Chasing Rainbows Slot
All slots players are chasing rainbows, but only some manage to find brimming bags of gold lying at the end. Now a video slot has done the frightfully obvious and adopted the name of the eager pursuit itself. Chasing Rainbows is a charming 5-reeler produced by the UK-based developer Realistic Games. How realistic this particular title is can’t really be up for debate; the reels, and the symbols populating them, are cartoonised.
Chasing Rainbows is medieval in theme, with strapping princes, fire-breathing dragons and fantastical unicorns appearing on the grid. There are 20 fixed pay-lines on which players can find matching combinations, and a top prize of 5,000 is up for grabs. As well as having a cool name, and being visually stimulating from a graphical point of view, the game is known for wilds, scatters and a free spins bonus round. It is available in both mobile and desktop formats.
Rainbow Reels
The Chasing Rainbows slot features a 5x3 grid made up to resemble an ancient stone pillar. Each reel is separated by a separate column. Behind the reels, a spectacular rainbow arcs, and to the left and right, shadowed trees loom.
Below the grid, you’ll find a simple control panel, greyed out to resemble one found on a physical slot machine. There’s an Info tab on the lower left, a Start button the lower right, and in between, a button for Autoplay. You can also toggle the stake-per-line. As you play the game, chirpy, enchanting Celtic-style tunes pipe out of the speakers. If the soundtrack isn’t to your liking, simply hit mute!
The slot’s return-to-player percentage, incidentally, is 95.47%, which is not too bad at all. During play, when the reels are stationary, you can press any symbol to display the actual return for your present bet.
Magical Icons
The fantasy theme is underscored by the presence of numerous icons associated with both bygone epochs and myth. Symbols appearing on the rainbow-lit reels include shields, purple unicorns, dragons, green elves, evil-looking blue kings, fairies and flame-haired princes, as well as the usual playing cards, from 9 through to Jack.
The rainbow symbol itself acts as wild, and is able to replace all of the game’s other icons besides the golden Chasing Rainbows slot bonus scatter, which appears in the shape of a heraldic shield. The rainbow symbol is not, however, associated with regular pay-outs.
The aforementioned shield is game’s highest-paying symbol, awarding the 5,000 jackpot for five-in-a-line. Meanwhile, 500 is waiting for he who can land four, and it’s 100 for three shields.
Another symbol to watch out for is the unicorn. The pay-outs are nowhere near as generous, however. The unicorn pays 400 for five and 80 for four. The green elf is identical to the unicorn, as is the cackling blue king, the handsome prince and the dragon. A little more nuance to the game would have been nice – the vast majority of slots include symbols which are linked independently to their own unique pay-out table.
The lowest-paying icons, unsurprisingly, are the playing cards. The best you can hope for is 100 for five aces or kings.
The Bonus Round
Bonus rounds can’t be taken for granted in the world of online slots, so I’m pleased to report that Chasing Rainbows includes a pretty nifty one. To take part, all you need to do is find two bonus shield scatters anywhere on reels one and five. This will activate a free spins bonus, during which the potential exists for flooded wilds, given the wilds lock in place where they land and remain fixed for the duration of the feature. The number of free spins is always ten. Note, the Chasing Rainbows shield symbol only appears on the first and last reels.
Given the wilds lock in place during free spins, the potential exists to form several winning combinations. The animation is pretty sweet here, as a large stone lock encases the wild, ensuring it doesn’t disappear from the reels when they next revolve.
Free spins cannot, however, be re-triggered during free spins.
Dare You Chase the Rainbow?
There are many pros and cons to chasing the rainbow – in all senses, not just in terms of this colourful Realistic Games slot. The medieval five-reel slot game is well-made, with nice lute background music, a decent RTP and a terrific bonus feature, what with the locked-in wilds. On the downside, the symbols are somewhat undifferentiated on the pay-table and the animation could be improved.
