Dancing Drums (Light and Wonder)

Dancing Drums (Light and Wonder) slot REVIEW

Dancing Drums (Light and Wonder) ReviewDancing Drums is an asian themed slot from Light and Wonder, and it immediately captures your attention because of its unusual design, and sparkling, colorful and animated background. The slot is set in portrait mode, which makes the reels a bit too small to our liking, but you’ll get used to it pretty fast. Dancing Drums slot is aiming to follow up the success of its predecessor, the wildly popular 88 Fortunes, and in this review we’ll take a closer look at everything this game has to offer.

It was first released back in january 2017, and it comes with an exciting free spins feature that allows you to choose between number of free spins and number of ways to win. You can go as high as 15 free spins, or 7776 ways to win, it’s all up to you. The game also comes with 4 different jackpots that can be triggered randomly while you play. A very exciting game, but it should have been designed to fit the screen a little better.

Dancing Drums RTP, variance & technical data

Before we take a closer look at all the fun features Dancing Drums slot has to offer, we shall reveal this game’s most relevant technical data for you:

RTP: 96.09%

Volatility/Variance: Medium

Layout: 5x3

Paylines: 243 to 7776

Bonus features: Free Spins, 4 Jackpots, Multipliers, Scatter symbols, Substitution of winning symbols and Wilds

Bets: 0.88 to 88

Max wins (coins): 22 000

Dancing Drums has the regular average RTP of around 96%, and this means that the House edge on this game is 3.91%. Return to Player can be said to represent the opposite of the House edge, and it tells you how much you can expect a given slot to pay out over time.

Please also note that this is a medium variance game, which means you can expect to win decent payouts once in a while. Again, this is an average estimate, and both higher and lower winnings are of course possible, not least since this game also has 4 different jackpots.

Dancing Drums Review

Dancing Drums has a very different look and feel than the ordinary video slots we are used to seeing. It’s included in a series of special asian styled slots from Light and Wonder. Red and gold are the dominant colors, and the slot is set up in portrait mode, making the reels unusually small. The background is filled with something that looks like moving fireflies of gold, and it’s all very pleasing to the eye.

Dancing Drums has 5 reels and between 243 and 7776 paylines in the free spins feature. It’s available across all devices, but it has been a bit poorly optimized for the computer screen. As much as 4 jackpots are waiting for you on this game, and there is also a very exciting customizable free spins bonus feature to be found here.

The soundtrack is classic chinese style, very much suiting the style and the feel of Dancing Drums. The symbols are also taken from asian and chinese culture, and you’ll find jade dragons, gold flowers, gold pots, gold coins and, of course, drums - in addition to the normal A, K, Q, J 10 and 9 symboles. The wild symbol acts as a joker, replacing all symbols except the bar scatter symbol.

The free spins feature is where this game really shines, and here you get the option of higher number of free spins or more rows and paylines. The jackpot bonus feature will be played randomly, once at least one wild appear on the reels, but more about that later. Overall a fun and interesting game, but it could have been better optimized to fit the screen.

Dancing Drums bonus features

There are two main bonus features on this game, and these are the free spins feature and the jackpot feature. We’ll discuss both in detail below, and we are especially fond of the free spins feature where you can increase the ways to win up to a staggering 7776 paylines.

Dancing Drums free spins

The free spins feature on this game is mighty exciting, and it’s always fun and engaging to have plenty of options. The feature is triggered when you land at least 3 scatters on the reels, and you now have 5 options from which you must pick one:

15 free spins on a 5×3 reel set (243 paylines)

10 free spins on a 5×4 reel set

5 free spins on a 5×5 reel set

3 free spins on a 5×6 reel set (7776 paylines)

Mystery Pick gives you a random number of free spins between 3 and 15, with the possibility of as much as 7776 paylines.

Dancing Drums jackpot (max win)

When you land at least 1 wild on the reels, the jackpot bonus feature can be triggered at random. You will now get to pick from 12 gold coins, and each pick will reveal 1 of the 4 jackpots available. When you match 3 jackpots, that’s the jackpot you’ll win. The 4 jackpots are as follows:

Mini

Minor

Major

Grand

The Grand jackpot is by far the most rewarding, and you can win more than 1135 times your stake in this jackpot bonus feature. The size of the jackpots will vary with how much you’re staking on each bet, and the Grand Jackpot will be as high as 250 000 coins with maximum stake.

Dancing Drums mobile & tablet

The game is available on both mobile and tablet, which means you can bring this game with you just about anywhere you go. You can play on your Android devices, or Apple’s iPhone and iPad if you prefer that. It doesn't really matter, as it works the same across all platforms.

SlotCatalog verdict

As stated in the intro, this game would have benefited from being more optimized for the screen. The small reels are probably one reason Dancing Drums has not reached anywhere near the popularity of the predecessor, 88 Fortunes, but it’s still a decent game overall if you can look past the small reel size.

The free spins feature is always exciting, and you can take home some big wins from this slot if fortune is smiling your way. The asian style and theme might not be for everyone, but at least it gives the game somewhat of an excotic charm and charisma. The random jackpots add some excitement to the main game, and you never know which one you’ll land first.

Pros

Up to 7776 ways to win

Exciting customizable free spins feature

4 different random jackpots

Exotic theme, design and vibe

Cons

Could have been better optimized for the screen

______________________________________________________________