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15 February 2023 
Tropicool Slot Overview
Elk Studios are taking us somewhere rather chilly for their latest instalment, Tropicool Slot.
Tony Toucano and Fiona Flamingo went against the grain and decided to stop migrating for the winter in favour of their very own frozen paradise in Antarctica. Beach Huts, Loungers and Palm Trees may be present, but there’s no risk of sunburn here.
Tropicool Slot also sees the return of Elk’s captivating X-iter feature. Let’s wrap up warm and see what else Tropicool has to offer in yet another unique Elk Studios slot.
Tropicool Slot Theme
Antarctica is looking as white as you’d expect it to in Tropicool, but perhaps the more eye opening scenery is the new life that Tony Toucano and Fiona Flamingo have made for themselves in a borderline uninhabitable place.
The Palm Trees, Umbrella and the Surf board certainly look out of place, as do the non-native fruit symbols that are encased in blocks of ice. All of this together really gives Tropicool a really unique aesthetic.
Elk Studios are tremendously good at creating concepts that don’t quite relate to anything else you’ve ever seen, and their music is always on point. For Tropicool we have a cool and upbeat jazz song that lives up to that high quality audio that we’ve come to expect from Elk Studios.
Tropicool Betting and Symbols
The betting options in Tropicool Slot cover a wide array of options that should suit everyone.
The lowest option here is £/€0.20 per spin, and the highest option is £/€100 per spin. In between the two we have plenty of options, and the increments between stakes are good. Elk Studios seem to have ditched their betting strategy option seen previously in some of their older games. Perhaps very few used it, or perhaps it just doesn’t fit with the vision that Elk Studios have with their latest games?
Regardless of the reason, you won’t find it here, but we can’t imagine that it’ll be a feature that’ll be sorely missed.
Looking to the symbols for Tropicool Slot, it was no surprise to learn that Tony Toucano and Fiona Flamingo are the highest paying symbols. These two symbols appear stacked.
Following on from them is the Frozen Strawberry, Cocounut, Apple, Pomegranate, and different coloured plum symbols that compose the low paying symbols.
There are Wild symbols which will substitute for all symbols except for the Scatter and the Row Swap modifier. More on that below
Tropicool Slot: The Base Game and Features
Elk Studios tend to have a fondness for grid style games, but this particular one actually uses a ways to win function.
There are 46,656 ways to win in total, and to connect a win you’ll need at least 3 symbols to match from left to right, starting from the left most reel.
Winning symbols will explode, which leaves room for new symbols to fall in via an avalanche which creates more winning possibilities.
Symbol pay outs on their own aren’t overly impressive, but then a game that uses ways to win often sacrifices these huge pay out capabilities due to the sheer number of winning ways possible. But fear not, because these pay outs can be improved with the help of some of the reel modifiers locked within the sliding reel at the top of the screen.
Feature Reel
Above the reels sits a sliding reel which has the possibility to hold within it a feature.
To unlock this, you’ll need a win below on the same reel so that the feature may drop down into the regular play area.
These features shake up the game bringing something new and interesting.
- Regular Wild – This drops a regular Wild into play for a chance at more winning combos
- Locked Wild – This Wild holds charges. It will stay locked in place until it partakes in a win 3 times
- Multiplier Wild – Winnings with this Wild are multiplied by x2 – x5
- Row Swap – One symbol replaces all other symbols on the row (except Wild and Scatter)
Tropicool Slot Free Spins
To trigger the Free Spins in Tropicool Slot you’ll need at least 3 Scatter Symbols anywhere in view.
- 3 Scatters – 10 Drops
- 4 Scatters – 15 Drops
- 5 Scatters – 20 Drops
- 6+ Scatters – 25 Drops
The Free Spins in Tropicool has a progressive multiplier, but to increase this you’ll need to uncover another modifier from atop the reels which is unique to the bonus. This Symbol will fall down if there is a win below it and grant an increase to your multiplier. The multiplier will persist for the remainder of the round.
There is also another symbol which grants extra spins.
The bonus can at times be woefully bad. You’ll definitely need to uncover a fair few multipliers and gain extra spins along the way in your quest for bigger hits.
Tropicool Slot: X-iter
Tropicool Slot reintroduces Elk Studio’s relatively new X-iter feature.
This is in essence, a bonus buy. So unfortunately UK players miss out here.
- Guaranteed Win – Buy a game round with a guaranteed win. This Costs 5x your stake
- Locked Wilds – Buy a game round with 3 Locked Wilds. This Costs 25x your stake
- Bonus – Grants entry to the bonus round with a 1x starting multiplier .This Costs 100x your stake
- Big Bonus – Grants entry to the bonus round with a 5x starting multiplier. This Costs 200x your stake
- Super Bonus – Grants entry to the bonus round with a 10x starting muliplier. This Costs 500x your stake
Tropicool Slot: Our Verdict
Tropicool Slot can rightfully claim to be yet another from Elk Studios with a unique style in both theme and gameplay.
It’s a lot easier to understand than some of their other games, like Cluster Slide, which made your head spin, but then admittedly it’s not quite as fun either. There was something about Cluster Slide as confusing as it was that captivated you, and Nitropolis had much of the same feel with plenty of different things going on at once.
The hit frequency in Tropicool sits at 23.1%, while the RTP sits at a rather low figure of 95%. These can be forgiven if you look at the rather attractive win capability of 10,000x.
It won’t go down in history as one of Elk’s best. While it’s very capable it can also be very repetitive, and the high volatility means that some of the bonuses you get can be nothing short of woeful.
Overall, Elk Studio get all the well deserved praise for yet another well designed and unique game, but if you’re an Elk Studio super fan then you may feel more inclined towards one of their older Gold Series or newer Nitropolis games instead.
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