Game Review: Deco Diamonds Deluxe™
Microgaming’s Deco Diamonds Deluxe is a sparkling revamp of a popular "Roaring Twenties" themed game with a new boost feature, glittering graphics, and a distinctive ‘Art Deco meets the Jazz Age’ feel. If you want an authentic 1920s environment, when land-based casinos were all the rage, this luxurious example of an online slot in Canada is a retro-inspired game which recreates the atmosphere of that era for our online-casino generation. But it’s just as well that nowadays we don’t have to worry about Prohibition, and gambling is no longer illegal. So if you’re all dressed up like the Great Gatsby and on your way to the speakeasy for a fun night out, just watch out for Al Capone – he was never the friendliest of guys when the big payouts didn’t go his way!
Game Environment
The gameplay environment recreates an authentic 1920s music atmosphere with its upbeat ‘hot’ jazz audio track which will keep your feet tapping all through your gaming session. The colourful art deco visuals also help to bring that historic era of tuxedos and sequined frilly dresses back to life. You’ll see glittering gilded frames, as well as (diamond-encrusted) reels that spin just exactly like the old-time slot machines from the golden age of casinos. And some screens will even remind you of brilliantly lit early Hollywood film sets. Just remember this was also cinema’s own golden era when ‘talking pictures’ were an unmissable cutting-edge example of the most advanced technology available.
Game Symbols
If you’re looking to start a profitable winning streak, then the Deco Diamonds Deluxe logo is the most valuable symbol to go for. And if you get enough Deco Diamonds Deluxe symbols, you’ll also find the colourful Bonus Wheel kicking in with lots of awards to increase your payouts. Then there’s the regular diamonds symbol, which features three sparkling stones and some good payouts too. Next in line, we have the ‘sevens’ symbol – three numbers featuring jazzy swirls and a gold outline. A little lower in value, we have three golden bells, each rung by a smaller diamond clapper. The last four symbols (a water melon, lemon, plum and cherry) offer fairly modest payouts – compared to the rest – but add much to give the ‘traditional’ look and feel of the old days. The time when all gameplay involved playing ‘fruit machines’ featuring lots of these symbols, which have sadly disappeared from many modern slots.
Game Features
When playing this game, most players will understandably be focused on the Deco Diamonds symbols. As well as being Wilds, these icons can also activate a special Respin feature. To do this you will need to get two, three, or four of them appearing somewhere on your screen. Though respin just gives you one single free spin, you can retrigger this feature multiple times – until there are no longer any Deco Diamonds symbols in view, or until each of the reels has at least one symbol showing. Provided your respin ends up leaving you with at least three Deco Diamonds symbols, the gameplay will automatically launch a Bonus Wheel game when your respins finish. During the Bonus Wheel game, you will find there are Silver, Gold, and Diamond levels. These three tiers can be accessed with three, four, or five Deco Diamonds, respectively. And the good news is that, even if you start at a lower level, later on, you can still move up to a new, higher level. Just look out for the bonus wheel pointer to stop at “Level Up”.
The game also has a brand new Boost feature, which increases your bet by 50% but guarantees you more action and also brings you better odds. Selecting Boost also brings the game’s Nudge feature into play.
Game Specifications
Deco Diamonds Deluxe is a five reel hybrid slot with a 5 x 3 screen and a total of 9 fixed paylines. It’s rated as a high, or very high, volatility slot-game, so for players that means there’s a better than average chance of big wins, though there won’t be quite such a volume of smaller payouts. The RTP (return to player) payout percentage for Deco Diamonds is quoted as 96.03%, or 96.12% in Boost mode, which is quite reasonable for a game of this type. The total hit frequency comes in at 15.30% (in other words, a winning combination once every 6.53 spins on average), or 18.10% in the more productive Boost mode (a win average of once every 5.52 spins).