Star Spinner

Star Spinner Slot Review

Three red jackpot plaques hang over the reels on gold scrollwork, and they’re the least interesting thing on the cabinet. Star Spinner’s real character is that it pays from both ends: a fruit machine where a winning line can start on reel five as easily as reel one, a liberty most games of this old-fashioned shape never take. The neon starfield behind it is just the packaging.

Blueprint Gaming built the 5×3 grid around 10 always-active lines at a 94% RTP, so the game has to be judged on what it does. The Jackpot King Deluxe pots it carries are the same progressive system that runs through titles like Wish Upon a Leprechaun Megaways and Ted. This is the stripped-back version, and its paytable still knows how to pay.

Base Game & Features

The reels sit in the classic 5×3 arrangement, with 10 paylines that are always active and pay from the left and the right. Both-ways paying is the most modern thing about the base game: a line of three, four or five matching symbols counts whether it starts on reel one or reel five, and the winning lines are highlighted as they land. Only the highest combination on each line is paid, and wins across different lines add together to form the total win.

Feature symbols work differently. They’re scatters, awarded when they appear in any position on the reels regardless of the lines, and multiple scatter features can be won in a single game. Scatter wins are paid in addition to reel wins, and re-spins run at the same stake as the spin that set them off.

The wild is a Star symbol that substitutes for other symbols on reels two, three and four only, never for scatters or bonus symbols. Where a wild and another symbol could form two different wins on the same line, the higher one is what gets paid. So three wilds making their own win won’t also pay out as part of a four-symbol combination.

There’s an autoplay function that runs spins automatically at the chosen stake, and it switches itself off the moment you enter any bonus round, hit a set loss limit or land a progressive pot. Symbol values are multiples of the total bet:

• Diamond: three pays 25x, four pays 75x, five pays 500x
• 7: three pays 10x, four pays 30x, five pays 50x
• BAR BAR and BAR: three pays 5x, four pays 12.5x, five pays 40x
• Bell and Watermelon: three pays 4x, four pays 10x, five pays 25x
• Lemon and Cherry: three pays 2.5x, four pays 5x, five pays 12.5x

Star Respin

When a Star symbol lands in view on reels two, three or four, it expands to cover the entire reel and locks in place while the remaining reels re-spin. The hold is the whole point: every expanded wild stays put for as long as new ones keep arriving.

If another Star Wild appears during a re-spin, it expands too, and both hold for another re-spin. Up to two additional Star Wilds can land this way, each awarding one more re-spin, with a maximum of three re-spins in a single feature. When a re-spin brings nothing new, the feature ends.

Mystery Symbol

The Mystery Symbol can land in view and transform into any other symbol when it does. All instances in view reveal the same random symbol, which can turn a quiet spin into several winning lines at once. It’s a simple transformer with no conditions attached.

Star Spinner Jackpot King Deluxe Bonus

During any spin there’s a chance the Jackpot King Deluxe Bonus triggers, when five overlay symbols land across reels one to five. It’s random, unannounced, and available on any spin of any game plugged into the Jackpot King Deluxe system.

The bonus is a crown-collecting climb. Each spin adds Crowns in view, and more crowns move you further up a win ladder of total bet multipliers. Reach 15 or more Crown symbols and you enter the Wheel King section.

After any spin you choose an icon from the King’s treasure, revealing one of three outcomes:

• SPIN – the reels spin again, with any additional crowns adding to the win ladder
• COLLECT – the feature ends and pays the Bonus Win reached on the ladder
• WHEEL KING – you go straight into the Wheel King round

The choice is where the strategy sits. Taking COLLECT early banks the multiplier you’ve reached, while pushing on with SPIN risks the ladder for a shot at the Wheel King, where the pots live.

The Wheel King is a tombola-style wheel made of big win multiplier segments and progressive pot segments. One spin decides whether you take a large total bet multiplier or a jackpot, and the pots can only be won here, never in the crown-collecting stage.

The Progressive Pots

Three progressive meters sit at the top of the screen throughout: the Royal Pot, the Jackpot King and the Regal Pot. All three rise steadily with play, funded by contributions from each stake. When one is won it resets to its reserve amount and starts climbing again.

The odds of landing a pot improve as its value grows, and the Royal and Regal pots are guaranteed to be won by their Must Be Won By values. Two players can’t win the same pot at the same time: the first to trigger takes the full amount, and the second receives the reserve pot plus any contributions made after.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7/10

Star Spinner plays like a proper fruit machine that happens to have a lottery ticket stapled to it. You spin, the both-ways lines keep small wins ticking over, and every so often a Star locks a reel and the middle of the screen lights up. That’s the reason to sit down at this cabinet rather than a dozen others in Blueprint’s row.

The respin is the strength, and it’s a real one: stacked held wilds across reels two to four, paying left and right, can build the kind of hit a game this simple has no right to produce. The weakness is the gap between the marquee and the mechanics. The jackpot plaques are the first thing you see and the last thing you’ll reach, because the pots sit behind two full stages of bonus most sessions never finish.

This is a game for players who want the classic cabinet experience done properly, with the progressive as a background hum rather than the point. Anyone chasing layered bonus rounds will find the shelves full of better options. For the rest, the neon’s warm and the stars are in the right place.

Star Spinner FAQs

• How does the Star Respin feature work in Star Spinner?

  A Star symbol on reels two, three or four expands into a full-reel wild and stays there while the other reels re-spin. Every new Star Wild that lands during a re-spin expands and holds as well, adding another re-spin, and the feature runs to a maximum of three re-spins.
• How is the Jackpot King Deluxe Bonus triggered?

  Five Jackpot King Deluxe overlay symbols landing on reels one to five during any spin can trigger the bonus. It’s randomly activated, with no scatter count or bet condition beyond playing a spin.
• Can jackpots be won outside the Wheel King in Star Spinner?

  No. The Royal Pot, Jackpot King and Regal Pot can only be won during the Wheel King part of the bonus, which is reached by collecting 15 or more Crown symbols or by revealing the Wheel King icon.
• What does the Mystery Symbol do in Star Spinner?

  When the Mystery Symbol lands in view, all instances transform into the same random symbol, which can create multiple winning lines at once.
• How do scatter wins work in Star Spinner?

  Feature symbols are scatters and pay when they appear in any position on the reels, regardless of the paylines. Multiple scatter features can be won in a single game, and scatter wins are paid in addition to reel wins.
• Are re-spins in Star Spinner played at a different bet?

  No. Re-spins are played at the same bet as the round that activated them, so the Star Respin feature runs entirely at your original stake.
• Who makes Star Spinner?

  Star Spinner is made by Blueprint Gaming.
• When is Star Spinner released?

  Star Spinner’s release date is 15 June 2016.