Golden Toad Slot Machine
When was the last time you played a slot whose protagonist was an oversized toad? Exactly, never. Well it’s time you set about remedying that for Red Tiger Gaming’s latest effort is dedicated to just such an amphibian, despite being a creature that doesn’t generally feature in Chinese-themed slots. It’s nice to play a game that doesn’t involve dragons or monkeys, the usual Oriental staples. There’s more to distinguish this slot than the identity of its protagonist however.
For one thing, Golden Toad is defined by the sheer number of gold coins that appear in it. Gold coins and video slots aren’t new, it’s true, but there are shedloads of them here; take a look at the image behind the board and you’ll see a sea of them, stretching as far as the eye can see. There’s no shortage of the symbols cropping up on the board either, for there are three regular symbols all based around gold coins, or golden shapes at least, for their cutaway design makes them appear almost like Chinese letters of the alphabet that have been rendered in a circular style.
Gold Galore
There are also two wilds in this slot, or that’s how they’ve been described in the paytable at least, even if they prove to be identical in practice; all that’s different is the fact that during free spins, one or more of these wilds remains locked in place to boost your winnings. There are just 5 free spins that can be won at a time from this slot, but there is the option to retrigger free spins. You’ll achieve this feat with the aid of three scatter symbols, a symbol which features the toad with his glowing red eyes that look faintly evil. Before we get to free spins, wilds and all that jazz, let’s take a moment to cover the basics: Golden Toad is a 5-reel slot with just 10 paylines.
You can’t adjust the number of paylines and on first glance it appears that you can’t set autospin either, though it turns out that you do have this option after all – click on the AUTO button hidden to the top right of the reels and select how many spins you’d like to set this feature at. Golden Toad have elected for a minimalist design, one that keeps buttons to a minimum and allows players to focus on what’s happening on the board. You can set the bet per spin though, naturally, toggling it from 0.2 all the way up to 100. These parameters should satisfy most players, although some will demur at the fact that you can’t wager more at a time. This is an unashamedly low limit game though, one where the most you’ll win per spin is 500 for 5 wilds on a payline.
Wild About Toads
In the base game, 3-5 matching symbols on a payline will be enough to secure a win. The lower value symbols are playing card values, but here they look pretty smart, thanks to the daub of paint that’s used to delineate each one. The most you’ll earn for 5 of these symbols on a payline is 90, an honour that goes to the A. Next up are the three golden coins or shapes, each of which is worth 180 for 5 at most. That just leaves it to wild to claim the accolade of most valuable symbol, coming in at 500 for 5. In addition to remaining locked during free spins, wild will substitute for all regular symbols in normal play.
Wild for More?
The closest slot to Golden Toad, which is a medium to high variance game with an RTP of more than 96%, is Wild Spartans. That should come as no surprise for this 10 payline game is also by Red Tiger Gaming. For something a little different, have a spin of Astrofruit by IGT. It’s a 20 payline slot which, like Golden Toad, awards 5 free spins. Electracade’s Baywatch is another option, a beach-themed slot replete with surfboards and babes galore.
Simple, but Decent
It’s not the most complex slot you’ll ever play, but Golden Toad is a fun little number. There’s not much to do other than spin, spin and then spin some more, but the clever use of wilds and scatters provides just enough variety to prevent things from getting repetitively boring. You could play this game for quite some time without tiring of it, for there’s something strangely hypnotic about the graphics including that oversized toad who glowers at you from above the reels.
