Santa Pays - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

There are Design Works Gaming slots covering all kinds of themes, but few will engender the smiles and comfort of Santa Pays and its vivid depiction of the Christmas spirit. With a simple 3x3 layout with 27 paylines, Santa Pays has two bonus wheels and some very impressive progressive jackpots for extra thrills.

Theme, graphics & soundtrack

We are all at least a little familiar with Santa Claus. He is the jolly fellow with the white beard and red suit who brings Christmas cheer wherever he goes and has been doing so for many years. The familiar Father Christmas we have got to know in the last century or so is inspired by some much older stories. These include the legendary Saint Nicholas, variations of which are found all around the world. You may even have enjoyed the Fat Santa slot.

Santa in Santa Pays is everything you would expect, complete with coat and beard, a twinkle in his eye and his famous list in his hands. He is accompanied on the reels by his most beloved reindeer Rudolph, whose nose is unmistakably glowing, alongside some baubles and other Christmas trimmings. The sparkling red in the background is a little more generic and the jingling tune of We Wish You a Merry Christmas cuts off abruptly between spins. 

Santa Pays RTP and variance

If you are looking for that 96 per cent average that we always tell you to look for in a new slot, Santa Pays is going to be more than welcome. It has a slightly higher 96.2 per cent RTP; however, as always, this is a theoretical figure and not a guarantee. It is accompanied by high variance, which may make individual wins larger but also means they will be spread further apart.

How to play Santa Pays

There is no need for a sleigh here; instead, just take these few steps:

1. If you want the most in-depth guide to every symbol, payline and feature, you need to locate the menu button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will take you to a settings box where you can switch both the sound effects and music on and off in addition to accessing your game history and the paytable.
2. It is the paytable with all the symbols that you will see first. From here, there are links to other pages on paylines, rules and features. 
3. Head back to the main screen, this time looking to the left of the reels. Use the up and down arrows to adjust your bet, which is handily displayed. As you do so, the four boxes showing the current progressive jackpots available will also change at the top of the screen.
4. You have been up, down and left - now it is time to go right to the two buttons that give you the power to start your game. The largest one is spin, which is green. Alternately, you could try the blue button just above it.
5. This blue button will lead you to autoplay. Start by picking a number of automatic spins, from 10 to 100; next, you will be led to another window where you can set stopping points at your loss and single win limits.
6. These limits are an essential part of responsible gaming, helping you to stick to a budget. In this way, the slot stays fun and you walk away satisfied rather than chasing losses. To make sure you keep to it, watch your overall balance. This is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Bet & win sizes

You have a bet range that starts at 0.30 and can increase to as much as 180.00. The paytable shows payouts for the lowest bet, but you can use the bet multiplier to calculate higher values. You win by matching three symbols on a payline, consecutive and adjacent from left to right:

• Bauble = 0.06
• Poinsettia = 0.09
• Present = 0.15
• Rudolph = 0.30
• Santa (any combination of halves) = 1.00

Santa Pays bonus features

There are two main bonus features in Santa Pays, both of which decide your reward based on a prize wheel:

Coins wheel

Find three coins wheel scatter symbols on the reels and trigger one spin on this feature. This may award you a straight cash prize or one of four possible progressive jackpots - mini, minor, major and mega.

Free games wheel

Find the free games wheel scatter symbols three times across the reels and you will see this wheel, which comes with one spin. Prizes include a free games round and a chance at one of the four progressive jackpots.

During the free games, it only takes two coins wheel or free games wheel symbols to trigger one spin of their respective wheels. Activate them with three scatters and this time you will get three spins and three shots at a prize. You can retrigger free games up to 1,000 times; obviously, this is pretty difficult.

Santa Pays review: our verdict

This slot is bound to get you into the festive mood, so no Scrooges are allowed. Some of you may prefer only to play a Christmas themed slot in December; however, this would be a shame, as there is some nice detail in the graphics and two very exciting bonus round that belie the simple three-reel layout.

Disclaimer: Santa Pays trademark / license is owned by Design Works Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Design Works Gaming.