Jingle Balls Slot Review

Jingle Balls Slot RTP, Details and Wager Limits

The Jingle Balls slot has 6 reels and 144 ways to win initially. It’s set up in a 3x3x4x4x5x5 formation with reels 5 and 6 covered in holly (3 x 3 x 4 x 4 = 144). Winning combinations are formed when 3 or more identical symbols appear from left to right on adjacent reels (beginning from the leftmost reel). As you’ll discover below, scatters unlock reels 5 and 6 and xSplit wilds can give you up to 614,656 ways to win.

When it comes to bet limits, you can play Jingle Balls from 20p to £200 per spin. Click or press the ‘Coins’ icon to see all available bet options. Non-UK slot players have the option of Autoplay (up to 1,000 auto spins with balance limits) and Turbo Mode for quicker spins (enabled using the ‘Lightning Bolt’ icon).

In terms of the return rate, the Jingle Balls RTP is 96.1%. Higher than the 96% slots average, there are 94.08% and 92.09% RTP versions. Check which RTP you’re playing with by opening the game’s Paytable at your preferred UK casino. Regarding the highest RTP setting, 58.74% is for the base game and 37.36% for the bonus features.

Jingle Balls is a very high volatility slot and is rated as extreme (10/10). Winning combinations will land every 4.4 spins on average as the hit frequency rate is 22.67%. The free spins frequency is 1 in 166 spins.

Lastly, the Jingle Balls slot also offers 12,250 x bet max wins. The max win probability from the base game is 1 in 2.5 million spins. It’s a lot lower from the bonus features (more info below). Winning 100 x your total bet or higher will occur every 938 spins (on average). This is for the highest RTP setting though.

Theme: has Santa been naughty or nice this year?

With a Christmas theme, the Jingle Balls slot focuses on whether Santa himself has been naughty or nice this year. To find out, you need to sit on Santa’s lap and find out. That’s according to Nolimit City anyway. For the eagle-eyed, it’s a festive makeover of Remember Gulag.

With a black and white backdrop that makes the reels and symbols stand out, you’ll see a camera film scrolling in the background which has pictures of the game’s characters. You’ll instantly notice the classic Jingle Bells song which was written way back in 1857 and is one of the best-known songs in the world.

On the reels, you’ll see 5 different gifts which are wrapped in bows and various characters. They include Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer), a creature that looks like the Grinch, an elf, a grandma and Santa himself. Santa is the best-paying symbol awarding 0.75, 1.5, 4 or 6 x bet for 3, 4, 5 or 6 in combination. All paying symbols appear greyed out but light up to display full colour when part of a winning combination.

Then you have the Bauble Wild symbol which substitutes for all paying symbols and can appear on all 6 reels. Other symbols include xWays, xNudge Wilds xSplit Wilds and Star Scatters.

Jingle Ball Symbols - Payouts + Functions

Symbol	Payouts/Info
Gift 1	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.15, 0.3, 0.75 or 2 x bet
Gift 2	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.15, 0.3, 0.75 or 2 x bet
Gift 3	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.2, 0.4, 0.75 or 2 x bet
Gift 4	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.25, 0.5, 1 or 2.75 x bet
Gift 5	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.25, 0.5, 1 or 3 x bet
Rudolph	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.35, 0.7, 1.25 or 4 x bet
Grinch	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.4, 0.8, 1.25 or 4 x bet
Elf	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.45, 0.9, 2 or 5 x bet
Grandma	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.5, 1, 3 or 5 x bet
Santa	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.75, 1.5, 4 or 6 x bet
xWays	Reveals random symbol
xNudge Wild	Nudges to be fully visible + increases wild multiplier
xSplit Wild	Splits symbols + increases number of ways to win
Star Scatter	3+ trigger Spirit Spins feature

Jingle Balls Mobile

Released on the 5^th of December 2023, Jingle Balls is just in time for Christmas. It’s available to play on desktop, mobile and tablet devices including iOS and Android smartphones. For the optimal visual experience, a laptop or PC is recommended.

Jingle Balls Bonus Features

The Jingle Balls slot has 6 bonus features. Offering xWays, xNudge and xSplit mechanics, there are up to 614,656 ways to win. The focus is on the Spirit Spins feature which has 3 modes. This sees up to 4 characters with multipliers that can double or increase during the feature.

Wish Upon a Star feature

The Wish Upon a Star feature is basically Nolimit City’s xBet. It’s enabled by pressing/clicking the xBet button to the right of the reels (on the desktop version). By increasing your bet by 50%, you are guaranteed a Star Scatter symbol on reel 2.

This means that reel 5 is unlocked for more ways to win. It also increases your chances of triggering the Spirit Spins feature. Finally, the RTP rises to 96.22% (for the 96.15% RTP setting).

xWays feature

The xWays symbol lands on reels 1 and 2 in the base game but on reels 5 and 6 during the Spirit Spins features. When an xWays symbol lands, it will:

• Reveal a random regular symbol
• Multiple xWays symbols will reveal the same symbol
• The xWays symbol can be 2 to 3 symbols in size
• When split by the xSplit Wild, the xWays multiplier is doubled

xNudge Wild feature

Look out for xNudge Wilds which appear on reels 3 and 4 (in the base game and free spins). It nudges to be fully visible and awards a stacked wild/wild reel. Each nudge increases the wild multiplier by 1.

When a part of the xNudge Wild lands, it nudges up or down until it occupies the whole reel. Several xNudge Wild multipliers will see their multiplier values added together for a total multiplier. If an xSplit Wild splits an xNudge Wild, it adds 1 more wild to that reel.

xSplit Wilds feature

As mentioned, regular Bauble Wilds can land on all 6 reels. xSplit Wilds land on reels 5 and 6 in the base game but on reels 1 and 3 in the free spins. Basically, xSplit Wilds split all symbols to the left and right and double that symbol. This means you can benefit from additional ways to win, up to 614,656 ways to win are possible. When

If a symbol is split more than once, it’s displayed with a multiplier. When xSplit Wilds splits xWays symbols, the xWays multiplier is doubled for each split. If the xSplit Wild splits a Star Scatter, the scatter transforms to an expanding wild that occupies the whole reel. This doesn’t apply during the free spins though. Finally, xSplit Wilds convert into 2 regular wilds which can be then be split by other xSplit Wilds.

If a symbol is split more than once, it will contain a multiplier. When xSplit Wilds split xWays symbols, the xWays multiplier is double for every split. The xSplit Wild can also split scatter symbols which then transforms into an expanding wild that occupies the whole reel with wilds. After landing, xSplit Wilds convert into 2 regular wilds which can then be split by other xSplit Wilds.

Spirit Spins feature

The Jingle Balls slot focuses on the Spirit Spins feature. It’s triggered when you land 3 or more Star Scatter symbols. If you are lucky enough to trigger the feature with 4 or 5 scatters, you’ll play the All Aboard or Double Joy modes respectively.

Unlike the base game, the reels are switched to have a 5x5x4x4x3x3 formation/set-up. All 6 reels are in place and unlocked too. Then a setup spin is triggered which decides the number of free spins you’ll play and what win multiplier each of the 4 high-value character symbols have. The number of characters active will depend on how many triggering Star Scatters you landed initially:

During the free spins, look out for the Top Reel which can award an increase win multiplier value to the active characters. Here is how it acts depending on the mode you’re playing:

• Standard/All Aboard Modes: Randomly increases multiplier by 1, 2 or doubles current win multiplier
• Double Joy Mode: Randomly increases multiplier by 2, 4 or doubles current win multiplier

Collecting Star Scatters will reward you with 1 extra free spin each time. If you collect 3 scatters, you will upgrade the mode to All Aboard Mode and Double Joy Mode (in that order).

Nolimit Bonus feature

Players located outside the UK can opt for the Nolimit Bonus feature. Essentially, a Bonus Buy element, you have 4 options to enter the Spirit Spins feature which range between 60 and 486 x your total bet. Here are all the details with the increase in RTP:

The Lucky Draw option sees you have a 60% chance of the Standard Mode and 20% chance of both the All Aboard and Double Joy Modes.

Jingle Balls Verdict: festive clone of Remember Gulag with a tweaked math model

4/5

Based on our expert’s review. Reviewed by Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor

Play Jingle Balls

Jingle Balls Slot

This festive twist of Remember Gulag shares the same gameplay but with a much higher chance of achieving the reduced max win.

Pros

• 12,250 x bet max wins
• Up to 614,656 ways to win
• Free spins has 3 modes

Cons

• Festive clone of Remember Gulag slot
• 2.44 x lower max win than original game

As mentioned in the theme section, the Jingle Balls slot is a festive clone of Remember Gulag. Whilst Nolimit City move away from concentration camps, you’ll see the resemblance as some of the sounds are the same, albeit with a festive twist.

It’s not your usual Christmas-themed slot either which is refreshing. I see the similarities with the Ugliest Catch slot by Nolimit City which is their take on the popular fishing theme most other slot providers are creating.

When it comes to the gameplay, the bonus features have remained the same. What has changed is the math model. In Jingle Balls, the probability of triggering the free spins (Spirit Spins) is higher but the max win potential is lower.

With 12,250 x bet max wins, Remember Gulag offers 30,000 x bet payouts. That said, the max win probability in this festive version is 1 in 2.5 million spins. In Remember Gulag, it’s 1 in 17 million spins.

This means the max win is 2.44 times lower but the max win probability is just over 7 times more likely. That’s not a bad trade-off. In terms of win potential, you can hit the max win on average every 166 spins in the Spirit Spins feature. If you’re using the xBet, it’s 1 in 91 spins.

In summary, the Jingle Balls slot may be a clone of another popular game but the math model is softer and more fitting to the theme (the season of giving). How the 2 slots compare depends on whether you want bigger wins with a lower chance of achieving it against decent max wins with a much higher chance of landing it.