Jewel in the Crown Slot Review

Many new slots rely on flashy graphics and animations in order to grab the attention of players. But other titles manage to keep gamblers coming back for more based entirely on their innovative gameplay features. Especially popular are those games that give players lots of choices, allowing them to customize how much they bet and the options they want to unlock on each spin.

A great example of this style of slots design in Jewel in the Crown. This Barcrest game might not seem like much at first glance, but this is a feature rich game that puts a lot of control in the hands of each player. Not only can you customize how much you spend, potentially unlocking new features should you play for higher stakes, but you can also play a special version that essentially allows you to pay for the right to instantly ensure a bonus round.

A Treasure Fit for a King

Jewel in the Crown is a five-reel, 13-line slot machine that can be found at online casinos featuring games from Barcrest. The number of lines might seem a bit odd, but that’s largely due to the unusual format of the screen. While the middle reels have three symbol positions, the first and last columns have a fourth, outlined in blue and red crowns respectively. Three of the game’s paylines use these positions, which is why this game describes itself as a 10+3 line machine.

The object of the game, like most slots, is to match symbols from left to right across the reels. Generally speaking, these matches need to start on the first reel and follow consecutively from there. However, if you wager a total of £2 (or the equivalent in your local currency) or more on each spin, you’ll unlock the ability to win with any adjacent reels, meaning you can potentially start a winning combination on the second or third reel.

As in many slots, the winnings start with a series of card rank symbols, ranging from tens up through kings and aces. As the name of the game suggests, you can win bigger prizes by matching green, red, and blue jewels, with the blue variety offering up the biggest prizes.

There is also a wild symbol that can substitute for any of the normal icons you’ll find on the screen. Not only can this help you make winning combinations, but it can potentially grant you prizes on its own, as five-of-a-kind will give you earnings equal to five blue jewels.

A Crowning Achievement

There’s one other symbol that you might run into during gameplay. These are the crowns, which act as a scatter. Hit three of these on the same spin, and you’ll earn eight free spins. These come with a couple bonuses that are related to those two crowns atop the first and last reels. The symbol found in the blue crown on the triggering spin will become wild throughout the bonus feature, while the icon in the red position will become “mega stacked” during the feature.

It is possible to retrigger additional free plays during this bonus round. A single scatter awards one additional spin, two offers you three bonus plays, and three crowns will earn you eight more spins.

The Big Game

Jewel in the Crown also has an additional game mode that offers up some more options to players. This is known as the Big Bet feature, and comes in three options: ones that cost 20 units, 30 units, or 50 units in the currency you’re playing in.

Each of these games will give you five “big bet spins” that use a fixed payout paytable and offer you various bonuses (with all other rules, including the ability to reach the free spins round, being the same as in normal play). If you play the least-expensive version, you’ll start with the Crowning Glory Trail, a feature that puts a trail of six crowns at the top of the screen. Each time that you hit a scatter during your spins, it will start to fill this area. Make it to the fifth position, and you’ll earn a bonus spin; make it to the sixth, and you’ll earn a full 8 additional plays.

Move on up to the 30 unit version of this feature, and you’ll add jewel stacks. This means that all stacked symbol groups on the machine will be filled with jewels, giving you a much better chance to score a big win. Finally, playing the highest version of the game keeps the stacks but also upgrades you to the Super Crowning Glory Trail: now, the fifth scatter will earn you 8 added spins, and a sixth can earn you 16 more.

Once you’ve played through your Big Bet spins and any bonuses you’ve triggered, you’ll return to the selection screen. You can then play the same game, change the Big Bet level, or go back to normal gameplay.

A Slot Fit for Royalty

Jewel in the Crown is one of the iconic Barcrest games, and it is easy to see why it has delighted players at a number of prominent casinos. The many different gameplay modes offers up plenty of variety, and the Big Bet option is a unique way of letting players get right into the meat of the action without having to find the right symbols to trigger a special feature.

As we mentioned right at the top, you won’t find fancy graphics or complex bonus rounds in this game, but in a way, that’s a credit to this title’s design. Despite the fact that that there’s only the one free spins bonus round, Barcrest has found ways to add variety and replay value to their creation without making things overcomplicated. If you enjoy classic slots action with just a few twists and plenty of optional added features, this might just be the machine you’ve been looking for.