Da Vinci DeluxeWays

Da Vinci DeluxeWays Slot Review

Florence’s dome glows violet on the night horizon, and beneath it a Renaissance garden sits wrapped in gold filigree, purple flowers clustering along the bottom edge of the reels. Da Vinci DeluxeWays uses that painting as a backdrop for the most mechanically restless game High 5 Games have put their name to here, one where the reels themselves change size from spin to spin. If you liked the stately Valkyrie Queen 2, this is the same studio building something far twitchier.

The claim worth arguing is the reel set. Seven reels are always in play, but the number of symbol positions shifts from spin to spin, so the ways swing between 729 and 1,000,000. Reel seven even sits sideways above the middle of the grid. It runs at 96.0% RTP, and no volatility rating is given for it.

Base Game & Features

All seven reels are always active, but each spin deals a different number of symbol positions onto them, which is what moves the ways count between 729 and the million mark. Reel seven is the odd one: it lies sideways above reels two to five and carries four positions. Wins pay left to right on adjacent reels.

The paytable is a portrait gallery. Da Vinci’s own faces and subjects fill the premium rows, with six coloured gems at the bottom, and the ladders run long because the ways count keeps climbing. The majors pay as follows:

• Ginevra (green dress): 10x for three, 40x for five, 100x for eight, 400x for thirteen, 1,500x for eighteen
• Mona Lisa: 10x for three, 40x for five, 100x for eight, 400x for thirteen, 1,000x for eighteen
• Da Vinci (purple cap): 3x for three, 10x for five, 50x for eight, 200x for thirteen, 750x for eighteen
• Lady with headband (blue): 30x for six, 75x for eight, 200x for twelve, 600x for sixteen, 1,000x for eighteen
• Mona Lisa (green frame): 125x for ten, 200x for twelve, 600x for sixteen, 1,000x for eighteen
• Man in red cap: 300x for fifteen, 600x for seventeen, 750x for eighteen
• Gems (green, gold, purple, blue, red, white): 4x for four, 15x for five, 40x for six

The wild lands only on reels two, three, five and seven, substitutes for everything except the Bonus and Jackpot scatters, and one wild counts as three of any portrait symbol.

Tumbling Reels

Every winning combination triggers a tumble. All symbols in the win except the Bonus and Jackpot scatters disappear, and the empty positions refill from above on reels one to six, or from the right on the sideways reel seven. Tumbling continues until no new win forms, so a single spin can chain several payouts.

Jackpot Feature

The Jackpot symbol is a scatter that appears only on reels one to six, and despite the name it’s a flat ladder rather than a progressive pot:

• 4 Jackpot symbols after a tumble has finished: 100x the total bet
• 5 Jackpot symbols: 1,000x the total bet

Da Vinci DeluxeWays Free Games & Bonuses

Free Games Bonus

Three or more Bonus scatters once tumbling has finished trigger the Free Games Bonus, which plays out on its own reel set. The scatter count sets the award:

• 3 Bonus symbols: 8 free games
• 6 Bonus symbols: 15 free games
• Each Bonus symbol above 6: 1 additional free game

At the start of each free game, a random number of symbol positions appear on reels one to six, so the ways count reshuffles every spin of the round. Free games run at the same bet multiplier as the spin that triggered them, and the round ends when none remain.

Bonus Multiplier

The Free Games Bonus begins with a bonus multiplier of one, and every credit win is multiplied by the multiplier in force at the moment the winning combination forms. Wins landing mid-tumble are judged when they form, not when the spin ends.

Power Bets

Two optional side bets reshape the reels, and only one can be active at a time. Both carry into the Free Games Bonus if it triggers while they’re running.

Double and Triple Majors (3.00) strips every standard portrait off the reels and leaves only the double and triple versions, so the premium symbols land beefed up. The Jackpot awards become 100/3 times the total bet for four, 1000/3 for five, and 10000/3 for six or more, the last of which is the biggest fixed prize the game offers in any mode.

Add Extra Reel (5.00) brings in an eighth reel, a sideways reel above reels one to six that always shows six positions. With all eight reels in play, four Jackpot symbols award 20x the total bet, five award 200x, and six or more award 2,000x. During the Free Games Bonus, the wild appears on reels two to seven under either Power Bet.

Buy A Bonus

The buy menu sells the Free Games Bonus outright, with the price depending on which mode you’re playing and how many games you want:

• Base mode: 8 or 10 free games at 100x the base game amount
• Base mode: 12 or 15 free games at 200x
• Power Bet 1 (Double and Triple Majors): 8 or 10 free games at 60x
• Power Bet 1: 12 or 15 free games at 120x
• Power Bet 2 (Extra Reel): 8 or 10 free games at 75x

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.7/10

Sitting in this garden, you never quite know what the next spin will look like, and that’s the reason to choose it: the ways count reshuffles every spin and the sideways reel gives even losing spins something to watch. Florence looks lovely by moonlight, too.

The best thing here is the sheer range of the paytable. Because symbol positions keep stacking up, the portrait ladders run all the way to eighteen matching symbols, and the top of them pays 1,500x. Most ways games can’t build a ladder that long.

The worst is the layering. The biggest prize in the game only exists under one Power Bet, and the jackpot ladder pays differently under each of the three modes. You have to do arithmetic before you know what you’re actually chasing.

This is one for players who enjoy a machine with moving parts, who’ll happily learn the difference between the two side bets and pay for the right one. Anyone after a plain evening of spinning portraits will still find that game in here with every extra switched off, and the garden’s open all the same.

Da Vinci DeluxeWays FAQs

• What is the RTP of Da Vinci DeluxeWays?

  The RTP is 96.0%. That’s the total expected return, including every feature.
• How many paylines does Da Vinci DeluxeWays have?

  It doesn’t use paylines. The game is played between 729 and 1,000,000 ways, and all seven reels are always in play.
• What is the grid size of Da Vinci DeluxeWays?

  Seven reels with a variable number of symbol positions, and reel seven sits sideways above reels two to five with four positions. In the Free Games Bonus an eighth sideways reel joins above reels one to six, always showing six positions.
• Who makes Da Vinci DeluxeWays?

  High 5 Games. Their other reviewed titles on this site include Valkyrie Queen 2.
• How do you trigger the Free Games Bonus?

  Land 3 or more Bonus scatter symbols once tumbling has finished. Three scatters award 8 free games and six award 15, with each scatter above six adding one more game.
• What does the Jackpot symbol pay?

  It’s a scatter that appears only on reels one to six. Four Jackpot symbols after a tumble awards 100x your total bet, and five awards 1,000x. Power Bets change these amounts.
• What do the Power Bets do?

  Double and Triple Majors (3.00) removes standard portraits and leaves only double and triple versions. Add Extra Reel (5.00) adds an eighth sideways reel above reels one to six. Only one Power Bet can be active at a time, and both carry into the Free Games Bonus.
• How much does the bonus buy cost?

  In base mode, 8 or 10 free games cost 100x your bet and 12 or 15 cost 200x. With Power Bet 1 active, prices drop to 60x and 120x, and with Power Bet 2 they’re 75x.