Mystery At The Manor Slots
It was a dark and stormy night (most likely) at the Murder at the Manor. It certainly isn’t taking place on a beach. Because this Vista Gaming slot is all about murders taking place in a remote manor house where anything could be used as a weapon.
Are you more of a Sherlock Holmes or Inspector Clouseau? Will you solve the Cluedo style mystery and stay alive?
Manor of All Mysteries
The layout won’t blow you away but it does largely make the most of the premise. The fact the game is at the bottom of the screen means that there is more space for the top. This allows for there to be a Bannister on either side and then a library, the cornerstone of any murder mystery. The name of the game is suitably written in red letters with a hand print covered in blood. There’s also a chandelier. This is a wealthy clientele for sure.
While the look is in keeping with the theme of the game, the problem is that the visuals are neither striking nor spacious. It is all just too cramped and the buttons aren’t as close together as you would like them to be. For instance, Auto Spin is at the top of the screen rather than next to Spin which is at the bottom. While Spins, which decides the number of times you want it to play for, is not located next to Auto play but have a chandelier in between. It would make more sense for both of these two at the bottom and have Total Win and Balance at the top.
The 5 reels are separated by a line going down, and there is a white background. It doesn’t quite fall in seamlessly with the layout of the game. The icons, though a little small, have been well chosen though. The Pay table taking place in front of the library, with a roaring fire, is a nice touch.
Mysterious Plays
While a couple of the buttons are a little hidden, the game itself is very straightforward. You can play for any lines between 1 and 21 and up to 5 bets in this 5 reel game. If you put the Bet Max button it goes straight to a bet worth 105.0. The background music of a few soothing chords gets tedious very quickly though it is easy to switch it off. The sound does get more exciting during game play when each symbol has its own noise. The poison that has a bubbling noise and the gun that has a gunshot are the standouts.
Unsurprisingly, the deerstalker hat and pipe-smoking Sherlock Holmes detective is the most valuable, with a maximum value of 3,000 credits for 5 of him. There is quite a drop to 40 credits if you only get 4. The next most useful symbol is the gun which has a best credit reward of 800, with the monocle-wearing professor, poison bottle, and the well-dressed butler and maid being the next in line. These latter 4 have their credits in blood patches on the floor which works well.
Dead Stylish Bonuses
The same well thought out ideas for the regular symbols are evident with the bonuses, which are paid in addition to pay line wins. For the Wildcard, there is the visually striking bloody hand print. It replaces everything except for the Bonus and Scatter and is not worth anything individually. The Bonus and Scatter do lead to extra games though.
The beautiful and stylishly dressed dark-haired lady is the Bonus. If you gain 3 or more of her you get a very fun extra game entitled Clue Hunting. You select 3 weapons from 5 rooms, including the study, bedroom and bathroom. These weapons include a candlestick, letter opener, golf club and a heavy book.
The Scatter, the very classic candlestick, has a more conventional result. If you get 3 or more you get a free game where you have to choose 3 safes out of 9 for total bonus credits. Unlike with a lot of other games, the Scatter is worth nothing by itself. This is in tone with the regular symbols where even 2 of the same gives nothing. It is also worth noting that if you get a bonus during the Auto Spin, the game plays them for you.
Crack the Mystery
The regular credit prizes aren’t high, with an obvious lack of credit multiplication prizes on bonuses. This is still a fun and easy to play game though and has an imaginative theme to it. Its simplicity and lack of big rewards may make the game a bit limited, but if you decide to play it for a while it wouldn’t be a big mystery.
