The Da Vinci Device

This game is no longer available at Monkey Casino. Sorry about that chaps! Why not have a spin on Da Vinci’s Mystery from Red Tiger Gaming instead? 

For those of you who love slots but don’t know your Mona Lisa from your Banksy, fear not! Leonardo Da Vinci is one of Renaissance Italy’s most famous artists and thinkers. But you don’t need to be an expert on the art and culture from the 14 and 1500s to know the value of a 243 ways to win game. Now those are digits we can all work with: I am sure even Leonardo would have agreed. That will give you an idea as to the volatility of this game which I would rank as medium, compared to other higher variance games like the Dead or Alive 2 slot with its 9 pay-lines.

There’s 1,600 times your wager on offer on this game for those who have touched the right bit of wood, thanks to Multiplier Wilds and more. The art world just got a whole lot more interesting, and I count myself as something of a collector. All of these bump up features are reminding me of the Return of Kong Megaways slot – except that one’s got a big ape in it. Definitely not as high brow.

The Graphics

A sketchbook provides the imaginative setting for this game and each of the reels is a canvas for one of Da Vinci’s marvelous inventions. You need to keep an eye on the ingenious devices populating the reels- all dreamt up by that chap with the head full of ideas – no, not me (although our IQs are probably similar 😉 ) – but, Signor Da Vinci, the Italian fellow.

Flanking the reels are Da Vinci-esque diagrams of wheels and cogs. The look of the reels might look simplistic but the content is anything but.

As you play you’ll hear some nice sound effects of the mechanical whirring of his amazing inventions. I’ll avoid taking a ride in his helicopter though!

The Da Vinci Device Slot Game Play

Like many smart slots, the inventive action on the Da Vinci Device slot offers you 243 ways to win over 5 reels and you can play on your desktop and all of your mobile devices of course. If you like the Ways to Win mechanic you should try the Voodoo Gold slot by the way, but I digress.

I sometimes play on my miniature spy camera, although it can be a bit fiddly. You are probably better off on a smartphone or tablet – there’s less chance of a fat finger bet.

The iconic drawing of a man spread-eagled as a portrait of the human body is the game’s Wild and Multiplier Wild icon. For the professors out there, you will probably know this symbol as the Vitruvian Man. And, because I know you’re rather a smart bunch, you’ll note that the different Multiplier Wilds each have a number between x2 and x4 overlaid on them -rather than the word “Wild.” Those are the multipliers of course.

Each reel is home to a single unique Scatter against a map of stellar constellations which trigger the Free Spins game. The first reel contains a silver drill. Reel 2 has something that looks like an exhaust pipe from a car (not quite like the one on my Aston Martin DB9.) You may also spot a telescope on the middle reel and on the fourth is a long cylinder with a handle. Finally, the fifth reel has a casket with a key as its special Scatter. Leonardo only knows what some of these inventions are and what they do.

A sketch of a globe is the top value icon, followed by a portrait of a long-haired Da Vinci. If you get 5 of these on an active pay-line, they will generate a 16 x your wager injection of lira (our euros, pounds or dollars).

And then there’s the world- famous Mona Lisa (I’ve know a few Monas in my time) with her enigmatic smile and those eyes that follow you around your laptop screen. Next up is a complex geometric sketch and an amulet.

The standard Ace through Jack of the card deck in classical letter shapes against Da Vinci style drawings are the lower value icons.

The Bonuses

Let’s talk a bit about the brainy bit. To get your hands on the big money on offer you have to form a “Cryptex”. Now I guess you want to know what that is. Well, I’m going to tell you. A cryptex is a miniature vault containing a message – when you trigger it you should see the word Free Spins. To hit the big time in this slot means landing a combination of between 3 and 5 of the reel-specific special Scatter icons on a single spin. You will enter the Free Spins game which offers you up to 16 free spins.

And just in case you were wondering if that was spicy enough for you, the Multiplier Wilds are in action in this mode. Get lucky and gain a double, triple or even a quadruple payout when these icons make part of your win.

Monkey Verdict

You don’t need to be a genius and famed artist like Da Vinci to make an impact on this game. This is a clever concept and it’s hard not to have your head turned by those Wild Multipliers which could land you 1,600 times your wager wins.

And a cryptex to boot? I love it. I mean what could be closer to a mission than to land and unlock the free spins game concealed within a code?

Score: 4 bananas

Da Vinci was a legend- he is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time, even though only 15 of his paintings have survived. The Da Vinci Device slot is up there with the best.