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23 July 2024 
Lollipop Slot Review 2024
AvatarUX are back with a rather delicious PopWins installment that we’re certain will give the Dentist nightmares. Avatar UX has flourished in the slots industry thanks to the popularity of their PopWins titles, but they couldn’t have done it without the boost from Yggdrasil.
Lollipop is the 9th instalment of the PopWins series and its definitely the sweetest of them all. Back when PopRocks released in 2020, it was a new and exciting concept, but being 9 ‘Pop’ titles in, is it still?
We’re starting to wonder if AvatarUX should spread their wings and return to something akin to their very first slot, Lilith’s Inferno. You make up your own mind on that.
In terms of visuals, the design of Lollipop is really quite something and the music isn’t bad either.
The theme itself is something we’ve seen a few times before in Hacksaw Gaming’s Tasty Treats and Stakelogic’s Candyways Bonanza 2 Megaways, so what makes Lollipop even tastier than the rest?
Lollipop has features similar to those before it, the use of the PopWins mechanic, a base game Multiplier, Free Spins and the legendary Gamble Wheel are all waiting for you to sink your teeth into.
Has Lollipop got what it takes to deliver tasty big wins or will we be leaving empty-handed with a hefty Dentist bill? Let’s play on and find out!
Lollipop Betting and Symbols
Lollipop has a variety of betting options for players to choose from. For those who prefer a lower stake, the minimum bet available is £/€0.20 per spin. For those who prefer a higher stake, the maximum bet available is £/€100 per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two.
The highest paying regular symbol in Lollipop is the Candy Canes, followed by the Star, Heart, Cupcake, Cake and Gummy Bear symbols. Lower paying symbols fall to a selection of Jelly Bean symbols. The Orange Jelly Bean symbol has the highest pay value, followed by the Pink, Blue and Purple Jelly Beans.
There are no Wild symbols present in Lollipop.
Lollipop Base Game and Features
Lollipop is a 5 reel slot with up to 33,614 Ways to win. In order to form a win you will need to connect 3 or more of the same symbols from left to right and right to left, starting from either the left or righ-most reel.
Each winning symbol disappears, but 2 more symbols take its space, increasing the reel height. This process is repeated as long as more wins continue to materialise. In the Base Game, the reels can expand up to a maximum of 5 symbols tall, but in Free Spins they can reach 7 high.
Base Game Multiplier
When a reel is fully unlocked within the Base Game, then you’ll be awarded with an x2 Multiplier for the first reel unlocked an an additional +x1 multiplier for every other unlocked reel, up to a maximum of x6.
Once there are no more winning combinations, the total win is then multiplied by the obtained multiplier.
Lollipop Free Spins
You know quite know whether Avatar UX are going to opt for Scatter symbols to trigger the bonus, or if they’re going to make you unlock all of the reels to get it.
In Lollipop, you’ll need at least 3 Scatter symbols. The reels in Free Spins start at 3, 4 or 5 symbols tall, and they can increase up to 7 symbols tall.
Lollipop handles the bonus round quite differently to those before it. For one, the progress of unlocking taller reels doesn’t reset between spins, and that’s just the start of the vast differences between previous slots.
In the Base Game, the scatter symbols has no payout value. In Free Spins however, these scatter values pay according to the multiplier of your bet that they display. In Free Spins, only these symbols may land. There’s no regular symbols like there is in every other PopWins game that we’ve seen so far, but the lives mechanic isn’t brand new to the series.
Free Spins Multiplier
If you unlock a reel in Free Spins you’ll upgrade all Scatter Rewards on that reel by one level
Heart Symbol
During Free Spins, Heart Symbols can appear. Landing this symbols ads +1 or +2 additional lives to the lives counter, and then it becomes sticky for the duration of the entire Free Spins, as well as increasing the reel height.
Scatter Rewards Upgrade
Symbols in Free Spins may be upgraded to a higher value symbol.
For this to happen, you’ll need a certain number of the same value Scatter Symbols on the reels to fill a counter. The amount of required matching scatters is based on their initial value.
This is a bit confusing, but it makes sense once you get your head around it and see it in action.
Lollipop Bonus Buy
Players outside of the UK can utilise a Bonus Buy option for 75x the total bet, but there’s also a super buy option too.
For 500x, you can buy the super bonus which starts with 5 starting lives and a 5×5 starting grid size. To compare, the regular bonus starts with 3 lives and a 5×3 grid.
Lolipop Gamble Wheel
The dreaded wheel is back. Hello darkness, our old friend.
This wheel has been the catalyst for many rage filled expletives for us on stream and anyone that has ever tried their luck, but it can be very worth it if lady luck is in your favour,
Before you play Free Spins, you’ll have an option to take the standard set up, or gamble for more spins and taller reels. Win the first gamble and increase your starting lives to 4 with a 5×4 set up, and win the second to increase your lives to 5 with a 5×5 set up.
Try this one at your own peril.
Lollipop: Our Verdict
We’ve been rather critical ourselves about the PopWins series of late. We were of the opinion that it’s time to move on, and that their first ever slot Lilith’s Inferno was a fine example of where Avatar UX could look to proceed.
We’re still of that opinion in a way, but we’ve also got to eat our own words a little bit too, because Lollipop is surprisngly different to those before it, but is it in a good way?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…We think Bounty Pop and Cherry Pop are still among the finest from Avatar UX, even with all the new releases that came after it.
Lollipop is vastly different, and it’s certainly interesting to witness this new take on a long running series, but it’s not quite enough for us to say it’s the best yet.
In terms of potential, Lollipop is rather watered down when compared to its brother and sister slots with 13,000x win potential. This is by ny means bad of course, but if you’re looking for maximum potential then you’ll want to check out another PopWins title.
Overall, Lollipop is certainly sweet, for a while at least. Depending on your experience with it and your opinion on the new format, it can either grip you or leave you totally uninterested.
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