Beer Stein Bears Slot Review

The Beer Stein Bears slot presents a unique twist on the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This time Goldilocks looks like a German Milkmaid, and the setting is still from a fairytale, just one that takes place at Oktoberfest; the infamous German beer festival. The graphics of this game are next-level and bring the unique story to life.

The soundtrack is more like a soundscape with a general ambience and satisfying noises when buttons are clicked, but you can turn this off if you prefer. The game also gives you the option of whether or not to enable sound before loading which is very convenient for mobile gamers. 

The reels themselves are housed in a dark wood cart complete with kegs with golden taps at the top creating the illusion that the game symbols are pouring out from them. Speaking of the symbols, each one has been specially designed for the game and includes low-paying symbols like Bratwurst and Accordions, while the top three symbols are reserved for Baby Bear, Mummy Bear, and Daddy Bear.

The full paytable for the Beer Stein Bears slot is as follows:

• Heart Waffle: 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8x the total stake, respectively.
• Cheese: 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8x the total stake, respectively.
• Bratwurst: 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8x the total stake, respectively.
• Drum: 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.4, 0.6, and 1.40x the total stake, respectively.
• Accordion: 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.4, 0.6, and 1.40x the total stake, respectively.
• Baby Bear (Blue): 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.4, 1, and 2x the total stake, respectively.
• Mummy Bear (Pink): 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 0.4, 1, and 3x the total stake, respectively.
• Daddy Bear (Yellow): 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols landed across an active payline awards 1, 2, and 5x the total stake, respectively.
• Bavarian Clock: This is the bonus symbol and acts as a scatter to trigger bonus features. It can also award 1, 2, or 4x the total stake for 3-5 landed on the reels.
• Beer: This is the wild symbol and only appears on reels 2, 3, and 4. Unlike in other slots, this symbol can stand in for the bonus symbol to make triggering bonus features more easy.

Despite going heavy on the theme, the Beer Stein Bears slot keeps the bonus elements concise but rewarding. Included in the fun are expanding wilds, multipliers, and a free spins bonus round, all of which are explored in more detail below.

Wild Symbol and Expanding Wilds

The Wild symbol is the frothy pint of beer. While it can only appear on reels 2, 3, and 4, the wild substitute for all other symbols, including the Bonus Scatter; is something that is seldom come across.

Wilds are also able to expand, and this typically happens every 33 spins or so. The wild will expand to cover the entire reel which can lead to multiple winning outcomes. It also displays a multiplier when it expands, ranging from 1-15x.

Bonus Scatter

Unlike other slots where the bonus/scatter can trigger the free spins bonus by landing in any position on the reels, in Beer Stein Bears the bonus symbol; which is the Bavarian Clock, must appear on 3-5 adjacent reels. These do not need to be aligned but must start from the leftmost reel. As mentioned, the wild symbol can substitute for the bonus symbol to make the chances of triggering free spins a little more likely; approximately 1 in every 58.5 spins.

Free Spins

Landing 3-5 of the bonus scatter symbol (or substituting wilds) on adjacent reels will trigger the free spins bonus round. Players are awarded 7 free spins and if an expanding wild was used to trigger the bonus then 2 additional spins will be awarded. Any wild reels in play will carry over to the bonus and will stay in place for the duration of the free spins. If you land expanding wilds during the free spins, these too will lock in place for the remainder of the feature. 

Just like in the base game, expanding wilds will have a multiplier attached. This can range from 1, 2, 3, 5,7, 10, and 15x, but if there is more than one wild present, then these values are added together, meaning that if you achieved the maximum of 3 wild reels with the maximum 15x multiplier, your total win multiplier per spin would be 45x.

Powderkeg also provides us with some interesting additional statistics for the free spins bonus round. For example, the average value players walk away with from the bonus is 30.34x their total bet. The average multiplier they will receive is 2.73x, and the number of wild reels players achieve is 0.847. This means that the most common multiplier values sit within the 2-3x range, and while it is not guaranteed you will enter the free spins bonus with a wild reel, if you do, most likely it will be just the one.

Bonus Buy (Non-UK Only)

Players in eligible regions can choose to buy instant access to the free spins bonus round, and have two options for doing so:

1. 3 bonus symbols are awarded giving the player 7 free spins. This costs 22x your total stake.
2. 3-4 bonus symbols are awarded with 1 wild reel awarding 9 free spins. This costs 287x your total stake.

If you are familiar with my reviews then you probably know what I think of Beer Stein Bears; I love it! I am the type of slots girl who loves a theme that steps outside the typical slot fayre with unique storytelling told not just through the game description, but through the game design, the symbols, the features, and the soundtrack; and in these department Bear Stein Bears delivers. 

The production quality of this game is astounding, especially when you consider Powderkeg has only been in the business for a little over a year! I really love the witty take on Goldilocks; presenting her as a milkmaid, though I do wish she could have appeared as a symbol too. 

The statistics on this game are great, and I particularly love the clarity and transparency Powderkeg have provided, giving us data on everything from the basics of RTP (95.98% pretty much the market average) and volatility (medium), to the hit rate (1 in 2.05 spins), and even the average amount won during free spins (30.34x). I feel like providing easy access to this information should be required for all slots, as it helps to paint a clear picture of exactly what to expect from the game, and in the case of Beer Stein Bears even makes the game more of an intriguing title to play. For example, the hit rate of 1 in 2.05 spins is among the lowest I have ever seen, and knowing the average win (2.154x), as well as how likely it is for wilds to expand (1 in 33.927)  and the free spins bonus to be triggered (1 in 58.5) gives a very clear perspective of what to expect.

While I wish there had been one more bonus feature; maybe something with Goldilocks, and the base game symbols are not the most lucrative, Beer Stein Bears is a unique and entertaining game accessible to players of most budgets and all skill levels. Therefore I rate the Beer Stein Bears slot at an impressive 8.5/10 and raise my tankard to Powderkeg Studios.

Rating: 8.5