Critter Pop

Gamble Wheel

Before entering the bonus round, you can activate the multi-stage gamble feature to win more free spins. The gamble wheel has multiple stages allowing you to win 15, 20, 25 or 30 free spins. Losing the gamble on the first try will drop you back into the base game, but if you lose on any of the progressive stages, the feature will still activate the bonus round but with a reduced number of free spins as shown on the wheel.

About Runner Runner PopWins Slot

Stakelogic is one of the most popular providers in the industry. It has released terrific slots with high-quality designs and fun and exciting features, and several slots from its portfolio have become immensely popular among players.

You can start the game with a 5x3 grid and 486 paylines, but with the PopWins mechanics the number of paylines may reach up to 118,098 and the number of rows may stretch up to 9. Wins are made by landing 3-5 matching symbols on a payline, adjacently, left to right or right to left.

Except for the obvious PopWins feature which is mentioned in the title, the game comes with a Free Spins feature and a chance to gamble your winnings. These features might help you win up to 10,000x the stake.

Betting and Layout

One of the first things you will notice about this game is that it does not use the typical payline setup. Instead, it features a changing grid layout with five reels and three to seven rows. The slot’s stunning designs thoroughly depict the animal-in-space theme that the casino software provider was going for. The accompanying soundtrack is also immersive, giving players an ethereal vibe.

The Critter Pop RTP (Return to Player) rate is set at 96.13% and the variance is high. You can play from as little as 0.2 credits to as many as 100. Whatever your bet, the maximum possible win is capped at 20,000x.

How Do PopWins Work?

Now to the important question of what PopWins are and how they work; it’s pretty simple really because every time you land a winning combination while spinning the reels, those symbols involved in that win will ‘pop’ into two on each reel, increasing the height of that particular reel. In the games we’ve played so far the reels can increase to a maximum height of seven positions with a hefty 33,164 paylines.

Consecutive ‘pops’ also provides the opportunity to integrate other features into the process – for example in the Wild Pops slot every third ‘pop’ will increase the win multiplier for that particular set of spins until there are no more ‘pops’ at which point the multiplier resets back down to 1x.

Wild Pops also grants players a bonus feature if all reels reach the maximum height of seven positions and here you’ll receive three lives which are removed one at a time with each non-winning spin – this continues the chances of anding some big wins with the maximum number of paylines.

So you can see that it’s not at all complicated but it does offer something different to players who may be jaded with the standard payline setup or those who just like a bit of variety – the list of PopWins slots we’ve reviewed so far are listed below.

Gameplay and Features

Like most AvatarUX video slots, this game features unique gameplay that uses the PopWins mechanic, replacing the typical slot machine payline system.

Although the slot starts with a typical 5-reels x 3 rows grid layout, it won’t always stay the same. The number of symbols on each reel increases after each win, creating a ways-to-win system that’s capped at 65,536.

On top of the PopWins feature, Critter Pop also comes with free spins, multipliers, wilds, block symbols and buy bonus. The latter may not be available in your jurisdiction for legal reasons.

Symbols

If you think back to ye old pirate shanty, “15 men on a dead man’s chest” you’re close enough to the number of symbols. This game features 13 symbols of various values.

As can be expected, the lowest values belong to the face card images. The game has Ace, King, Queen and Jack images which all share the same value.

The scatter symbol takes the form of a radiant maiden, resplendent in her beauty. She sports the word ‘Bonus’ as well.

The highest-valued image is a buccaneer with a golden glow. The other pirates boast an array of colours, ranging from red to green, and have less worth.

Summary

Runner Runner Popwins has very dated graphics that will not appeal to everyone, and that’s a fact, however, if you can look past that, you’re in for some juice and delicious spinning time. There is not much action going or a lot of features, but the max win is capped at x10000 the bet at medium to high volatility and the default RTP of 96.50%. Overall, the fans of the series may find this to be insanely different and jumping out from what we’re used to seeing in the Runner series, but we must admit we loved it.

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PopWins™ Feature 

Just like all the games in the series, TikiPop™ is boosted with the power of our exclusive PopWins™ feature – a bonus mechanic that’s now established as one of the most popular in the industry, among players.

Gamers hitting wins on TikiPop™ can enjoy ‘Pops’ that add two new symbols to the reels, to potentially create new wins; the feature rolls-over until a losing Pop! The TikiPop™ reels can expand to seven high, creating 33,614 ways to win.

Tikipop Expanding Reels

Scatters

The sparkly diamond scatters in RagingPop will only appear during the base game for one reason – to activate free spins. You’ll need to collect at least 3 to enter the bonus round.

PopWins Feature

If winning symbols land on the reels, they are removed and replaced with two new ones. At the same time, the height of the reels is expanded and this adds paylines to the gameplay. The row growth continues up to 9 if new winning symbols land on the reels.

PopWins

When you create a win during the bonus round, the winning symbols “pop” and 2 new symbols appear in their place , expanding the reels up to 7 symbols high. Unfortunately, the reels don’t grow during the base game, but the symbols still pop and get replaced with a new one.

Fantasma Games – Golden Castle Titleways 

Slotbeats Editor James Ross sat down with Tianzhi Zhou, product owner and mathematician at Fantasma Games, for an in-depth discussion of the latest addition to their slot portfolio, Golden Castle Titleways.

Tianzhi explains the features of the game, gives tons of interesting information on the development process, and tells James about the overall design of the game itself.

Check out the video below, and you can also read the accompanying news piece here.

BountyPop review

• Enjoy all the thrill of piracy and adventure
• Win up to 55,000x your stake
• Take advantage of a phenomenal RTP

If you enjoy a good buccaneer adventure, then swipe ye money pouch and say argh! Bounty Pop is a brand new pirate-themed release in the PopWins™ series by Yggdrasil.

Come along for the voyage as we sail to find out more about this slot’s RTP and volatility. We might also clue you in as to where to play Bounty Pop.

Design

Stakelogic is usually known for creating stunning-looking slots and this one is no exception. For a fruit machine slot, Runner Runner PopWins is simple but beautiful at times.

In the distance, there are shooting stars with the slot set against the background of space. On the reels, there are traditional fruit machine symbols but they all look adorable.

The music of this slot is quite funky with a techno beat that definitely builds up the atmosphere. It's incredibly catchy and amazing meaning that players will love it.

Can I play Critter Pop for free?

Yes, you can play this game’s demo version at any of the recommended casinos on this page. Some sites even allow you to play this demo version without registering.

Buy Bonus feature

Want to skip ahead to the Free Spins round instantly?

You can, thanks to the Buy Bonus feature!

Tap this button in the game panel to buy your way into the Free Spins feature for 75 bets.

Bounty Pop RTP, Volatility & Hit Frequency

As you’ve come to expect from Yggdrasil, the Bounty Pop RTP is reasonable. At 96%, this slot can hold its own among many of the brightest.

The volatility is fairly high, so you’re not looking at the highest hit frequency. However, the hits are typically significant.

More Variable RTP Games

As we mentioned on our best RTP slots page, variable RTPs have become a big thing in the past couple of years, 2021 in particular. And this practice looks set to become even more widespread in 2022 and beyond. For those of you not in the know, big-name slot developers have started included adjustable RTPs with their games. This means that online casino and bingo sites are free to lower return to player rates as they see fit.

They could of course raise the RTP as well. But due to strict player protection measures in the UK and increased costs, most operators are turning the dial down in order to transfer some of their financial burden to players. NetEnt jumped on the bandwagon in late 2019, joining Play ‘n Go, Pragmatic Play, Novomatic and others. You can bet your bottom dollar that more will follow.

Sue Dawson

Head of Content

Sue Dawson has been writing about (and playing) online bingo and slots since 2013, putting her unique spin on everything.

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This week games round-up from Gaming Intelligence includes new titles from Pragmatic Play, RubyPlay, Yggdrasil, Black Pudding Games, Microgaming, iSoftBet, OneTouch, Play’n GO, BF Games, Wazdan and Live5.