Le Santa Slot Review
After rocking up in the dusty Wild West, claiming to be the new Sheriff in town, Smokey heads home for the upcoming festivities, where he’s got his eye on more than the free milk & cookies…
Donning a glorious beard, suit, & sack, Smokey helps himself to the good stuff. All the good boys & girls will wake to find their stockings empty and no gifts under the tree this year, thanks to Le Santa and his cheeky tactics, but don’t get your tinsel in a tangle just yet…this crafty raccoon has plenty of surprises left to give.
Get ready to deck (or wreck) the halls with Golden Squares, Jackpot Boxes, & up to 3 Free Spins modes in Le Santa, courtesy of Hacksaw Gaming. Since the initial debut of Le Bandit in August 2023, this mischievous chap has caused havoc on the reels of Le Pharaoh, Le Viking, & more recently, Le Cowboy, but can he avoid Santa’s naughty list in his latest endeavour?
We couldn’t have anticipated how far Hacksaw Gaming would take the series, or how popular the initial Le Bandit would become, but we’re glad they did. With Le Santa marking the 7th instalment of the slot series, Smokey still has many tricks up his sleeve, and we’re hopeful of seeing more of them in the new year.
With a fixed RTP of 96.14% and a medium volatility score, this game can award wins of up to 20,000x your bet, but will Smokey get his grubby paws on it first? Let’s find out…
Base Game & Features
Le Santa is a medium volatility slot from Hacksaw Gaming, consisting of 6 reels, 5 rows, & a Cluster Pays mechanic. Winning combinations occur when 5 or more identical symbols land horizontally or vertically adjacent on the grid.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Bell, followed by the Candy Cane, Tree, Bauble, Stockings, and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card ranks. Once a winning cluster has been evaluated, a fixed payout between 0.1x and 25x your bet is awarded.
Other symbols include Wilds & FS Scatters. Both symbols can appear anywhere on the grid, with Wild symbols substituting for all symbols when part of a winning combination. When 3 or more FS Scatters hit, 1 of the 3 Free Spins modes will trigger.
Finally, each winning cluster is subject to removal via the Avalanche Feature. Once paying symbols are removed from the grid, so too are matching instances, allowing new symbols to drop in from above to fill the gaps. This continues until no new winning clusters occur in the same spin.
Golden Squares
After winning symbols are removed from the grid, each cell position is highlighted by a Golden Square, activated when a Rainbow symbol falls within the same spin. Once active, each Golden Square will reveal Coins or Special symbols.
Coin symbols, depending on their brass type, reveal a random Cash Prize between 0.2x and 500x your bet. Once all Golden Squares have been revealed, Green or Gold Clovers in view will multiply all Coin & Santa symbols by a random Multiplier between x2 and x20.
Once all Clover symbols have been applied, any available Santa Sack symbols will trigger. Santa Sack symbols act as Collectors, gathering all Cash prizes from Coin symbols & other Santa Sacks, from top to bottom and left to right.
When the final Santa Sack is complete, all other Golden Squares will reactivate & reveal new Coin or Special symbols, allowing the process to repeat. Once all reveals are complete, each Coin & Santa Sack symbol will add together, multiplied by your current bet, to determine the final win.
Jackpot Boxes
In addition to Coins, Clovers, & Santa Sacks, up to 4 Jackpot Boxes can appear on the grid or during the Golden Square reveal: Mini (10x), Major (100x), Mega (1,000x), Max Win (20,000x).
The available Jackpot Prizes are listed to the left of the main reel set. Jackpot Boxes that appear on the grid, outside of Golden Squares, can only be awarded if a Rainbow symbol falls within the same spin. After a Jackpot Box is revealed inside a Golden Square, it will be awarded after all Coin & Santa Sack symbols have been paid out.
Please note that up to 4 Jackpot Boxes can be revealed on the grid in a single spin (1 of each Jackpot Prize). Once all wins & cash prizes have been applied, each Special symbol & Golden Square is removed for the next paid spin.
Le Santa: Free Spins
Triggering the Silent Heist Bonus is done by landing 3 FS Scatters anywhere on the grid, awarding 10 Free Spins.
Throughout the session, the game retains the same mechanics as the base game, only all Golden Squares persist on the grid until a Rainbow symbol triggers them. Furthermore, the lowest value of Coin symbols is fixed at 1x your bet.
Landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters in a single spin awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Sleighing It Bonus
Alternatively, landing 4 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the Sleighting It Bonus, awarding 10 Free Spins. Again, this mode utilises the same mechanics found in the Silent Heist Bonus & base game, with all Golden Squares persisting on the grid until the end of the feature, even after a Rainbow symbol has activated them.
When 2 or 3 FS Scatters appear in view, a further +2 and +4 Free Spins are awarded, respectively.
Wreck the Halls Bonus
The hidden bonus, Wreck the Halls, is triggered when 5 FS Scatters appear in the same base game spin, awarding 10 Free Spins. Working similarly to the Sleighing It Bonus, each spin guarantees 1 Rainbow symbol, whilst each Coin symbol appears as Silver or Gold.
Landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters during gameplay awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players within eligible regions can purchase any of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 3x your bet (96.13%)
- Frosty Featurespins: Guarantees that 1 Rainbow symbol & at least 1 winning cluster on the grid for 60x your bet (96.31%)
- Silent Heist: Awards 10 Free Spins & persistent Golden Squares for 80x your bet (96.31%)
- Sleighing It: Awards 10 Free Spins & persistent Golden Squares even after activation for 250x your bet (96.36%)
Le Santa has a maximum win potential of 20,000x your bet. If a single session exceeds this, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
After a busy year of playing dress-up in several scenarios & thematics, Smokey has found himself driving home for Christmas, after earning first place on Santa’s naughty list, only he’s not looking to right his wrongs, but to cash in on the free milk, cookies, & unlimited gifts beneath the Christmas tree.
To end the year on a positive note, Hacksaw Gaming has enabled our favourite raccoon to become part of the Christmas celebration, switching the bright lights of the Vegas strip in Le King for the twinkling lights of Christmas decor.
Beneath all the Christmas exterior, Le Santa retains a familiar configuration of 6 reels, 5 rows, & a Cluster Pays system. In the base game, Smokey’s staple Golden Squares Feature returns, as do traditional Rainbow symbols, Coins, & Clovers.
While this release is far removed from Le Cowboy & Le Zeus, it’s great to see the return of much-loved features, particularly those that began Smokey’s reign of popularity in the first place.
Also part of the package are individual Jackpot Boxes, which can award up to 20,000x your bet (equivalent to the max win potential). Jackpot Boxes can be achieved through Golden Squares or naturally in the base game, but they will always require a Rainbow symbol to award their payouts.
In true Hacksaw tradition, Le Santa hosts up to 3 Free Spins modes. Starting from 3 FS Scatters, each mode requires a little more patience & determination to trigger, as well as additional Scatters. As the desired Scatters increase per mode, so too does the potential to win substantial payouts, with the hidden bonus (Wreck the Halls) being the best of the bunch, but you’ve probably got a higher chance of winning the lottery.
Statistically, Le Santa can make your Christmas merry & bright, thanks to its 20,000x max win potential, which sits on par with Le King and others in the series. All in all, Le Santa makes a festive addition to the ongoing series, offering a warming selection of features, mechanics, & max win potential to get you into the festive spirit.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before the game is available for real play.
