combos.
Next up there is a treasure chest symbol on reel 1 and a key symbol on reel 5. Whenever these two icons appear during the same spin, the treasure chest is unlocked to reveal an instant cash prize on top of any regular wins that may have been achieved during that game. Finally, a magic wand wild on the game’s central reel serves as a 2x multiplier, doubling any winning paylines that it features in.
Mushroom for improvement?
While the main draw of Magic Charms is its variety of bonus features, like the game’s central theme, the actual benefits to players are a bit all over the place. None of the three bonuses are especially rewarding and while the free spins can create some substantial winning combos, it is by no means a guarantee. This, coupled with the slot’s dated look, means Magic Charms largely misses the mark.
