The Great Winaldo

Second Chance Wins and Stacked Symbols in this Magic-Themed Slot

The Great Winaldo takes you back a hundred years. It stars a magician, the Great Winaldo himself. He looks down at you with a sinister top-down profile from the top of the cabinet. He also appears on the reels, alongside classic magic images. You’ll find a tiger (though it does not look very ‘tamed’), a pair of doves and the obligatory female assistant too.

Stacked symbols on all reels give you a shot at multi-line hits with every spin. A unique feature involves a magic wand. When you get 2 stacks on the first 3 reels, a second chance feature kicks in. This can significantly boost your wins. There is also a free spins bonus game to enjoy.

The Magical Setup of the Great Winaldo Slot

There is nothing magical about the reel setup – that magic kicks in with the second chance feature. This slot uses a 5×3 set of reels, with 30 win-lines. You can bet from just 30c, though spins of up to $3 are possible.

Above the reels you will see three arrows, pointing to the top of the first 3 reels. Above these arrows it says ‘Second Chance’. This on-reel feature kicks in when you get 2 or more stacks of symbols completely covering one of the highlighted reels.

When this happens, a magic wand appears in front of the reels. One or more of the non-stacked reels then goes blank – displaying a cork-board background. The wand taps this, and a new symbol (also stacked) is revealed. You are hoping this matches the other stacks – or shows a wild. It is also possible that the stacked bonus symbols appear – triggering the free spins.

Pull a Rabbit from the Hat with Stacked Winning Symbols

You will notice that the line wins are smaller than on some slots. This is balanced by those times you get stacked symbols (maybe connected by wilds). Here you will often trigger all 30 win-lines, generating some huge pay outs.

The biggest wins come via the Great Winaldo himself. He has a gold frame, and stares intensely at you from the reels. Lining up 5 of these gets you 250 coins – though keep in mind the top prize is 30x this amount!

Next comes Winaldo’s assistant, wearing a 1920’s headband. She is worth 200 coins for the full 5. A tiger is next, followed by a pair of doves – with the final unique symbol a top hat and wand combination. Smaller wins come from playing card symbols, aces down to 10’s.

Wilds appear on the middle 3 reels only. These can also be stacked. As usual for IGT slots, wilds replace the regular symbols, though not the scatter (bonus) symbols.

Compete Stacks of Bonus Symbols

To trigger the free spins game, you need to completely cover 3 or more reel with the special magic box bonus symbols It is possible to get this bonus either in regular play, or via the second chance feature.

You’ll get 9, 12 or 15 free spins for 3, 4 or 5 stacks of wilds.

These free spins play out in the same way as the base game. Different reels are used, with bigger stacks of the top symbols. You will also get the second chance on-reel feature during this free spins bonus. There is no retrigger possibility this time.

Classic Magical Design

Overall, this slot is atmospheric – rather than spectacular. The edgy classical music helps add to this atmosphere. This is led by a high-pitched violin. The main graphic on the top part of the cabinet has a haunting quality, with the Great Winaldo himself appearing to stare right at you while you play.

On the reels, the designs are solid. My pick are the doves, which are pictured mid-flight, one in front of the other. The effect with the wand for the second chance feature is nicely done too. When you trigger the bonus games, curtains close over the reels, opening to reveal the number of spins you have won.

Will The Great Winaldo Slot Provide that Magical Big Win for You?

IGT have produced an atmospheric and enjoyable slot with The Great Winaldo. It is set apart from similar games by the stacked symbols and second chance feature. This is brilliantly tied in with the magic theme, via the magic wand animation.

Big wins will come when you line up several stacks of matching symbols. This is helped by a lot of wild symbols appearing on the middle reels. Free spins are always a plus, and with some second chance wins during this bonus, there is certainly the potential for a magical big win!