Perfect gems

Perfect Gems is a video slot game based around precious jewels of different colours, but is it a gem of a slot or will it have you reeling in frustration?

Game background

This game was developed by Play N Go and involved some controversy. The basic idea is close to that of rival slot Bonanza, and its launch also saw the provider criticised for ripping off the Megaways game engine developed by rival creators Big Time Gaming. That random modifier increases the amount of potential wins for players by changing the number of icons appearing on the reels when you spin them.

Play N Go attracted criticism for making their own Payways variant of this instead of licensing the original, but it is unlikely many slots fans will care if their winning chances are boosted.

The game

This slot comes with six reels instead of the standard five and it also has an additional horizontal reel. That really multiplies the odds of a win, with the potential for split reel icons when you get the same one on both the horizontal reel and the vertical one underneath it, which only adds to your chances of coining it in. Throw in an epic 21,609 potential pay lines and Perfect Gems is a slot that you would have to be incredibly unlucky not to cash in on.

The RTP for the game is 96%, which is a reasonable RTP for an online slot.

The central theme of Perfect Gems is confusing, however, with the graphics depicting some kind of olde worlde library or study complete with bookshelves and windows. Alongside the jewels coloured blue, green, pink and yellow, the other reel icons include letters and numbers. The blue jewel is the best one as a row of them pays out 25-times what you bet, but what it is all supposed to mean is hard to say and the lack of a clearly developed theme is a weakness of this slot.

Winning combinations come when you get a matching row of anything from three to six of the icons, and there is a Wild icon available that can fill in for missing ones to make up winning rows. Perfect Gems also has two scatter icons ‘a Spin Scatter’ and a ‘Perfect Scatter’ which trigger the bonuses.

Bonus games

The first bonus is called the Win Multiplier. It does exactly what you would expect, with a multiplier found in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, going up by one each time you get a winning set of icons. They cascade down the screen to be replaced by a fresh set. This goes on until a screen appears with no winning rows on it and is a good way of increasing your payout.

The other bonus is called Perfect Spins and will be triggered if you get at least three of the Perfect Scatter icons on a reel. The number of free spins you initially get depends on how many of those scatters you had – and ranges from nine to 27. After that, you keep scoring further free spins by landing the Spin Scatter on any reel. The more free spins, the more wins!

Conclusion

Perfect Gems is not a perfect game, as the theme is vague, but the Payways variant of the Megaways game engine and the cash splashing bonuses make it well worth a spin.