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22 January 2024 
Cowabunga Dream Drop Slot Review
Surfs up in Relax Gaming’s latest addition to the Dream Drop family, Cowabunga! Relax Gaming are known for making waves with innovative titles that turn heads, and they hope to do the same with their latest slot. Cowabunga Dream Drop is also available without the jackpot inclusion if you’re not a believer in the lower RTP or your chances of hitting the big one, but will it be a viable choice without the Jackpot feature?
As born and bred Britons we’re not the most capable surfers with waves that Australians might call ‘ankle busters’ but we’ll shoot the curl in this slot review as we test it out.
Cowabunga Dream Drop Base Game and Features
Cowabunga Dream Drop is a 5-reel Video Slot with up to 3,087 ways to win. Wins occur when 3 or more of the same symbol types land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
This game can be played for as little as £.€0.20 per spin, up to a maximum of £.€100 per spin, with multiple options in between the two. Cowabunga Dream Drop has a theoretical RTP of 94.00% and a max win cap of 6,000x.
In terms of symbols, the highest-paying symbol here is the Character with the Orange Surfboard, followed by Characters with the Purple, Green, and Blue Surfboards. Low-paying symbols fall to Red, Orange, Green, and Blue Fish. Wilds substitute for all other symbols except Scatters.
Sync & Expand
During any random spin, reels 2-3, 3-4, or 2, 3, and 4 can become synced, revealing the same High or Low-paying symbols in the same order. When the sync occurs, reels 2, 3, and 4 will expand to contain 4, 5, 6, or 7 symbols in height, up to a maximum of 3,087 ways.
Nudge
Occasionally, during gameplay, the reels will stop, nudging downward in order to improve a winning combination on the reels.
Dream Drop Bonus
Randomly in the base game, a special Jackpot Spin can trigger. Landing at least 1 DD symbol on each reel will enter you into the Dream Drop Bonus.
During the Dream Drop Bonus, the more the reels are filled with DD symbols, the greater the Jackpot Prize! Filling 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 reels will award the Rapid, Midi, Maxi, Major, and Mega Jackpot respectively. Only one Jackpot Prize can be awarded during the Dream Drop Bonus.
Free Spins
Landing only 2 Scatters in the base game triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 5 Free Spins. During Free Spins, reels 2, 3, and 4 are always synced. Landing a Scatter symbol on reel 5 during this time will award an additional +1 Free Spin.
Cowabunga Dream Drop: Our Verdict
Cowabunga wasn’t as ‘sick’ as we’d hoped it would be, and we’re sorry to say that we’re not sure it’s a viable choice for anything other than its jackpot feature. It’s got a sunny and cheerful theme, which makes it quite appealing in itself if you’re craving those summer rays, but the novelty wears off quickly, and the features of Cowabunga certainly aren’t as strong as other games in their portfolio, and neither is the potential.
At 6,000x, Cowabunga lags behind what many modern slots are capable of, and the Nudge and Sync & Expand features do not portray an overwhelming sense of excitement. It could have done with some multipliers, or some extra bells and whistles to make the base game more tolerable until free spins, and even when it gets to Free Spins it’s not a feeling of overwhelming anticipation. In our opinion, synced reels aren’t the strongest of slot features, and they definitely need a touch of something else to compliment them
Overall, Cowabunga makes smaller waves than you’d think, given its surfing theme.
Welcome Bonus
