Dungeons and Diamonds

Dungeons and Diamonds: Slot Overview

Since 1974, bands of role-players have enjoyed the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons to create characters, battle beasts, and complete quests, using little more than dice and a fertile imagination. Possessing a piece of litigation sidestepping wordplay is Dungeons and Diamonds, an online slot for players looking for some fantasy-based action from Microgaming partner PearFiction Studios. To date, the PearFiction slots we've encountered, such as Squelin' Riches and Blazing Mammoth, have tended to be okay looking yet somewhat unimaginative in terms of gameplay. Will Dungeons and Diamonds break the trend?

The first impression would tend to suggest the answer to that question is no. One reason is the jackpots next to a gold-framed game grid set up is so common by now it appears to be PearFiction's signature move. Visually, Dungeons and Diamonds is quite appealing, possessing a bright, Pragmatic Play style of gloss. Players find themselves in one of those dark, misty caverns where a dragon slumbers on top of a pile of treasure. It's been neatly drawn, yet, the setting loses some spark, having appeared in stacks of role-playing scenarios, not to mention a bunch of books, movies, and slots.

On a technical level, Dungeons and Diamonds is a video slot played on a 5x5 grid, providing 40 fixed paylines. It's a highly volatile game and comes with a quartet of RTP settings, with 96% being the most generous. Users experience winning combinations at a frequency of 28.28%, firing off when three or more matching symbols land from the leftmost reel. Adventurous types can embark on this quest using any device while selecting stakes from 20 p/c to $/€50 per spin.

PearFiction's graphics people have done a commendable job with the pay symbols used in Dungeons and Diamonds. Four nicely rendered characters appear on the 1x2 sized premium symbols, which feature rangers, warriors, sorceresses, and wizards, worth 5-10 times the stake for five of a kind. The low pays aren't quite as exciting, but the four card suit symbols do look valuable while actually being worth 1-1.5x the bet for a five-symbol winning line. Wilds appear on all reels and substitute for any regular pay symbol.

Dungeons and Diamonds: Slot Features

On this quest, larger rewards come the way of free spins, instant collects, and jackpots. Much of the extras are staples in PearFiction's tool kit or variations of them at least; let's see how they shape up.

Instant Collect

Gem symbols display values of 1x to 25x the bet and land on reels 1 to 4. When gems land at the same time as a collect symbol on reel five, players are awarded the value of all gems in view. If a multi collect symbol lands on reel 5, players win the total value of the gem symbols in view multiplied by the multi collect symbol's value. Thirdly, if a respins collect symbol lands on reel 5, gems are locked in place, and the remaining positions respin. Players win the total value of all gems at the end of the respin.

Wicked Wizard Jackpot

Jackpot symbols also appear on reels 1 to 4, and if one lands at the same time as a collect, multiplier collect, or respin collect symbol on reel 5, the Wicked Wizard Jackpot game triggers. Players then pick gem pouches on a new screen until 3 matching jackpot symbols have been revealed. The jackpots are the Mini, Minor, Major, or Grand, worth 50x, 100x, 500x, or 5,000x the bet, respectively. Jackpots are not multiplied by the multiplier collect symbol.

Free Spins

Landing 3 dragon eye scatter symbols triggers 8 Dungeons and Diamonds Free Spins. Additional gem, jackpot, and collect symbols are added to the reels for this feature, which can be retriggered.

Dungeons and Diamonds: Slot Verdict

Gamemastering a successful D&D campaign that entertains, challenges, and excites a group of tabletop adventurers, requires a healthy dose of imagination. While a decent enough game, it wouldn't have hurt Dungeons and Diamonds if PearFiction had let their imaginations really fly. There are no issues with the audio-visuals, which provide a nice wee escape from reality, though a dragon sleeping on a mountain of gold is straight out of The Hobbit playbook. Gaming-wise, Dungeons and Diamonds is okay, but it might have been more magical if PearFiction had deviated further from their goto features. What players get in Dungeon and Diamonds is alright, but there is a feeling that unless PearFiction steps out of its comfort zone, they're destined to retain their mid-tier partner status.

For one, we are yet to test drive a PearFiction slot which doesn't have jackpots or hold n' win/respin features. Not that there is something wrong with them per se, but using anything so consistently wears thin after a while. At least the game's classic features are executed well, and the three kinds of collection symbols add a certain level of twist to the instant collection feature. Players into fantasy should find Dungeons and Diamonds' presentation alluring, too. Although, like the features, there is a strong familiarity to most of the visuals as well - from the Saruman-esque wizard to the dragon eye bonus symbol to the Smaug-like background. At times in the review, the standard gameplay and stock characters had a way of lessening each other rather than blasting intrepid players into unmapped realms. Should you manage to defeat the virtual boss in this game, then rewards of up to 5,627x the bet are coming your way.

In the end, Dungeons and Diamonds came across as the type of slot PearFiction has become completely comfortable making. Players happy with reliable gameplay in a fantasy setting might get a kick out of the colourful entertainment on offer here. For others, there are moments, but Dungeons and Diamonds felt like a free downloadable PDF scenario rather than a full-blown campaign sourcebook.