4 equally elaborate Free Spins rounds that are extremely fun and profitable when triggered.
‘Free Spin Keys’ which are used to unlock Free Spins can be collected from one game to the next, even if you close and log out of the casino you’re playing at.
4 different Random Features that can be triggered separately, but also come with their respective Free Spin Round.
Cons
This slot borders between low-medium volatility, which might not be satisfactory for most players.
The Golden Pot Free Spins feature is the hardest to trigger and only comes with 2 Free Spins.
Random Features have a very low RTP rate built-into them.
About Slot
Do you think you have the luck of the Irish? Well, even if you don’t – we’re betting that Finn the leprechaun will lend you some of his. Finn and the Swirly Spin is an innovative slot from iGaming giants, NetEnt. It’s not just that the slot is a cluster slot, that it has 4 different Random Feature and 4 different Free Spins features, it’s that it works on the basis of a ‘Spin Mechanic‘. What is a spin mechanic? You’re going to have to keep on reading to find out. But, we assure you, you’re going to like it. A lot. Wins don’t land the standard way, but in a completely new method we’ve never seen before.
Finn and the Swirly Spin is a 5-reel, cluster pay slot of medium volatility. It has an RTP of 96.61% and a maximum win of $100,000. That win is possible due to its Wild Symbols, Free Spins and Random Features. Time to take a trip over the rainbow, and see if we find that pot o’ gold.
NetEnt seem to have achieved an idyllic representation of what leprechaun country would look like in this slot. There’s a rainbow in the background, swirly fat trees, and of course Finn himself dancing away to the left of the reels. He’s been animated to react differently according to what happens on the reels. It’s like having your own personal Irish cheerleader egging you on for the win.
When it comes to design concept, our favorite part about this slot is when the Free Spins are triggered. Finn flies off into a swirling vortex of clouds. The players gets to choose between four different types of Free Spins, which are represented by four different bars floating on top of a cloud. Leave it to a leprechaun to take a break from spinning on the slots by getting a drink. The bars are all uniquely designed in detail. Their names are: the Star Bar, the Lava Lair, the Lucky Mug and the Golden Pot. The Golden Pot is the ‘ultimate’ free spins round. Get it? Because it’s the ‘golden pot’ at the end of the rainbow? Clever, NetEnt , clever.
Finn and the Swirly Spin – Gameplay
There’s a lot of really immersive and interesting game features that are related to this slot. But before we get into them, we’ll be explaining what the ‘Spin Mechanic’ is, and how it affects the slot itself.
For one thing, there are two types of wins possible in this slot: wins with Wild symbols, and wins without Wild symbols. The wins containing Wilds in their combos will have the Wild symbol explode. The explosion destroys all the surrounding vertical and horizontal symbols. This is called the ‘avalanche’ effect, because symbols will appear to be crashing towards the center of the slot. Winning combinations without a Wild symbol involved will instead create a new symbol. The whole thing makes more sense when you understand the spiral reels set-up. Let’s take a closer look at that now.
Spiral Reel Mechanic
As you can see from the image to the right, the slot has 5 reels and 5 rows. There are 25 spaces in total on the reels, and in each of the 25 spaces 25 symbols appear in the game. When a winning combination lands, the winning symbols are destroyed. The remaining symbols will move to fill in the empty spaces.
By default, symbols move from a higher numbered spaces to the next lowest numbered space. They move in the direction of the arrow. Basically, the symbols will automatically all move closer to the center following the spiral pattern. This is important, because it’s how you can get closer to triggering those Free Spins.
Free Spins Key
Whenever you load the slot, you’ll always find the Free Spins Key at the bottom left of the reels. Meaning at the very beginning of the spiral pattern, at position number ’25’. Following the Spiral Reel Mechanic, whenever you land wins and symbols get destroyed, the Key will move towards the center of the slot. Once it reaches its destination, the Free Spins are activated.
Every time a Key symbol manages to get itself to the center of the reels, the Key Meter at the bottom right corner of the slot will increase by 1. One of the most awesome parts of this slot is that the Key Meter doesn’t reset when you close the slot or leave the casino. Whenever you re-enter the game, you can just pick up where you left off and continue adding up those Keys. This is crucial, because the Free Spins you can choose is dependent on how many Keys you’ve collected.
Random Features
As is obvious by their name, the Random Features are randomly triggered after the first spin is over with. From your second spin on-wards, who knows when these features will pop up.
Starfall Wilds Random Feature: When Starfall Wilds is triggered, it’ll add between 2 and 5 Wilds to the reels. The positioning of said Wilds is completely random. They may appear in a certain pattern or in a line – there’s no real way of knowing beforehand.
Dragon Destroy Random Feature: It’ll only trigger when there are no more wins in the base game. Dragon Destroy actually destroys a random amount of any symbols. This will then activate an avalanche of symbols. The point is that it’ll get the player a win for the destroyed symbols, and also potentially get that Key symbol closer to the cente
Free Spins
As we’ve already explained, the Free Spins are activated when the Key symbol reaches the center of the slot. The player then gets to choose what round they would prefer. This is restricted by the number of Key symbols you’ve collected. If you’ve only collected 1, you can only trigger the Star Bar Free Spins.
Each of the Free Spins rounds corresponds to a respective Random Feature. Basically, no matter what you choose, you’re guaranteed free spins + a random feature. Not bad at all, not bad at all.
Star Bar Free Spins: When you choose this ‘bar’, you’ll be automatically granted 7 free spins. The Star Bar brings the Starfall Wilds Random Feature with it as well. I.e. you’ll have a random amount of Wild symbols added to your 7 free spins as well. You only need 1 Free Spins Key to unlock the Star Bar. They should really think about increasing security around that place.
Finn and the Swirly Spin – Payouts and Wagering Limits
Don’t let the significant amount of special features fool you. Finn and the Swirly Spin is still ultimately a low-medium volatility slot. Meaning, it doesn’t cash out in big amount during the base game. Or, for that matter, during the special features either. As you can see from the screenshot of the paytable above, the symbols don’t have that high a payout value.
Of course, the beauty of this slot is that you have to combine payout with other factors like the Spiral Reels mechanic. It changes the game in a major way, especially due to its cluster pays. Players will still get plenty of opportunities for winning money. Slow, steady and low wins don’t seem so bad on a slot this fun to spin on.
The average hit frequency for this slot is 21.8%. Which isn’t high when compared to some other NetEnt slots. But, when compared to slots from other providers, it’s a standard percentage. The maximum payout possible from Finn and the Swirly Spin is $100,000. Here’s how the payouts work according to base game and special features:
Unsurprisingly, the maximum win is only achievable through the Free Spins feature. And the RTP for the Free Spins averages at 25.3% – which, again, is actually a decent percentage. The base game still reigns supreme when it comes to RTP at 50.7%. The slot as a whole has a payout rate of 96.61%.
Finn and the Swirly Spin – Final Verdict
Finn and the Swirly Spin is truly an inspired creation from NetEnt. The Spin Mechanic is something which is completely new to the world of online slots. We’re really looking forward to how players will react to it, and see if they really will find the luck of the Irish in this slot.
Finn and the Swirly Spin is fresh, fun and of superb quality. We’d recommend anyone to try this slot in a heart-beat. Check it out at one of our recommended casinos.
