Spooky Carnival is a visually stunning 5 x 3 slot inspired by Halloween, released by Red Tiger in October 2023. In our Spooky Carnival review, we’ll explore the prizes on offer, the Spooky Coins, the Free Spins feature, and more. Spooky Carnival has 10 fixed paylines and medium volatility, with a modest top prize of 1,418.5x your bet.
Spooky Carnival is played on 5 reels and 3 rows with 10 paylines. You can bet between £0.10 and £300 per spin, so it’s suitable for high rollers.
To win a prize in Spooky Carnival, you need to land at least three matching symbols on any of the paylines. The size of your payout depends on the symbols that land and how many make up a combination.
Spooky Carnival has medium volatility, which means it strikes a fair balance between the size of the prizes and their frequency. Unfortunately, it also has a low RTP of 92.73%, which is far below the average of 96% for slot games. The biggest potential payout is low, too, at just 1,418.5x your bet. Fortunately, the Free Spins feature and Spooky Coins may help you claim the more generous wins available.
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As Spooky Carnival is inspired by Halloween, it has a fantastically hair-raising design with an atmosphere to match. The visuals are of the high standard we expect of Red Tiger: crisp, detailed, and smoothly animated.
The misty carnival surrounding the reels features flashing light bulbs, mounds of pumpkins (one even has glowing eyes), a crow perched above a lantern, a skull with a flickering candle on top, and more spooky goodness. The music is just as outstanding, with a fun, spine-tingling feel perfect for a Halloween-themed game.
Spooky Carnival features 12 symbols: 10 standard symbols, a Wild, and a Scatter. The standard symbols include a toffee apple, a cauldron filled with a green potion, and classic royals with a ghostly twist.
The Toffee Apple is the most valuable, paying up to 20x your bet. The Pumpkin Wild also pays 20x your bet for 5 in a winning combination, and it substitutes for all standard symbols. Land enough Scatters and you’ll trigger the Free Spins feature.
Ten
3 = 0.2x bet / 4 = 0.3x bet / 5 = 1.2x bet
Jack
3 = 0.2x bet / 4 = 0.4x bet / 5 = 1.5x bet
Queen
3 = 0.3x bet / 4 = 0.5x bet / 5 = 2x bet
King
3 = 0.3x bet / 4 = 0.6x bet / 5 = 3x bet
Ace
3 = 0.5x bet / 4 = 1x bet / 5 = 4x bet
Potion
3 = 0.8x bet / 4 = 1.5x bet / 5 = 6x bet
Cauldron
3 = 1x bet / 4 = 2x bet / 5 = 8x bet
Mallett
3 = 1.5x bet / 4 = 3x bet / 5 = 12.5x bet
Toffee Apple
3 = 2x bet / 4 = 5x bet / 5 = 20x bet
Wild
5 = 20x bet
As Spooky Carnival was made with HTML5 technology, you’re free to play it on a desktop or mobile device. It looks just as gorgeous on a small smartphone screen as on a monitor. If you play in portrait mode, the setting looks a little bit different: pumpkins with glowing eyes sit below the reels, crows fly in the distance, and lights flicker on the big top behind the reels. Play in landscape mode, though, and the background looks more like it does in the desktop version.
Spooky Carnival is a bit light on bonus features: you’ll find Spooky Coins attached to Wilds, and you can trigger the Free Spins feature for more chances to win. Let’s take a closer look.
Every Wild that lands on the reels has a Spooky Coin, and each one fills a coin slot in the progress bar above the reels. If you fill all five slots, a random symbol type will be exchanged for Wilds on the next spin. Another symbol type could be swapped for Wilds at random, too.
If you collect more coins than you can fit into the progress bar, those extra coins will fill the slots on the following spin.
Match 3 Scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 to win 10 free spins. Any Spooky Coins in slots above the reels when the feature starts stay in place.
You’ll collect Spooky Coins as normal during the Free Spins round, and any symbol types exchanged for Wilds keep swapping on every spin until the feature ends. Fill the Spooky Coin slots to get three more free spins. If you have any Spooky Coins still in the progress bar when the feature ends, they carry over into the base game.
Spooky Carnival may appeal to anyone who likes Halloween, as it has a wonderfully ghoulish design with all the pumpkins, mist, and toffee apples you’d expect.
However, the payouts on offer are small, awarding just 20x your bet for the most valuable symbols, and the RTP is well below average at 92.73%. The biggest win available is pretty meagre at 1,418.5x your bet.
Fortunately, the Spooky Coins feature is a definite advantage, allowing you to swap symbols for Wilds. The Free Spins feature incorporates the Spooky Coins nicely, too.
Ultimately, Spooky Carnival looks terrific, but it’s best suited to players looking for simple gameplay and a fun theme rather than generous payouts.
Rating: 6.5
Here are five common questions about Spooky Carnival: