Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster Slot Review
A golden path winds through a green meadow, past pines and blue-grey mountains, towards the pot the Rainbow Riches name has been chasing for two decades. Barcrest have done something odd with the family crest here: they’ve taken the reels away entirely and built a match-style grid game where you mark co-ordinates and complete prize rows instead. Whether that counts as a slot at all is genuinely arguable, and it’s the first thing worth knowing about it.
The second thing is the maths. This one returns 89.13% over the long run, well below what a modern video slot pays, at mid-to-high volatility. Stakes run from 0.10 to 30. It shares its DNA with Rainbow Riches Cluster Magic and Rainbow Riches Pick ‘n’ Mix, though the family resemblance mostly lives in the artwork.
Six Spins and the Prize Chart
Press START GAME and you receive six starting spins. Each spin reveals two grid co-ordinates, of the letter-and-number kind you’d find on a treasure map. The symbol sitting on each revealed position is highlighted, and any adjacent matching symbols come along with it. Everything highlighted gets added to the Prize Chart.
Complete a row of matching symbols in the Prize Chart and you win the prize attached to that row. The clever part is what happens next: the row resets once the prize is paid, then starts filling again. A single game can therefore pay the same row several times over.
The prizes are multiples of your play amount, and they’re modest:
- Clover: 10x for a completed row of three
- Horseshoe: 5x
- Harp: 2x
- Mushroom: 1x
- Leprechaun: 0.5x
Every one of those rows pays as a multiple of the total play amount, not of a line bet, so the numbers above are exactly what a completed row is worth. The Leprechaun does double duty here: he’s the lowest-paying row on the chart, and collecting three of him opens the Road to Riches Bonus.
At the default play amount, total prizes in a game range from 0.5x to 500x. Above that sits a hard ceiling: any combination of wins in a single game is capped, and the cap can’t be reached from every stake level. So a big grid plus a big bonus still stops at the same fixed limit.
The game runs on a pre-determined outcome, so nothing you choose during play changes what a spin reveals. The wheel in the Road to Riches round, the pots in the Pots round, the co-ordinates themselves: every result is already decided the moment you press the button. It’s a game of chance wearing the costume of a puzzle.
The Special Symbols
One curiosity of the grid is the SUPER tile, which appears in play but comes with no explanation of what it does. It shows up in several different spots across a game, sitting on the grid like a symbol that forgot to bring its own paytable entry.
There’s no wild or scatter in the traditional sense either. The special symbols here are the ones that unlock the two bonus rounds, and they arrive as follows:
- Pots of Gold symbols – three collected in the grid opens the Pots of Gold Bonus
- Leprechaun symbols – three collected opens the Road to Riches Bonus
Both symbol types land as singles or as clusters, so a single cluster can satisfy a trigger on its own. Either bonus can also fire more than once in the same game. Because the Leprechaun also fills a prize row, a grid that’s collecting him for the chart is quietly working towards the wheel at the same time.
Extra Spins
When your spins run dry, the game can offer up to three Extra Spins, but only if a prize can actually be won on the next spin. The rules for them are short:
- A maximum of three are offered after each game
- They’re only offered when a prize can be won on the next spin
- Each is priced individually, based on grid position and the prizes still in reach
- Any bonus prizes won are calculated on your original play amount
That pricing is the part worth watching. The cost of an Extra Spin isn’t tied to your base stake and can exceed it, sometimes by a fair margin, when the grid is close to completing a valuable row. A spin that cost you 1 to start might ask several times that to continue, because the game prices the chance, not the button.
Pots of Gold Bonus
Collect three Pots of Gold symbols anywhere in the play grid and the Pots of Gold Bonus activates. These symbols land as singles or as clusters, so one lucky cluster can trigger it outright. It’s also repeatable: a long game can open it more than once.
Inside, twelve gold, silver and bronze pots spin and reveal a prize multiplier. It’s a guaranteed prize game: the minimum multiplier is 10x your original play amount and the maximum is 500x. No skill, no choices that matter, just the spin.
Road to Riches Bonus
Collect three Leprechaun symbols and you’re on the Road to Riches. The round works in three beats. First the wheel spins and reveals how many steps you move along a winding path. Then you move, and every step on that path carries an increasing prize multiplier. Finally the walk ends, either when the wheel lands on COLLECT or when you reach the final step.
This one is also a guaranteed prize game, but the range is wider and the floor lower: from a minimum of 2x to a maximum of 100x your original play amount. Because the wheel decides when you stop, the tension is in how far up the path you get before COLLECT appears.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 6.4/10
This is a game you play with a pencil in your hand, mentally ticking squares as the co-ordinates land. Six spins, a filling chart, rows that pay and empty again – it’s slower and more deliberate than anything else wearing the Rainbow Riches badge, and that deliberate pace is the whole reason to choose it over the reel-based games in the family.
The best thing in it is the guarantee. Trigger either bonus and you’re leaving with something: the Pots round alone pays at least 10x and up to 500x, and the resetting prize rows give the base game the same never-empty-handed quality.
The worst thing is what it costs to keep playing. The return here is poor even by arcade-game standards, and the Extra Spins pricing means a losing game can ask for more money on the way out than it did going in. Anyone who wants the big multipliers and the familiar buzz of reels will find the meadow quiet and the maths unkind. For grid-game players and series faithful, there’s still a pleasant afternoon on that golden path.
Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster FAQs
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How do you trigger the Pots of Gold Bonus?
Collect three Pots of Gold symbols in the play grid, as singles or as clusters. Twelve gold, silver and bronze pots then spin to reveal a prize multiplier between 10x and 500x your original play amount, and the bonus can be activated multiple times in a single game. -
How do you trigger the Road to Riches Bonus?
Gather three Leprechaun symbols anywhere on the grid, in singles or clusters. A wheel then determines how many steps you move along the prize path, and the round ends when you land on COLLECT or reach the final step. Prizes run from 2x to 100x the original play amount. -
How many Extra Spins can you buy?
A maximum of three Extra Spins are available after each game, but only if a prize can be won on the next spin. Each spin is priced according to the grid position and potential prizes, and the price can exceed your base stake. -
What is the RTP of Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster?
The average return to player (RTP) is 89.13%, which is well below what most modern online slots pay. -
Is Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster high volatility?
The game is rated mid to high volatility, so expect stretches without prizes punctuated by the guaranteed-pay bonus rounds. -
What is the grid size of Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster?
The play grid is 6×8, with columns A to F and rows 1 to 8. Each spin reveals two co-ordinates on this grid. -
What is the minimum and maximum bet on Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster?
Play amounts run from 0.10 to 30 per game, with a default play amount of 1. -
When is Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster released?
Rainbow Riches Cash Cluster’s release date is 11 November 2021.
