Dwarfs Fortune Slot Review
A dark mine shaft held up by timber beams, amber veins glowing through grey rock, iron cart housings lined along the top of the frame: Dwarfs Fortune looks every coin of the part. The setting does real work here, framing a game that’s about slow digging and sudden payoff, where the reels sit inside a working shaft rather than in front of a backdrop.
Wazdan run it on five reels and three rows with an extra top row for special bonus symbols, paying for five of a kind anywhere on the reels rather than across fixed lines. The RTP is 96.16% and the ceiling is the GRAND Jackpot at 2,500x the bet, the same top figure as 9 Coins Grand Gold Edition, 12 Coins and Burning Sun. The question is whether this shaft runs deeper than its sister titles, or just wider.
The Base Game and the Draw-Five Reels
Because wins need five of a kind anywhere on the reels, the base game plays more like a hunt than a spinner. There’s no payline map to read; either the full set of a symbol lands somewhere on the grid, or the spin pays nothing. The Wild substitutes for all symbols except the Bonus symbols, so it can complete a five-of-a-kind draw in the normal way.
The top row is where the interesting material sits. A Multiplier symbol can only be drawn up there, and it multiplies the total win by one of four values:
- 2x the total win
- 3x the total win
- 5x the total win
- 7x the total win
The top row also hosts the special bonus symbols, and each type has its own home:
- Top row only – Collector, Jackpot, Mystery and Dwarfs Mystery symbols
- Bottom reels only – Cash and Increasing Value Cash symbols
Increasing Value Sticky Cash Symbols
During the base game, Bonus symbols can appear as Increasing Value Sticky Cash symbols. These stick to the reels for up to nine spins, and while they’re locked in place the other symbols spin around them. Every spin adds the current bet to the symbol’s value, so the longer it sits there, the more it’s worth.
The real purpose is that each sticky symbol increases the chances of activating the Hold the Jackpot Bonus. It’s a build mechanic: the game quietly accumulates bonus symbols across spins and pays nothing for them until the bonus itself decides the outcome.
One rule worth knowing: when a sticky symbol appears, the outcome of the remaining non-sticky symbols is entirely random. The sticky symbols are locked; everything else is drawn fresh.
Hold the Jackpot Bonus
Drawing at least six Bonus symbols of any type activates the Hold the Jackpot Bonus. Everything is cleared from the reels except the Bonus symbols that triggered it, and Increasing Value Sticky Cash symbols are converted to regular Bonus symbols at that point.
The round then plays out on 20 independent reels, separated into five top and fifteen bottom reels, and every Bonus symbol that lands sticks where it is. The layout breaks down like this:
- 5 top reels – home of the Collector, Jackpot, Mystery and Dwarfs Mystery symbols
- 15 bottom reels – home of the Cash and Increasing Value Cash symbols
Cash Symbols and the Prize Ladder
Cash and Increasing Value Cash symbols award prizes from 1x to 10x, 12x and 15x the bet. The value of an Increasing Value Cash symbol rises with every re-spin, with no stated limit on how far it can climb. At the end of the round, the prize paid is the sum of all Bonus symbol values on the reels.
The jackpot ladder offers four tiers, and multiples of the bet are what they pay:
- MINI Jackpot – 20x the bet
- MINOR Jackpot – 50x the bet
- MAJOR Jackpot – 150x the bet
- GRAND Jackpot – 2,500x the bet
MINI, MINOR and MAJOR Jackpot symbols may randomly appear during the round, and multiple jackpots of the same type can be won in a single bonus. The GRAND works differently: collecting all 20 Bonus symbols of any type fills every reel and awards the GRAND Jackpot outright. That 2,500x prize is the maximum win in the game, and Bonus symbol values aren’t added to it.
Collector, Mystery and Dwarfs Mystery Symbols
The Collector symbol lands only on the top row and is assigned a random countdown value from 1 to 9. With each spin it absorbs the values of every Cash and Increasing Value Cash symbol drawn on the reels below it, until the countdown reaches zero. A Collector that draws a high countdown can hoover up a lot of the round’s value before it closes.
Two mystery symbols add a blind-draw element. The Mystery symbol can transform into any other Bonus symbol, while the Dwarfs Mystery symbol can only become a MINI, MINOR or MAJOR Jackpot symbol. Both open one by one at the end of the bonus game, so their identities stay hidden until the round is done.
Re-Spins and Retriggers
Three re-spins are granted at the start of the bonus. Every new Bonus symbol that lands resets the count back to three, and the round continues until the re-spins run out or all reels are filled.
Bonus symbols pay only at the end, so nothing is banked until the round closes. The bonus is played at the same bet level and volatility level as the spin that activated it.
Extreme Volatility Buy Feature
Using the Buy Feature, the Hold the Jackpot Bonus can be activated on Extreme Volatility level, characterised by even bigger wins than the other volatility levels.
Wazdan’s volatility settings are a signature of their range, letting the same game play anything from steady small wins to long famine punctuated by large hits. The buy option pushes that dial to its furthest stop for the bonus round specifically.
There’s also a Gamble feature available on wins, risking the payout for a chance to double it.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.7/10
This is a game of patience wearing a miner’s helmet. The base game is sparse by design, and the one reason to pick it over plainer coin slots is the bonus round, which has more going on inside it than most: a Collector draining the lower reels on a countdown, mystery symbols that only turn over once the round ends, and a re-spin counter that keeps resetting while the coins keep landing.
The strength is that structure. It’s a bonus that asks decisions of the game rather than just paying out a total. The weakness is that the ceiling is the 2,500x GRAND Jackpot, which is modest for a bonus this elaborate.
It suits players who enjoy the slow accumulation and a round with real machinery in it, and it will frustrate anyone chasing big ceilings. For a patient dig, the ore is here.
Dwarfs Fortune FAQs
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What is the RTP of Dwarfs Fortune?
Dwarfs Fortune runs at an RTP of 96.16%. -
How do you trigger the Hold the Jackpot Bonus in Dwarfs Fortune?
You need at least six Bonus symbols of any type on the reels at once. The base game’s Increasing Value Sticky Cash symbols help, sticking in place for up to nine spins and building towards that count. -
What does the Collector symbol do in Dwarfs Fortune?
It’s a top-row symbol that arrives with a random countdown between 1 and 9. On each spin it takes on the values of any Cash and Increasing Value Cash symbols below it, and it keeps doing so until the countdown runs out. -
Can the Hold the Jackpot Bonus be retriggered?
Not as such, but it extends itself. Three re-spins are granted at the start of the round, and every new Bonus symbol that lands resets the count to three. The round continues until the re-spins run out or all 20 reel positions are filled with Bonus symbols. -
What is the maximum win on Dwarfs Fortune?
The maximum win is 2,500x the bet, paid as the GRAND Jackpot. It’s awarded for collecting all 20 Bonus symbols of any type during the Hold the Jackpot Bonus, and Bonus symbol values aren’t added to it. -
How many paylines does Dwarfs Fortune have?
It doesn’t use fixed paylines. Wins are awarded for drawing five symbols of a kind anywhere on the reels. -
What is the grid size of Dwarfs Fortune?
The game has five reels and three rows, plus an additional top row reserved for special bonus symbols such as the Collector, Jackpot and Mystery symbols. -
Who makes Dwarfs Fortune?
Dwarfs Fortune is made by Wazdan, the studio behind the long-running Hold the Jackpot coin series. Dwarfs Fortune’s release date is 10 February 2022.
