Uncover Hidden Gems in the Shimmering Woods

Shimmering Woods Slot Machine

Shimmering Woods is a video slot from Play’n Go. It is set in a magical enchanted forest, where the action takes place on a 5-reel, 3-row slot machine. One of the most appealing factors in the Play’n Go slot is the polished graphics and beautiful presentation. The other main takeaway is the 243 ways to win.

To form a winning combination in the enchanted forest, you will need to land 3, 4 or 5 matching symbols across the reels starting from the leftmost reel. This becomes a whole lot easier with the Splitting Symbols bonus, which sees a selected symbol have the power to split into two. If fortune favours you it could potentially lead to an incredible 7,776 ways to win from a single spin.

Shimmery Woods is certainly one of the most visually stunning slots you will come across. As you can see in the video below, the game takes place in a forest meaning that there is a backdrop full of foliage, mushrooms and fungi. However, as this is a magical forest, you will also see some shiny gemstones and diamonds. The slot brought to life with fantastic animations and a mystical soundtrack playing in the background.

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As for the symbols themselves, both the low and high value ones appear on wooden slabs. The lower value symbols include the royals 10, J, Q, K and A. Higher value symbols come in the shape of gemstones, a red ruby, blue sapphire, green emerald, and purple amethyst. They pay up to 2x, 3x, 4x and 6x for 5 across the reels, respectively.

Keep your eyes open for a magical crystal with a big ‘W’ in its core. The W crystal is the slot’s wild and will substitute for all standard symbols, whilst paying up to 6x your stake. In addition, there is also an Arkenstone that is the most enchanting of them all. By landing three of those scatters from a single spin, you will trigger the game’s free spins bonus round.

Once you are ready to try your luck in Shimmering Woods, you will have to set your stake before spinning. The betting ranges from a minimum €/£0.20 to a maximum €/£100 per spin. In addition, you can always opt for the autoplay function that allows up to 100 autospins with win and loss limits. For autoplay users, there is also a Turbo Mode available. As with all Play’n Go slots, Shimmering Woods is compatible with all devices, including mobiles. The transition to smaller screens works just fine with the symbols still clear and the colours still sparkling.

The action in Shimmering Woods is full of innovative features. The most exciting feature is the Splitting Symbols, a rather unusual yet fascinating game mechanic. In addition, you can also have lucky falls with cascading reels complete with increasing multipliers and there is a free spins bonus round. There is quite a bit to get used to but once you have got the hang of it, the gameplay will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Before every single spin, a random symbol will be chosen to act as the splitting symbol. Any splitting symbols that land on the reels will split into 2. In doing so, the number of ways winning combinations can be formed increases. Thus, if you can land a full set of splitting symbols on your screen, the number of ways to win will increase to a whopping 7,776. Once the spin has completed, a new splitting symbol will be chosen for your next spin.

In addition, the Shimmering Woods are also blessed with a cascading reels feature. This means that after every winning combination you form, the successful symbols will blast off your screen, leaving empty spaces. New symbols will drop down to fill these vacated positions and potentially form a new winning pattern. The process keeps on repeating until no new winning formation is present on your screen, giving you the chance to land several wins from a single spin.

But that is not all! To make matters more interesting, each successive cascade win introduces a Win Multiplier. The multiplier increases by +1 with each successful cascade. For instance, if you can land 3 additional cascade wins after your initial winning spin, your payout will be subject to a 3x multiplier boost. The win multiplier resets to 1x after a winless cascade.

There is also a free spins bonus round that will trigger if you can land 3 or more charming Arkenstone scatters on the same spin. Indeed, the scatter symbols may also split into splitting symbols. That gives you a better chance of winning during the free spins round. The more scatters you land, the bigger potential rewards you can claim. Here is how it looks:

• Landing 3 scatter symbols will reward you with 10 free spins and 1 extra splitting symbol
• Landing 4 scatter symbols will reward you with 13 free spins and 2 extra splitting symbols
• Landing 5 scatter symbols will reward you with 16 free spins and 3 extra splitting symbols
• Landing 6 scatter symbols will reward you with 19 free spins and 4 extra splitting symbols

In theory, the symbols could split during the free spins round as well. This would lead to thousands of potential ways to win. Plus, if you land additional scatters in the bonus round, you will re-trigger extra free spins.

• 3 scatters will re-trigger 3 extra free spins and 1 extra splitting symbol
• 4 scatters will re-trigger 6 extra free spins and 2 extra splitting symbols
• 5 scatters will re-trigger 9 extra free spins and 3 extra splitting symbols
• 6 scatters will re-trigger 12 extra free spins and 4 extra splitting symbols

The free spins bonus round is the most exciting feature in Shimmering Woods but the cascading wins with multipliers and splitting symbols will keep you on the edge of your seat during the base game. Nonetheless, your best chance of claiming the 25,000x top prize is in the free spins round and it is only possible with high paying splitting symbols.

Shimmering Woods has an RTP of 96.2% RTP, which is high for an online slot. As for the variance, it as a mid-to-high level with approximately 7/10 for volatility.

The gameplay in Shimmering Woods matches the exceptional work Play’n Go put into their presentation of the slot. With splitting symbols, cascading wins, expanding multipliers and free spins, there is more than enough going on to keep you excited.