The Scruffy Duck that can be full of luck
NetEnt’s new slot Scruffy Duck is in many ways a throwback to how games were five years ago in online casinos. But with five different types of free spins and expanding Wilds that help you win, there’s a modern twist there that will keep you entertained for ages.
I’ve taken to this game like a duck to water!
I’d been given a heads-up about the Scruffy Duck video slot a few weeks back and it had a special place in my heart before I even started playing it. Let me explain.
NetEnt is in my good books for many reasons. Towards the end of last year, they brought us Warlords: Crystals of Power and the much-talked-about Red Riding Hood – two big hits. Hence the anticipation for Scruffy Duck was enormous.
Scruffy Duck can be played on a desktop or you can take these feathery friends around with you by playing it on your mobile.
Am I playing slots or watching cartoons? Both? Cool.
Have any of you guys got one of those friends who keeps surprising you? One day they’re munching on burgers and chips and the next it’s quinoa and steamed cauliflower? Or they forget your birthday one year, only to buy you the best birthday gift ever the next year? Well, NetEnt has pretty much done that right here.
‘Red’ and ‘Warlords’ were real blockbuster casino slots with 3D graphics, elaborate trailers, real colour-filled explosions of slot excess. They were what the most modern slots strive to be and the sort of games that the very best developers might come up with if they had the A-Team equivalent of designers and programmers…and an unlimited budget.
But the Scruffy Duck slot isn’t like that at all
They’ve sort of gone back to their grassroots and it’s like they’re saying
‘This is what we were doing a few years ago. It was fun stuff and we decided to go a little retro just one last time.’ Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.
It’s themed around a Duck family going about their business (you know, appointments at the bank, grocery shopping that sort of stuff) while they help you win cash.
In terms of design, what you and I have is a slot that looks a bit like a cross between a cartoon and those toys you get that come inside a little yellow plastic pod when you buy Kinder chocolate eggs. If you had to imagine the sort of graphics we’re talking about, think Blood Suckers.
The highest paying symbols are the different members of the Duck family. Lower paying symbols come in the form of playing cards that are sort of hatching from an egg…naturally. The Scatter symbol is your route to free spins and you’ll instantly know which symbol it is because it says…Free Spins…on it. ‘Call a spade a spade!’ as my Dad always used to say to me.
The Wild Symbol is great. It’s a Duck-wearing spectacle (no, we don’t know why either) who looks as happy as Donald (who was presumably named after Donald Duck) Trump at a Miss Universe contest. The Wild substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter.
Five unique and exciting free spins features
You may think from what you read so far that this is too basic a game to really be worth your while. But rather like with a Dan Brown novel, you just need to be a little patient. This is where things get interesting. Let’s talk Scruffy Duck features.
The Wild Duck that starts swanning around
How do you like the idea of a Duck who suddenly turns into a beautiful Swan and expands on the whole reel to help complete a winning combination? Cool, eh? Well, that’s exactly what happens here and once you get to the free spins, you’ll see other Wilds appear on the reels as well.
A handful of different free spins
I mentioned the Scatter symbols already so let’s talk about how you get them and what happens when do. Once you get the Scatter symbol on Reels 3, 4 and 5 you activate the free spins. But which ones?
Well, it depends on which of the diving ducks you choose. Five ducks, each representing a different type of free spins take a dive into the pond.
Presumably on the look-out for a tasty fishy lunch.
You then have to select one of the ducks and one of the following will come your way:
- Multiplier feature – You will receive 15 free spins with a 3x multiplier.
- Symbol Removal feature – You will get 12 free spins with all lower value symbols removed from the reels.
- Colossal Wild feature – You will get 10 free spins with a 2×2 or 3×3 Colossal Wild on reels 2, 3 and 4 only. The Colossal Wild can appear fully or partially and if part of a winning combo, it splits into between 2 and 9 single wilds!
- Random Wild feature – You will get 8 free spins with between 2 and 5 random wilds added on each free spin. Sadly, random wilds don’t expand.
- Double feature – You will get 6 free spins with 2 of the above features randomly chosen for you.
Just so you know, all Wilds will expand to cover the entire reel whenever they appear. In the Colossal Wild Feature, the colossal Reels will only appear on Reels 1 and 5 but you can, of course, get regular Wilds on the three middle reels as well.
My Favourite feature of the five
Everyone will have their favourite from amongst the five types of free spin.
Just like everyone has a favourite member of the Beatles, Justice League member or favourite sandwich at Subway. So it’s only fair I tell you mine.
Well, actually it’s not as simple as that because I have two favourites.
The one I just mentioned – the Colossal Wild feature – has huge potential. If you get 3×3 Colossal Reels on the three middle reels you’re already in business and should you be lucky enough to get Expanding Wilds on Reels 1 and 5 as well, then you’re entering Uncle Scrooge territory in terms of potential winnings.
But the Double feature isn’t too far behind. Here you can get two of the other features together and that could obviously lead to some big wins, too. That said, it’s as rare as a black swan. You really don’t see it that often
Don’t judge a Duck by its beak
Scruffy Duck may seem a little like a made-for-kids slot when you first start with its ‘cartooney’ graphics and a slight element of silliness to it. But make no mistake, this is a serious medium-to-high variance slot with the potential to reward you with 1200 times your stake, achievable on the Double and Colossal Wild features already mentioned.
Like most games, it’s mostly about securing those free spins and hoping you get a good one.
But not only.
Don’t underestimate the potential of the Expanding Wilds in the base game because those Swans can deliver you some considerable wins. Try it out today for real money on one of the best Indian online casinos!