Wild Santa Slot - Demo, Free Play, No Registration -

Introduction

Wild Santa is a slot developed by Spinomenal that is specifically designed to catch the mood at Christmas; however, there is nothing to stop you from playing it at any time. It is a fairly simple game that uses unashamedly traditional imagery, right down to the font. Inevitably, it carries echoes of the very successful Fat Santa slot; however, we tend to find that Spinomenal slots are always worth checking out and this is a Christmas themed slot that holds its own against the competition.

Wild Santa uses a standard 5x4 grid with a potential 100 paylines. There are nine regular symbols, including a wreath, bauble, gingerbread man, bells, pinecone and stocking. The scatter is a gold snowflake and the wild is Santa Claus himself. All wins pay from left to right and only the highest win on each line will pay. Wins are multiplied by the bet per line.

Theme, graphics and soundtrack

As seems to be the tendency of Christmas-themed games, Wild Santa focuses on the indoor experience rather than pursuing the possibilities of outdoor activities such as sleigh rides, snowball fights or even carol singing. We are in the familiar territory of the cosy hearthside, with a comfortable-looking armchair next to a fireplace hung with stockings. To the left stands a splendid grandfather clock with the time showing a tantalising five minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve. The reels are semi-transparent, so the background image is never entirely obscured and the symbols are not in frames. This keeps the grid pleasantly uncluttered.

The depiction of these very conventional Christmas icons is unashamedly old-fashioned. Some might even say they are cheesy; however, if you are going for a Christmas theme, you are not likely to be after a ground-breaking or subversive look. It is meant to be simply, corny fun, which is exactly what Wild Santa delivers.

What is a little disappointing is the lack of a soundtrack. This is a surprising choice, as the visuals are crying out for an accompaniment of bells, brass and choirs. All you have is the sound effects - loud clunks as the reels spin into place and short trills whenever a winning combination lands. This is a missed opportunity.

Wild Santa RTP and variance

Wild Santa has an RTP of 96.1 per cent, which is just above the average for an online slot. The variance has not yet been established, so it is only by playing it that you will learn the frequency and size of the payouts. Luckily, you can play it for free in demo mode right here at Slots Temple.

How to play Wild Santa

1. Click the spin button to set the reels spinning. The aim is to form a combination of symbols on paylines to win. See the paytable for the payout sizes.
2. Click max bet to play with the highest allowable bet.
3. Alternatively, use the + and - buttons to customise the bet settings to your preferred bet per line and number of lines.
4. Click autoplay to start continuous play using your selected bet per line. Click it again or use the pause button to stop autoplay at any time.
5. The question mark button opens all the game settings.
6. Click the features button to the top left to see a demonstration of what the screen will show for each win, all spots, scatter and wilds.

Bet sizes and paytable wins

The bet size ranges from 0.10 to 1,000, which is a good spread.

The paytable values are as follows:

- Wild

5 = 1,000

- Scatter 

5 = 250
4 = 25
3 = 2

- Wreath

5 = 1,000
4 = 300
3 = 60

- Bauble

5 = 600
4 = 200
3 = 50

- Gingerbread man

5 = 100
4 = 50
3 = 20

- Candy canes

5 = 100
4 = 50
3 = 20

- Bells

5 = 80
4 = 25
3 = 10

- Pinecone

5 = 80
4 = 25
3 = 10
        
- Present

5 = 50
4 = 15
3 = 5

- Stocking

5 = 50
4 = 15
3 = 5

- Queen

5 = 15
4 = 3
3 = 0.5

- Jack, 10

5 = 15
4 = 2.5
3 = 0.4

Max-win 1,000x

Volatility High

Top RTP 96.10%

    
Wild Santa bonus features

With no bonus rounds, all the action is in the base game and the features are limited.

Wild

The wild symbol substitutes for all other symbols except the scatter. Three or four wilds will pay out only if they are followed by a scatter symbol. Five wilds will win 10,000 coins. 

Scatter

The snowflake scatter symbol can pay up to 250,000 coins and pays in any position.

Wild Santa review: our verdict

This is a Christmas-themed game, which means you know what you are going to get. There is no action, no explosions, and nothing furious or surprising; however, this is unlikely to be what any player would be looking for in this part of the online slot market. 

The lack of bonus games can mean that your interest may wane a little, as the screen doesn’t really change and the experience feels a little static. It is not going to be anyone’s instant go-to game, but it is still fun for any player and may particularly suit beginners who will benefit from the focus on the base game before moving on to more complex slots.

Disclaimer: Wild Santa trademark / license is owned by Spinmatic. This site is not endorsed by Spinmatic.