Spark of Genius Slot Review

Spark of Genius Slot RTP, Details & Wager Limits

Spark of Genius uses a 6×6, cascading reels game grid. So far, so standard. That’s pretty much all that is standard about this innovative new release. Rather than the usual collection of different symbols, the game grid here is made up of electrical circuits. Form winners by closing at least 4 of those circuits to make a connection. The more circuits in the connection, the bigger the payout. Following a winner, the successful circuits are removed from the reels and new symbols drop in to replace them. The cascades continue as long as a new closed circuit is created.

Stakes here range from between 10p and £100 per spin. In some territories, there are options to set up turbo spins and autoplay mode. Neither of these are available to players at slot sites in the UK.

The Spark of Genius RTP is 96.30% which is better than average and slightly higher than the usual offering from Play’n GO. There are also versions with 94.3%, 91.3%, 87.3% and 84.3% return to player rates – the ones in the 80s are only available at German casinos, though.

As you might expect from a slot with this theme, this is a high variance slot. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Spark of Genius volatility comes in at the maximum of 10.

The most you can potentially win here is 10,000 x stake.

Theme: superb design fizzes with energy

Spark of Genius sends players back in time to Paris and the earliest days of electricity. The action centres on a pair of feuding scientists, Maynard Woodrow and Tess Jacova (a re-telling of Edison vs. Tesla, perhaps), battling to showcase their invention.

The two scientists stand alongside the reels, firing up their respective machines as winning combinations land. The reels are made up of electrical circuits which when closed, make up winning combinations. Even if you failed your GCSE physics, it’s easy to spot when a winner lands as they crackle into life and turn orange or blue.

There’s a steampunk-style quality to the visuals here that I really liked. The sweeping soundtrack is punctuated by quotes from the pair of electrical pioneers.

This is a slot that really crackles with energy as far as design is concerned.

There aren’t any symbols as such in the game that offer certain payouts. But here’s the payout info you need to know about closed connections:

4-30 closed connections = 0.3 to 300 x stake

Spark of Genius Mobile

The high-class design on show in the desktop version of Spark of Genius is present and correct in the mobile and tablet versions too. The visuals here are super-sharp, even on the smaller screen. You won’t lose anything playing this on a smartphone at a mobile casino site as opposed to a computer with a bigger screen.

Spark of Genius Bonus Features

Like the design, the features in Spark of Genius offer something a little different from the norm. Instead of landing scatters, you need to charge meters by landing winning combinations to trigger the bonuses. The more symbols in the winner, the more charge is added to the meter.

There are two types of energy in Spark of Genius. Maynard Woodrow activates Manifest Energy while Tess Vacova activates Resonant Energy. When a winner lands, either the Manifest or Resonant Energy Meter is charged. This is chosen randomly. When you reach certain thresholds, you’ll activate the associated feature.

Manifest Energy Features

There are 35 possible charges available here and 3 feature thresholds.

• Relay – Collect 15 circuits and between 7 and 11 circuit symbols are removed from the grid and a new cascade follows.
• Overload – Collect 25 circuits and 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 destroy symbols are added which also remove adjacent symbols. A new cascade follows.
• Empire Spin – You need to collect 35 circuits to activate this feature. A 2×2 transformer, complete with a 3x multiplier is added to the centre of the grid. This acts as the equivalent of 4 connected symbols. If a closed circuit connects to the transformer, it increases the value of the multiplier by 1x. Multipliers apply to all wins during the Empire Spin and can get as high as 20x. If there’s a non-winning cascade, the Relay and Overload are applied to hopefully get things going again.

Resonant Energy Features

Like the Manifest Energy extras, there are 3 on offer from the Resonant Energy side.

• Gyrota – Collect 15 circuits and rotate between 3 and 7 randomly chosen symbols to hopefully create some new winning circuits/
• Dynamo – Collect 25 circuits and between 2 and 6 special circuit symbols are added to the game grid.
• Energy Spin – Collect 35 circuits and you’ll receive a single Energy Spin. With each successive winning cascade, a multiplier increases from 1x to 4x, 8x, 12x, 16x and 20x. If there’s a winless cascade the Gyrota and then the Dynamo (this time with between 4 and 8 special symbols) features are awarded.

Spark of Genius Verdict: looks great but doesn’t deliver any sort of spark

2.7/5

Based on our expert’s review. Reviewed by Martin Backhouse

Martin Backhouse

Play Spark of Genius

Spark of Genius Slot

This is a unique slot and the visuals are pretty good. But beyond that, there’s not much to get excited about. It’s an OK release, though.

Pros

• Superb design
• Innovative gameplay
• Unique bonus features

Cons

• Highly volatile
• Can look complicated at first

Having the word genius in the name of anything is always a bit of a hostage to fortune, even if it just describes the subject matter here. Like the pioneers it portrays, Play’n GO has created something original in Spark of Genius. The FuseWays game engine certainly does things differently and the mechanic takes a bit of getting used to. Once you’ve got your eye in, there’s a lot to like here.

As we’ve become used to from Play’n GO, the design here is A+. Spark of Genius looks and sounds terrific. The gameplay stacks up pretty well too. I managed to charge the meter regularly to trigger the features. The full charge for the Energy and Empire spins was much harder to come by though.

The 96.3% RTP is pretty solid and the 10,000 x max win delivers a decent payout punch. This is extremely volatile though so tread carefully.

The unusual mechanic might not be to all tastes but if you like the steampunk aesthetic and innovative gameplay, Spark of Genius is worth charging up.