REEL STEAL

HOW TO PLAY REEL STEAL

As with any slot machine ever made, your goal is to arrange three or more matching symbols along one of the paylines. There are only 9 in total, so you won’t have to worry too much about when, how, and why you won. You can hover your mouse over the paylines from the main game screen if you’re not sure where they are.

Also, Reel Steal works only from left to right, and that’s the only way paylines actually pay. It’s worth mentioning because the table was presented in such a way as to imply otherwise.

Only two special symbols are present in this game.

• Wild symbols are represented by the orange sports car. They substitute any other symbols except for Scatters, as is usual. Moreover, any winning combinations that contain a Wild pay 5 times more than usual.
• Scatter symbols look like dynamite and pay anywhere on the table, regardless of their relative position. Scatters pay quite a bit on their own, but are outmatched by some high-paying regular symbols. Only two are needed for a payout, but more than that and you also get free spins.

FREE SPINS

To activate Reel Steal slot spins, you need at least 3 Scatter symbols. You get 15, 20, or 25 spins for 3, 4, or 5 Scatter symbols, respectively.

Any wins made during the Reel Steal free spins are multiplied by 5x. If you make a winning combination using a Wild symbol with a Free Spin, the two 5x bonuses stack multiplicatively. This means that the total increase is 25 times the normal payout for that combination.

Every Scatter symbol you hit during this bonus round awards one additional free spin. However, these extra spins do not apply the usual 5x multiplier to payouts.

Casino Bloke Best tips for Reel Steal Slot

• 1Reel Steal keeps things straightforward. Players don’t get many options besides setting their stake size and hitting Spin.
• 2Keep in mind how stake sizes work in Reel Steal. The line payouts are calculated relative to the value of the bet per payline.
• 3That said, most wins in this game are relatively large, which is where the volatility comes from.

REEL STEAL RTP AND PAYOUTS

This NetEnt slot calculates payouts the old-school way. This means that the paytable displays winnings based on the value of a bet per payline, not the total stake amount.

Basically, a payout for a payline amounts to the coin value, times the bet level, times the displayed value of that payline. However, your total stake per round is always the coin value, times the bet level, times 9 for 9 active paylines.

All in all, most wins in this game are quite sizable. The only exceptions are combinations of 3 low-paying symbols, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Reel Steal RTP is 95.87%. By today’s standards, this RTP score is a bit on the low end of the average.

OUR VERDICT

Since its release, the Reel Steal online slot has reached a surprising level of fame and success. We can mostly attribute this to the fact that it’s simple and to the point. Once again, NetEnt has proven that there is always a market for old-school slot games. Sure – Reel Steal is certainly not a classic 3-reel fruit machine. However, it doesn’t really experiment with any new mechanics or ideas. Wilds, Scatters, and Free Spins are all something we’ve seen a thousand times before.

That’s this game’s biggest strength and its biggest weakness. The special features and symbols will make you feel right at home, which is a huge bonus to some. However, the game itself doesn’t really stand out from the crowd either.

All in all, the Reel Steal slot game’s popularity is not entirely unwarranted. However, it’s hardly a defining must-play release, simply due to the fact that there are many more like it out there. We have to note, though – Reel Steal minimum bet starts at just €0.9, which makes it a great choice for players on a tight budget.

SIMILAR GAMES

Volatile games with Wilds and Free Spins are hardly in shortage. It’s a classic setup for an online slot – and with good reason, too. If you want to try something like Reel Steal, here are a few of our suggestions.

• Starburst is one of the most successful NetEnt releases ever. In fact, Reel Steal doesn’t really deviate a lot from the Starburst formula, except for the massively turned-up volatility.
• Athena Ascending is a new Play’n GO release with some similar philosophies. It doesn’t deliver much more than Reel Steal in terms of features, but it does come with updated graphics and stronger RTP.
• Syncronite from Yggdrasil is a great example of simplicity done right. It’s stylish and new without deviating too much from the ideas that make online slots great.
• Hotline is also an almost-perfect match to this game, complete with Miami Vice-inspired looks and a heist storyline. The features are comparable as well, though we have to note Hotline boasts a much better RTP rate.

If you’re not sure whether this game is for you or not, fear not. You can play Reel Steal for free in demo mode on the official NetEnt website.