The Haunted Carnival Slot Review
It’s Halloween all year round in Nucleus Gaming’s the Haunted Carnival. Travel to your local friendly circus to discover a 5 x 4 grid full of wonder and horrors. If a Halloween-themed slot title sounds exactly like what you’re looking for, then read on to see if the Haunted Carnival is for you.
Betting Stakes
Not only does the bet affect payouts, making the higher bets award more winnings, but the bet also determines how the background looks as well as another feature discussed later. The lowest stake possible is 10 cents, great for anyone on a budget. The highest bet possible is $40, still decently budget-friendly while allowing anyone who wants to spend a little more to do so.
The Haunted Carnival Jackpot Prizes
There are many symbols to look out for in the Haunted Carnival. The highest paying symbols are those with the carnival mascots on them, such as the pumpkin head, which pays 240x for 5 on a pay line.
The other mascots, the skeleton, mummy, witch, and clown, pay 80x for 5 in a row. There are also basic versions of these symbols that pay less. The pumpkin symbol pays 48x, while the bone, bandage, broom, and balloon symbols pay 32x, all for 5 on a pay line.
Special Features and Free Spins
The Haunted Carnival is filled to the brim with features. Every 10 spins, this title will cycle through “acts,” which are the ever-changing backgrounds and themes. These drastically affect the game, featuring specific performers (such as the clown or witch, etc.) and gradually building up to a grand finale on their final spin, before turning to the next random performer.
When the witch is the featured performer, every witch or broom symbol will be marked and remain marked until the final spin. On the final spin, all marked symbols will turn into wilds, which can substitute for any symbol except for the pumpkin head symbol.
The clown does something similar, turning all clown and balloon symbols into marked symbols that, on the final spin, transform into mystery boxes with a random symbol inside that can be anything except for a wild.
When the skeleton is the featured performer, any skeleton or bone symbols will increase a counter specific to this act by 1. For the grand finale, free spins will be awarded according to the number on the counter.
The counter cannot be increased once the free spins have begun. The mummy will have a multiplier on the side that increases with every bandage or mummy symbol landed. This multiplier is applied only on the grand finale spin.
While the pumpkin head does not have his own performance, he is able to aid each performer in unique ways. For the witch’s act, he will award 5 or more wilds anywhere on the reels. He picks 5 or more symbols on the reels to turn into mystery boxes in the clown’s act. For the skeleton, he immediately awards a random amount of re-spins, and for the mummy, he applies a large multiplier to whatever spin he just landed on.
Game Design
The Haunted Carnival is an incredibly flashy and gorgeous game, with an attention to detail like no other. Every performer has a unique background for their own act, as well as their own animations and added effects so unique you’d have to see it yourself. The subtle touches, such as what color the glow on the bottom of the screen is as well as the transition between performers, makes this game stand out.
Slot Summary
The Haunted Carnival is an incredible slot title full of features and an attention to detail worth witnessing at least once. This game has many features centered around phases, wilds, free spins, mystery symbols, multipliers, and more. No matter what you may be looking for in a slot game, the Haunted Carnival is worth a try.
