The design in Wizard of Oz Road to Emerald City is pretty simple - it has the look of a classic fruit machine in fact. Joining the lower value single, double and treble bars is a lucky red 7. By far the top payer is the Wizard of Oz logo - find 3 of these in combination and you’ll pocket 5,000 coins.
There’s also a 2x multiplier symbol which doubles the payout when it lands in a winning line. The gang on the Yellow Brick Road is the wild - it replaces everything bar the logo, emerald (see below) and the 2x multiplier and awards payouts of 200 coins if you land 3 in a row.
You’ll notice that some symbols come with a shard of emerald attached. Any time you land 3 of these symbols centred on a payline, you’ll trigger 1 of the game’s 7 bonus features:
- Glinda The Good Witch Booster feature - here you’ll be awarded 1 of the other bonus features, complete with and extra cash bonus or multiplier prize which is applied to your wins there.
- Dorothy Free Spins feature - here you’ll be get between 5 and 20 free spins. Landing 3 or 4 emeralds on the same free spin re-triggers more free spins. Any other amount of emeralds is collected in a meter - once you’ve collected 3 of them, you’ll trigger an additional bonus feature which plays out immediately. Once it’s completed, you’ll return to the free spins.
- Cowardly Lion Multipliers feature - here you’ll be awarded 1 free spin. 1 reel during this free spin will feature a wild multiplier of 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x, 10x, 15x and 25x. Also boosting your winning chances are any emeralds that land as they’ll turn wild.
- Scarecrow Crow Prizes feature - between 1 and 3 crows can land on the Scarecrow and in the process deliver a prize. 1 crow awards an instant win cash prize. 2 crows and it’s a cash prize or a multiplier. 3 crows cash and it’s a guaranteed multiplier.
- Tin Man Winning Spin feature - the whole of reel 2 turns wild if you land this round. Every emerald that lands increases the multiplier. This starts at 1x and rises to 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x or 25x. The feature ends on a winning spin, complete with the multiplier.
- Wicked Witch Free Spins feature - here you’ll get 3 free spins with reel 1 turning wild. Any wild, logo or emerald that lands will turn into a frozen wild for the remainder of your free spins.
- Toto Emerald Trails feature - an unspecified amount of free spins are awarded in this variation on the cash trail. Land emerald symbols to move along the trail. Where on the reels they land determines which direction along the trail you’ll go. Every losing free spin or a free spin without an emerald results in a Pooper. 3 Poopers and the feature ends.
The set-up here is simple but works. The main characters from the classic 1939 movie are on hand and you’ll hear “Over The Rainbow” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” playing as you spin. There are plenty of extras on offer here making it a good choice if you like plenty of variety from your features.
A 3 reel, 3 row game engine is unusual enough, especially for a branded game like this. It all works rather well, combining simple, classic design with a nice line in bonus features. This will certainly appeal to fans of the source material. Even if you’re not much of a lover of Dorothy and co, the features make this trip down the Yellow Brick Road well worth making. I would also suggest you take a look at Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers, from WMS, which is excellent.