Secret Santa – Open Your Mystery Gift!
Only a few casino game providers can deliver a slot masterpiece like Microgaming! The Secret Santa slot, although released a few years ago, is considered a Christmas classic! You will see it featured at online casinos during the holiday season, shoulder to shoulder with other leading Christmas-themed slot machines. It truly lives up to its name, offering a mystery bonus feature with seven different outcomes! We will go in great detail in our Secret Santa slot review, covering these and much more.
Slot Information
| Secret Santa Details | |
|---|---|
| House Edge: 3.68% | Return to player: 96.32% |
| Autospin: Yes | Softwares: Windows download, no download - instant play, mobile |
| Released: December 1, 2013 | Min Bet: 0.5 |
| Max Bet: 25 | Scatters: Yes |
| Gamble: No | Max Coins: 10 |
| Reels: 5 | Paylines: 1024 |
| Spins: Yes | Bonus Rounds: Yes |
| Wild: Yes | Software: Microgaming |
| Secret Santa comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Secret Santa | AVG | |
| Rating: | 5.0 | 4.2 |
| House Edge: | 3.68 % | 3.68 % |
| Return to player: | 96.32 % | 96.32 % |
| Paylines: | 1,024 | 25.0 |
| Bonus Features: | 4 | 3.6 |
Secret Santa Slot Machine Details and Wager Limits
It is not the average slot machine you get to play online. Secret Santa is a 1024 ways slot, which works the same way as 243 ways slots. However, because it has a 5x4 symbol grid, the number of "ways" is way bigger. To form a winning line, you need to have the same symbol in every reel, starting from the leftmost one. Also, the wager limits are rather flexible, allowing players to change the number of coins per "line" and to change the coin value. The coin value can be in the range of 0.01 and 0.05, and you can place up to 10 of these per line. Now, don’t be confused by the low max coin value. There are 50 bet lines in the game, which is twice as much of what other video slots offer.
We recommend using the Auto Play feature as there are no scatter bonus game, it’s all about that 5 of a kind Again, and the Mystery Bonus feature. You can activate up to 500 Auto Spins or have the reels spin until you stop them manually. In the AutoPlay settings, you can also set a winning threshold, which will stop the reels. Whatever you do, don't lose sight of the game, especially if you spin the reels for an unlimited number of spins.
Secret Santa Slot RTP
The Secret Santa online slot by Microgaming boasts a 96.32% RTP (return to player), which puts it among the higher than average RTP online slots. With medium volatility, and a higher than average RTP, it promises long and rewarding play sessions.
Secret Santa Slot Design and Basic Features
Secret Santa is an exceptional video slot, both from a video and audio perspective. The soundtrack will put you in a festive mood! Besides, the sounds coming from the reels, and whenever anything important happens on the reels, is on the spot! It's hard to come across a slot machine that ticks all boxes in the design department.
The symbols also follow the general Christmas theme, and half of them are unique, whereas the low paying ones are represented with 10 to A symbols. Nevertheless, even they have a Xmas touch! The details in the Secret Santa slot paytable change as you change the bet amount. Here are the payouts at max bet for 5 of a kind:
- Santa Claus - $/€/£250
- Xmas Tree - $/€/£200
- Fireplace - $/€/£100
- Stockings - $/€/£100
- Chicken - $/€/£50
- Cake - $/€/£50
- Wild symbol - $/€/£400
- Scatter Symbol - $/€/£2,500
The Wild can appear on reel 1, which is why winning lines are so frequent! Landing a 5 of a kind is also common, but if you have a wild symbol in the 5 of a kind, you will not trigger the bonus feature 5 of a Kind Again!
All things considered, the slot Secret Santa looks, feels and indeed is, fantastic! Even if we compare it with other competitors' Xmas slots, it ends up being among the top 3. Smooth audio, bright graphics, a bonus feature that sets it aside from the rest, it ticks all the boxes. However, this is only the beginning, because we still haven't had a look at the 7 Mystery Bonus Game outcomes, that are captivating, but rewarding as well!
Secret Santa Bonus Feature – 7 Mystery Gifts
It wouldn't have been so mysterious if there were two or three outcomes, so Microgaming put seven different ones in! Personally, all of them are rewarding, but it all depends what's going on with the reels, to begin with. According to many, not offering free spins in-game is considered a flaw. After all, there is a scatter symbol that's not doing anything. It's just taking a special place in the paytable and paying large cash prize than the rest.
In addition, because the Mystery Bonus is triggered randomly, and there’s no specific trigger, it is not as exciting. Nonetheless, it’s what makes it more surprising!
- Wild Reels – up to 3 Reels can be turned into Wild Reels
- Wild Boost – one random symbol is turned in the Wild Symbol
- Free Spins – 5 free spins are awarded a multiplier factor of 3x
- Mystery Multiplier – All wins on the reels are multiplied with a factor of 5x or 10x
- Dashing Wilds – 4 Wild Symbols are put on the reels, in entirely random positions
- Scatter Spree – All Symbols pay SCATTER WINS. This means you don’t have to have the symbol in every reel to connect.
- Rolling Reels – Consecutive wins will increase the multiplier up to a factor of 12x
To put these in perspective. All of them are rewarding but not equally. For example, the Free Spins are quite satisfying and rank among the top 3 for sure. The other two most rewarding bonus feature outcomes are the Wild Reels and the Scatter Spree. These three features guarantee some win. A prize amount that will surely make you happy about the slot machine.
The Christmas-themed slots that are closest to Secret Santa are probably Merry Xmas by Play N' Go and Flowers™ Christmas Edition by NetEnt. A Christmas Carol by Betsoft Gaming, although a very different kind of slot machine, is an adequate alternative!
“5 of a Kind Again!”
We already mentioned it a few times, but we need to shed more light on it. It's precisely what the title says it is, meaning if you manage to get a 5 of a kind of any symbol, except the Scatter and Wild symbols, you will get another 5 of a kind with a different symbol. It can be any of the high paying or low paying symbols, except the two exceptions we just mentioned.
Winning 5 of a Kind with almost any symbol is a big win, imagine winning two of them! Many slot players underestimate this bonus feature, yet it’s an instant 5 of a kind win. In addition, considering this is a 1024 ways slot, winning 5 of a kind is not all that uncommon.
Jolly Secret Santa Slot – Microgaming’s Your Secret Santa
Secret Santa is an all-around online slot that ticks all the boxes. These boxes are not gifts, but the game sure has a lot in store in terms of win potential. The RTP, the variance, even the game mechanics are all well balanced. Since it's a Microgaming slot, we're not sure if there are going to be lots of bonus offers targeting this game in particular. Had it been a NetEnt slot, we’d have different expectations. In case you’re looking for Christmas-themed slot free spins offer, check out the online casinos showcased on our Christmas Bonuses page. Another alternative is to check the games we outlined earlier in our Secret Santa slot review. If not this game, there will be offers for others!
In the end, Secret Santa is a worthy option for your Xmas play sessions, especially if you want to play with real money only.
Secret Santa Slot FAQs
I'm a business graduate who got involved in the iGaming industry from an early age. My hands-on experience at online casinos and my eye for detail have helped me take things to the next level. Today, I consider myself a gaming expert. I am committed to delivering detailed and unbiased reviews.
