Win-A-Beest

Wildebeests. Strange and cumbersome creatures, and sadly, slightly stupid too. All too often I have witnessed them ending up as a lion’s lunch…

Still, that hasn’t stopped Play’n Go from making them the subject of their latest exciting release that comes with wild multipliers, 2 sets of Free Spins and base game extras. Well they made the Bull in a China Shop slot machine as well, so I guess they like their beasts.

Let’s travel to Africa, with its great plains and Wildebeests, and have a spin on Win A Beest slot to see if we can’t stampede our way to wins. There a maximum win of 10,240x your bet on offer!

The Graphics

There are loads of safari-themed slots on the market, but Play’n GO have done a decent job in making this game stand out from its competitors. They’re those Swedish chaps behind top slots like Grim Muerto slot, Book of Dead, Moon Princess and Mafia Gold and lots more. You can play all their best games at Monkey Casino.

The background to your reels is the Serengeti or some such dusty plain. The landscape is arid as the sun beats down, but thankfully there are some Baobab trees to add some shade for all those overheated animals.

But, it’s the soundtrack that is my favourite bits on this game. It consists of some suitably epic music with the odd roar or stomp from different animals, depending on which one of them is contributing to the winning combination.

Win-A-Beest Slot Gameplay

Win-A-Beest slot is played on a 2-4-4-4-2 grid layout with 256 Ways to Win (so 13 more than the standard 5×3 set up like the combos you will see on Viking Pays from Inspired Gaming), and this even expands to 5×4 during bonuses. To form a winning combination, you need to match 3x or more symbols from left to right on adjacent reels.

Your wild reel icons all made up of a selection of creatures that you would find on a safari, including an elephant, a lion, a rhino and a leopard. Your lower value symbols are J, Q, K &A playing cards.

The angry-looking Wildebeest himself is the most lucrative icon the pay table and will give you 0.5, 1, 2 or 5 x your stake for 2, 3, 4 or 5 on a payline.

There are two Wilds in play in this slot; the standard Wild which will substitute for all other symbols to make up more winning combinations for you, plus a multiplier Wild that adds x2 on your wins!

Finally, the Scatter symbol is the savannah at sunset. If you land 3x or more of these mythical beasts, you will trigger the main free spins feature.

The Bonuses

Beest Mode

This nice little base game feature can be randomly triggered on any spin. Next, the grid will expand to a 5×4 layout for one single spin, and only the Wildebeest, Wild icons and Scatters will hit the grid. This means better payouts and more chances to trigger off the 2 Free Spins bonuses.

Beest Mode Spins

Hit 3x or more Scatters during Beest Mode and you will unleash Beest Mode Spins! Now get ready to spin like a Beest! You’ll now be awarded 4, 6 or 8 spins for 3x, 4x or 5x Scatters with Beest mode active on each spin. Huzzah!

Oh, and one last thing: the feature can be re-triggered an unlimited number of times.

Stampeding Spins

If you manage to land 3x or more Scatters during the base game, you’ll trigger the Stampeding Spins. 3x, 4x, or 5x Scatter icons will give you  8, 12 or 20 Free Spins respectively.

During this bonus, the reels will expand into a 5×4 grid giving you more ways to win, and Beest Mode will also be active. This can give you Beest Mode Spins within the Free Spins round, which (as you can imagine) has the potential to create some very nice payouts. As well as making you rather dizzy…

The Monkey Verdict

Play’n GO’s Win-A-Beest slot is an entertaining medium-variance game with some interesting play mechanics. If you’re lucky enough to land the 2x Wild Multiplier in either of the Free Spin bonuses, you’ll be very happy indeed.

All in all, this is one a safari trip you won’t want to miss.

4.5 out of 5 Bananas