Detective Donut

Detective Donut Slot Review

The donut shop at the centre of Detective Donut looks harmless enough, all scalloped awning, teal walls and neatly trimmed shrubs on a quiet small-town street. It’s hiding the sharpest maths Popiplay have put their name to: the cuter the shop front, the more this game is built to take before it gives. A sweet-toothed policeman and a persistent robber share the premises, and their standoff is what every spin is really waiting on.

The numbers back the attitude up: a 6×6 grid with 50 paylines, 97.28% RTP, high volatility and a 25,000x ceiling on wins. For a game this sugary, those are muscular numbers.

There’s more of the studio’s catalogue in our Wild Wild Duck and Bushido Blood reviews, and Lokum Rush sits in the same stable. Detective Donut is the one built around two very different bonus rounds and a cash register that refuses to stop ringing.

Wilds, Hot Spots and How the Grid Pays

Wins form left to right across the 50 fixed paylines, and only the highest combination on each line is paid. Wins on different lines are added together. Straightforward stuff, and the 6×6 grid gives combinations plenty of room to breathe.

There are two types of wild. The first lands only on reel one; the second lands on reels two to six and carries a x2, x3 or x5 multiplier. Land two or more wilds of different types on the same spin and the bonus game begins, which makes the first reel worth watching on every spin.

The last reel also carries the Hot Spots, a pair of marked middle positions. Get the right bonus symbols into that zone and extra features follow, including one of the game’s two bonus rounds.

The cupcake with the cherry on top is the leading payer among the symbols. Its values, as multiples of the total bet:

• Cupcake, six on a line: 10x the bet
• Cupcake, five on a line: 4x the bet
• Cupcake, four on a line: 1x the bet
• Cupcake, three on a line: 0.3x the bet

Below the cupcake sit the rest of the shop’s cast, from coffee mugs and police badges to the robber himself. The police car and badge both put in appearances on the reels, and the coin and money bag symbols carry the cash-round duties rather than paying line wins of their own. Payouts depend on the number of matching symbols, where they sit, and the paytable.

Cash Collection

This is the register-ringing round. The Cash Register has to land on a Hot Spots position in the main game while at least one Coin symbol is showing anywhere on the reels. Both conditions at once, or nothing happens.

From there it’s a collection game. Coin symbols each carry a multiple of the current bet, and Money Bag symbols multiply the value of everything collected so far. The refill mechanic is what makes the round tick: every time a new symbol lands, the number of available free spins refills.

So the round keeps going for as long as it keeps feeding itself. A dry patch of spins with nothing landing brings it to a close, while a steady drip of coins and bags can keep the register open far longer than the starting spin count suggests. Money Bags landing late in a long round do the most damage, because they multiply a pot that’s already been built.

Sweet Raid Free Spins

The second bonus round belongs to the storyline. Land the Cop and the Robber on the same spin in the main game and Sweet Raid Free Spins begins, with the two adversaries sharing the reels at last.

The Cop becomes Wild 1 for the round and stays on the reels for the entire feature. The point of the round is to grow him: there’s an opportunity to expand the Cop wild up to the full 6×6 size, at which point he covers every position on the grid. Free spins run on the same bet and lines as the spin that triggered them.

A wild that big doesn’t need company. Reels two to six can still contribute multiplier wilds of their own, so a fully expanded Cop combined with a x5 wild elsewhere is where the round’s biggest outcomes live.

Big Donut Fall and the Tips Feature

Two random features sit underneath everything else. Big Donut Fall can activate at random after a spin in the main game has stopped, provided one of the Cop, Robber, Coin or Cash Register symbols is on the reels. It awards one additional spin, plain and simple, and another shot at triggering a bonus.

The Tips Feature works inside both bonus rounds. When all issued spins finish, it can randomly add one more spin or respin. There are limits: it won’t fire in Cash Collection if there’s no free space for a new Coin or Money Bag, and it’s unavailable in Sweet Raid once the Cop has expanded to his maximum size.

It’s a small nudge rather than a main event. But a free respin at the death of a Cash Collection round, with a board already half full of coins, is worth more than it looks.

Bonus Buy

There’s a buy menu with five options, split between the two rounds. The Cash Collection buys differ by the hit rate for bonus symbols during the refilling spins; the Sweet Raid buys differ by what’s guaranteed on the triggering spin.

• Cash Collection Light: refilling spins with a medium hit rate for bonus symbols
• Cash Collection Full: the same round, tuned to a high hit rate
• Random Wilds Sweet Raid: free spins with random bonus symbols
• 3 Wilds Sweet Raid: at least three wilds guaranteed on the triggering spin
• 5 Wilds + Multiplier Sweet Raid: five wilds and one multiplier guaranteed on the triggering spin

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.8/10

A session here is a stakeout: quiet spins in a cheerful little shop, waiting for the Cop to finally catch his man or the register to open. That’s the whole appeal, and it’s a real one, because both endings escalate instead of simply paying out. There’s a chase at the heart of this game, and the waiting is what makes catching it count.

Cash Collection is the stronger of the two rounds, because refills let a hot streak set its own length. The round doesn’t end until the symbols stop coming, and a late money bag lands on a pot that’s already been counted. Sweet Raid has the showier ceiling but the flatter arc.

The flat part is the base game, which offers little to build towards between rounds. With 25,000x at the top and high volatility on the way there, this is one for patient bankrolls after a big finish. Anyone who plays for regular small wins will find the shop very quiet. Those happy to wait for the cop to do his job get a genuinely rewarding arrest.

Detective Donut FAQs

• What is the RTP of Detective Donut?

  The RTP is 97.28%, comfortably above the typical online slot average.
• How do you trigger the Sweet Raid Free Spins?

  Land the Cop and the Robber symbols on the reels during the same spin of the main game. The Cop becomes a sticky wild that can expand up to the full 6×6 grid for the rest of the round.
• What are Hot Spots in Detective Donut?

  Hot Spots are two marked middle positions on the last reel. Landing certain bonus symbol combinations in that area triggers extra features, including the Cash Collection round.
• How does the Cash Collection bonus work?

  It triggers when the Cash Register symbol lands on a Hot Spots position with at least one Coin symbol on the reels. You collect Coin symbols, which multiply the current bet, and Money Bag symbols, which multiply the value of the coins already collected. Every new symbol that lands refills the available spins.
• Can you buy the bonus on Detective Donut?

  Yes. There are five buy options: Cash Collection Light, Cash Collection Full, Random Wilds Sweet Raid, 3 Wilds Sweet Raid and 5 Wilds + Multiplier Sweet Raid.
• What is the maximum win on Detective Donut?

  The maximum win is 25,000x your bet.
• How many paylines does Detective Donut have?

  The game runs on a 6×6 grid with 50 paylines, with wins formed left to right.
• Who makes Detective Donut?

  Detective Donut is made by Popiplay. Detective Donut’s release date is 15 March 2024.