Witch Pickings

Witch Pickings is themed around three cheerful witches. These are not the evil, practisers of dark magic, but three smiling, fun loving, witches. This theme bears no resemblance to any existing movie, book, or anything of that nature. It is a colourful conglomeration of cheerful fantasy, witchy stuff.

Developer

Witch Pickings is a new pokie from NextGen Gaming. The company formed in 1999, after which they expanded rapidly in the online pokie industry. In 2011, the business merged with NYX Interactive forming the NYX Gaming Group.

 

They are one of the larger developers, and they have released over 600 games. A NextGen title normally has exceptional graphics and gameplay. They make quality games, and use cartoony themes, which gives their games an upbeat feel.

 

Design

 

Witch Pickings has a colourful design. This starts in the background image, which places a fantasy castle behind the reels. A cobblestone path leads up to the castle, and all manner of mushrooms and flower grows in the clearing, in front of it. It is a five-reel pokie, with opaque reels.

 

The symbols are cartoony which adds to the theme. The high value picture symbols are, in one way or another, related to the three witches. The low value symbols are numbers and letters. Subtle but effective animations, tie the game together. All of the high value symbols come to life, in some way, when the player lands them on the reels. The panel is found at the bottom of the reels, and houses all the game’s controls. It is a well-designed customised panel, which agrees with the theme. The Spin Button for instance, is found on the left of the screen, in a mushroom.

 

How to play

 

There are twenty-five paylines, all paid left to right. To win, the player has to line up matching symbols across adjacent reels in accordance with the Paytable. The first symbol in a payline has to fall in the furthermost reel to the left. This pokie has generic game play.

 

The reels are spun with the spin button, and bets are adjusted before the player spins the reels. Bets can be placed between £0.01 and £2.00. It takes 40 coins to play the 25 paylines, so a £2.00 bet, has a value of £80.00. For more information about payline, bets and symbol values the player should consult the Paytable and other information, readily available by pressing the Info Button

 

Special Features

 

The special features in Witch Pickings are based around the three witches. Landing three or more scatters unlocks the Witches Bonus. Once triggered, the player is taken to a screen where they chose a bonus feature from each witch. These features are used in the free spins game, which is played at the value of the bet, which unlocked it. Each witch has three different feature, the player can chose between. A list of exactly what these features are is available in the Paytable. They are common features like, multiplying paylines, or stacked wilds.

 

The game also has a Gamble Feature, which allows the player to gamble any win. There is a facedown card, and the option to guess either its colour or suite. If the player correctly guesses the colour, their win is subject to a 2-x multiplier. If they correctly guess the suit it is multiplied by 4. This feature can be used up to five times or until the player takes their win or guesses incorrectly, at which point, they forfeit their win.

 

Maximum Payout

 

The Maximum Payout is won in the Witches Bonus. It is difficult to determine an exact figure with all the different features, which the player can unlock. As a rough guide, the highest value five in a row is won with the castle symbol and it rewards 800 coins.

 

Payline wins are multiplied by the bet, so at maximum bet that is worth £1600 in currency. The Wild Symbol and Scatter Symbols both pay over this for five in a row wins. The Wild rewards £2000 at maximum bet. These are hefty wins for just base game five in a rows. There are big wins, to be won, in Witch Picking, made possible by high symbol values.

 

Summary

 

This is a quality title. It looks nice and has a cheerful upbeat theme. Due to the high symbol values, it is a lucrative game, and player will find it sustains a bankroll. Witch Pickings is one of the better titles from NextGen.