Aloha! Cluster Pays Slot
Aloha! Cluster Pays is a 6-reel online slots game from NetEnt. Another month, yet another NetEnt slot, you might think. However, you would be wrong! Aloha! Cluster Pays is a slot that’s more than a bit different – the clue is in the title ‘Cluster Pays’. This slots game is something of a rarity as it has zero pay lines – in the traditional sense, anyhow. Instead, you land wins by obtaining clusters of identical symbols on the playing grid. If you land nine or more of the same symbol then you are a winner.
The symbols are all suitably Hawaiian-themed – seashells, coconuts, pineapples and flowers. There are also a collection of Hawaiian masks that are two rows high – they each count as two single symbols. The mask symbols are more profitable than the normal, single symbols. Proceedings are witnessed by a large carved Hawaiian icon to the right of the playing grid. He chuckles, dances and – if you win big – dons his sunglasses and belts out a tune on his ukelele.
Each spin costs you ten coins. You can choose the size of your coin from 0.01 to 2.00, and your bet level from one to ten. Your final wager per spin is these three values multiplied together. When you’re ready to say ‘Aloha!’ to some big wins, hit the ‘spin’ button.
Payout & bonus rounds
The ‘normal’ symbols are the lowest payers in this game. Land the minimum winning cluster of nine symbols, and you are awarded five times your coin size. If you fill the entire screen with the same symbol then you win 2,000x your coin size. The red mask is the biggest jackpot-giver. Fill the entire grid with red masks and you’ll be beaming about winning 10,000x your bet-per-spin.
The ‘substitution symbol’ is a brown box with a question mark. This symbol will transform into any adjacent symbol that creates the highest possible win. They cannot transform into free spins symbols, though.
When you obtain a win, you may trigger the ‘Sticky Win Re-Spins’ feature. Here, all winning symbols are held, and the reels re-spun. If you add more symbols to your cluster, the reels spin again. This continues until no more symbols are added.
If you land three or more free spins symbols either partially or completely on the reels, then you win free spins. Three symbols award you nine freebies, and you receive an extra freebie for each additional symbol up to a maximum of twelve. If you do the same during free spins you are awarded one bonus spin per symbol landed, minus two (so four symbols award two extra spins).
During free spins the bonus drop feature is activated. During spins the lower-paying symbols drop off the reels to be replaced by the higher-paying mask symbols. You are guaranteed at least one win during free spins – if you get to the end of your free spins quota and you haven’t won, then the reels keep spinning until you do.
We can’t express how cool it is that NetEnt seem to be trying something fresh and inventive with each new slot they release. Traditionalists may prefer slots the ‘normal way’ with pay lines, but at least with this game you get a little variety, and just something that’s a little different. The icon’s antics are very entertaining too. Another winner from NetEnt – were you expecting anything less?