Updated
Lisa Michaels
Shamrock Holmes Megaways Online Slot is a 6x7 reel with 117649 ways to win. It is a high-volatility slot by Microgaming and All41 Studios. A magical forest floor plays host to wooden, blue-rimmed reels with various iconic Irish symbols and a leprechaun detective feature as symbols. The Megaways feature randomly changes your number of paylines per spin, while the Rolling Reels mechanic removes winning symbol combinations, allowing more symbols to appear in their place. The bonus features include free spins and respins. This title can be played across all devices.
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Load the game to set up the six reels in the centre of the screen, with the number of symbols on each reel changing between two and seven per spin. There's also a four-row horizontal reel above the main set—more on how this works later.
The game displays your current credits and bet size below the reels. The control panel is located to the right of the reels, with all the buttons you need to change your bet size, play through a set number of spins, and check the payouts and symbol values.
Open the game's paytable to see all the available symbols and their values. There are thirteen, with eleven regular paying symbols and two that will activate bonus features. Here's what you can find as you spin the reels with Shamrock Holmes:
The lower-value symbols are 9 to A card royals. 9, 10, and J pay 1x your stake for six on a payline; Q, K, and A pay 1.5x your stake for six of a kind.
The higher-value symbols are iconic symbols from Irish mythology and the slot's titular character. The bile wildflower pays 2x your stake for six on a payline, while the Shamrock pays 2.5x your stake for six of a kind. A pixie with a pot of gold pays up to 5x your stake, and Shamrock Holmes pays 50x your stake for six on a payline.
The wild is a golden W against a multicoloured background that stands for any other symbol except the scatter and symbols in a respin. The scatter symbol is a gold coin that triggers free spins.
This is a Megaways slot, meaning the number of ways to win changes on each spin, as the number of symbols on the reels differs each time.
Reels can contain between two and seven symbols, and wins are formed by landing three or more matching symbols across adjacent reels. This means there can be up to 117,649 ways to win on every spin.
If you're familiar with Megaways games, you'll know you can expect many exciting bonus features in Shamrock Holmes. Megaways reels, free spins, respins and wilds are all available to increase your winning potential on every spin. Here's what you should look out for as you play:
The wild can appear on the extra reel above the primary playing grid, and it will substitute for any symbol other than the scatters or symbols participating in a re-spin trigger.
Each time you win in this slot, the symbols involved in the winning combination will be removed from the reels, with new ones falling to take their place. It's possible to trigger significant chain reactions if you get lucky here, potentially leading to big wins.
When certain combinations of symbols appear on the central reels and the particular horizontal reel above the game grid, you can trigger a respin with different numbers of Megaways unlocked.
If you land three scatters on the reels and a fairy on the horizontal reel, you will have 10,000 Megaways respin. Landing three scatters and a Shamrock Holmes symbol on the horizontal reel gives you 32,400 Megaways respins. If you land three scatters on the reels with Shamrock Holmes and the pixie appearing on the horizontal reel, you will have the highest possible 117,649 Megaways respin.
Landing four scatter symbols anywhere on the reels will award you ten free spins and an extra two free spins per symbol for any additional scatters. The free spins round will start with a 2x multiplierthat increases infinitely by +1 with every successive Rolling Reels win. Landing three or four scatters while the feature is active will award you three or four extra free spins.
You could win up to 28,000x your bet while playing this slot, meaning a maximum payout of $560,000 is possible from a single spin.
This slot's RTP rate of 96.44% puts it slightly above average in terms of payout rate. However, the volatility rating is high, meaning payout frequency is lower than average, even if the potential for larger payouts is higher.
When playing slots, checking ratings before you play is essential to get an idea of how the gameplay will go. However, these ratings are measured over many spins, so your typical playing session will see different results. The high volatility means a lot of variance, and you must be careful with your bet sizes. When I played, I faced a long series of dead spins, although I also hit a big win later on, thanks to the Magical Forest respin.
There must be thousands of Irish leprechaun-themed slots out there, but All41 Studios has at least tried something slightly different with the Leprechaun and Sherlock Holmes crossover. Although the symbol designs are still pretty basic, it's an exciting idea.
The graphics are decent, and I like the magical forest's simple yet relaxing backdrop. Animations play for every win, with symbols exploding in a burst of colourful energy. The sound effects and music help create a fun but relaxing vibe as you spin the reels. Even though I'm not a big fan of the theme, I still enjoy the game's appearance.
Although the best way to experience Shamrock Holmes Megaways is at an online casino, you can also play the game for free and test all the features. The free demo is available on this page; you can try it out without spending anything. You can set your bet using pretend credits and play as much as you like, getting to grips with the gameplay and bonus features before you play for real cash.
Since the original Megaways game came out, we've seen plenty of different developers try their hand at this feature-packed format. Shamrock Holmes introduced some new features, but there are many other exciting Megaways games to try out if you're a fan of this one. Bonanza is the original, but if you're after another Irish-themed Megaways game, you can play Irish Riches Megaways. Reel Kingdom recently combined the format with its popular Big Bass franchise, creating Big Bass Bonanza Megaways. Here's how they compare:
Shamrock Holmes Megaway’s slot is brimming with Irish charm and winning potential. Leprechaun-themed slots have always been popular, probably due to the association with the large pot of gold that these mythical figures are generally said to hoard.
This title pulls out all the stops with the theme, creating an enchanting forest environment with cute, detailed symbols. The Magic Forest Respins give you great opportunities during the base game, while free spins raise the stakes with $560,000 up for grabs as the maximum payout, which is a worthwhile jackpot for a well-put-together slot.
Lisa started off as a croupier at her local casino. However she found her niche in writing and has subsequently used her real-world gambling experiences to help produce and review the many online slots that are released monthly. Lisa also contributes to keeping you up to date with Canadian newsworthy stories.
