SHIELDS OF LAMBDA

HOW TO PLAY SHIELDS OF LAMBDA

Shields of Lambda is a cluster pays slot with 5 columns and 5 rows. If you don’t know what that means, you can check out our guide to cluster pays slots to find out everything there is to know about this modern twist on the slot machine formula. Either way, we’ll give you a quick rundown on how the game works.

The goal of Shields of Lambda is to hit matching symbols into clusters of 5 or more. Instead of trying to arrange identical symbols in lines, you’re hoping to collect them into groups. All matching symbols can connect vertically or horizontally to form winning clusters, but you need at least 5 in a group to get a payout. The more symbols you manage to hit in a cluster, the bigger the payout.

Like most games with this sort of system, Shields of Lambda slots also feature tumbling symbols. However, tumbling reels are not active during the base game and only appear after the Unity event triggers. This means all winning symbols are removed from the game, and the symbols above fall down to fill these newly-empty positions. Entirely new symbols also appear from above the reels. Cascading reels allow you to string together multiple wins after a single spin if you’re lucky.

The game also contains Wild symbols, which substitute regular symbols. Wilds may also randomly appear as a Giant 2×2 version after any non-winning spin.

Lambda Symbols

The titular Lambda symbols aren’t regular symbols. Instead, they appear below regular symbols on the board. 5-10 of these are randomly scattered around the gird during every spin. 

If you win with a cluster whose symbols are positioned over Lambda markers, the Lambdas are collected into the meter above the reels. When this meter fills up with 70 collected Lambda, the Unity feature is triggered.

Interestingly, the meter keeps its count between spins, which means the Unity event is bound to kick off sooner or later.

Unity

The Unity event kicks off once you completely fill the Lambda meter, which caps out at 70 (or 20 during free spins.)

Once this happens, the entire grid is filled by a randomly-selected low-paying symbol. This includes a strong initial payout. This is when the tumbling symbols kick in, allowing for additional wins. Any non-winning positions are filled with the next lowest-paying symbol, and then the next, and so on until all possible symols are cycled through or you make a spin with no wins.

Shields of Lambda Free Spins

Hitting 3 Scatter symbols anywhere on the board awards the player 10 free spins instantly. You can then choose to Gamble for a chance to win more of them. Basically, you spin a little wheel and have a roughly 66% chance to win 5 additional spins or lose them all. You can also do this a second time for a total of 20 free spins, but the second gamble is riskier.

Anyway, free spins work mostly like normal spins. Lambda symbols, Unity, and all Giant Wilds all work as usual. The Unity event is easier to trigger, and it also introduces a win multiplier. Every time Unity hits after the first, a +1x multiplier is added to any future wins during Free Spins

You can buy free spins in Shields of Lambda for a one-time payment of 70x the stake.

Casino Bloke Best tips for Shields of Lambda Slot

• 1Buying free spins substantially increases the game’s overall RTP. Not only does this allow you to see more of the game’s features, but it results in better long-term returns.
• 2In fact, the best strategy for Shields of LAbda by Quickspin is simply to repeatedly buy free spins.
• 3Don’t stop playing with a half-filled Lambda meter. The meter persists between separate play sessions. However, the game’s math pretty much expects you to trigger it. If you stop playing with a half-full meter and never come back, you’re statistically at a loss.

PAYOUTS & RTP

Like all Cluster Pays slots, Quickspin Shields of Lambda calculates wins based on the number and value of winning symbols.

The regular symbols in this game include 4 low-paying ones and 4 mediums. Card royals are low pays, while the four animals are medium. Generally, you need a lot of symbols to get a decent single payout in this game, which is why none of them are classified as high-paying. To illustrate, you need at least a cluster of 7 of the highest-paying symbols in this game to break even with a 1x payout. Ouch.

Anyway, you can have up to 25 winning symbols in a single cluster. The payouts per number grow exponentially, which means you can get much better rewards for clusters of 12 or more. That’s a very tall order, though, so don’t expect to see such big clusters outside of Unity.

Shields of Lambda RTP is 96.13%, which is solid but nothing too exciting. More interestingly, the Buy Feature option increases the game to a very strong 96.63%. We highly recommend at least considering it.

SHIELDS OF LAMBDA BY QUICKSPIN – CASINO BLOKE’S VERDICT

Quickspin Shields of LAmbda is a modestly ambitious project, and it’s not without its merits. We can’t help but feel pumped whenever we hear the “hurrah” of the Unity event. It’s generally a decently thought-out and well-made game, and we don’t have major herpes with it.

However, it’s clear that the fact the Lambda meder persists between rounds and sessions impacts the game’s math model. Basically, you’re expected to win it sooner or later. This is not an issue by itself. However, it results in depressingly small base payouts.

Yes, we know most modern, volatile online slots tend to have small base payouts and rely on special features to carry the day. However, even the bravest gambler can’t help but feel dread while looking through the Shields of Labda paytable.

We recommend playing this game by repeatedly buying the Free Spins feature. Otherwise, you can give it a berth.