Sultan Strike: Hold & Win Slot Review

The Hoopoe is probably one of the most intelligent-looking birds nobody has ever heard of. Orange body, black-and-white barred wings and a high crowned, crested head which opens up when it wants to. 👑

Their primary defense mechanism doesn't have anything to do with the beak or the claws. Female nesting adults and chicks secrete a greasy oil from glands located near the base of the tail, and it smells of rotten meat. 🥩

They rub this foul-smelling substance over their own bodies and around the entry point of the nest to keep other animals away. 🤫 Chick Hoopoes will take care of the rest by dropping the liquid on top of whatever animal gets too close.

In other words, the bird in the fancy crown fights with rotten meat and airborne droppings. Not only does the Hoopoe have this fun defence strategy, it also appears in the Quran, reporting back to King Solomon about the Queen of Sheba’s kingdom.

In Sultan Strike: Hold & Win slot by Novomatic, instead of featuring the traditional falcon, it gives the spot to the Hoopoe.

Gameplay

You’ve arrived at a sunlit Arabian palace courtyard, with carved stone archways, sheer curtains, and brass lanterns hanging overhead.

The 5x3 grid runs on 20 paylines, and the Red Genie is at the top of the paytable, paying 10x for 5-of-a-kind. The Merchant follows at 5x, the Princess 4x, and the Hoopoe closes the high-pay tier at 2.5x.

Down in the card ranks, A and K both pay 2x for 5-of-a-kind, while Q, J and 10 all settle for 1x.

Lined up on the left are 4 fixed jackpots: Grand Jackpot (1,000x), Major (100x), Minor (30x), and Mini (15x).

A quick look at the stats reveals a 94% RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.

RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate., a very high volatility rate, an 8,027.5x max multiplier, and a $321,100 max win. The game turns its nose up at the Japanese yen.

Features

HOLD AND WIN

Land 1 of the 3 colored coins and there's a chance the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). will randomly kick off. If you land multiple colored coins on the same spin, more than one feature can be triggered at once.

The round opens with a respin counter of 3, and every coin that lands stays in place. Any new coin resets the counter, so the board keeps going as long as the coins keep coming. It all comes to an end when you’ve played through all your spins or all 15 positions are full.

Mystery Feature

A Red Coin's Mystery Feature is the only way to a Jackpot. Once it lands, it flips over and reveals 1 of the 4 Jackpots.

Collect Feature

A Green Coin's Collect Feature picks up every value currently on the grid. Trigger it again and the new Green Coin also swallows the previous one's value.

Multiply Feature
A Blue Coin's Multiply Feature can lay multiplier-framed trails down across random positions on the board.

When you land a coin on a framed position, its value increases by that multiplier once the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). ends, and those trails don't reset the respin counter.

Performance

The Hoopoe kept its filthiest trick off the reels, and the game never stuttered, froze, or dropped a single respin on me.

Maximum Win

The $321,100 max win is yours to bag when you land the 8,027.5x max multiplier on a $40 top bet. If that's rich for your blood, the smallest bet the game takes is $0.20.

Conclusion

Regular paytable wins are small change, and the bigger wins hide inside the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too).. That's where a Blue Coin stamps multiplier frames over the board while a Green Coin sweeps every value showing into itself.

Getting near the 8,027.5x max multiplier means covering most of the 15 positions and letting both of those effects pile on top of each other before the respins dry up.

The Grand Jackpot on its own only pays a fraction of that max, so a single lucky Red Coin flip won't get you there, so patience is needed.

The 94% RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.

RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate. suits short and well-funded bursts better than an all-night grind. Normally, I’d say that high volatility games have a higher max, so the dangling carrot isn’t as big as I’d like it to be.

There's no Ante BetAn Ante Bet is an option that costs a percentage of your bet but increases your chances of landing triggering symbols that initiate a feature. and no Buy Bonus on the menu, so a coin landing on its own is the only way into the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too)., and nothing on screen will shorten that wait.

The game suits patient players who don't mind sitting through a slow board-fill for a payout built out of compounding coin values. Anyone on a small budget hunting frequent small wins should walk past.

Slot Details

Game Provider: Novomatic
Game Type: Video Slots
PaylinesPaylines are preset lines that run across the reels, and when you land matching symbols on them, that will result in a payout. The more paylines, the more ways you can win, but also the higher your bet per spin.: 20
RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.

RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate.: 94%
Volatility RateSlot games can have low, medium, high, or extremely high volatility rates (or a combination thereof).

The less volatile the game, the more often it should pay out, but the lower the amount, the less the payout, as this is in keeping with the risk you’re taking. Volatility rate should be considered in conjunction with a game’s RTP.: Very High
Bonus Round: Yes
Progressive: No
Free Rounds: Re-spins
Max Multiplier: 8,027.5x
Max Win: $321,100
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