Wizard of Oz Slot by WMS Reviewed
Travel up the Yellow Brick Road and meet the Wizard of Oz thanks to WMS’ popular online slot machine under the same name. The reels of this game feature Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Man; all of them look exactly the same as the characters in the film, thus adding authenticity to the theme. Wizard of Oz is a game where you can win a jackpot, free spins and cash prizes in one of the exciting bonus features. Additionally, you can play this game on the move and enjoy its thrilling gaming sessions anywhere you go.
My in-depth review of Wizard of Oz slot will give you crucial information about this well-established WMS game. You will get a chance to learn how the game functions, what are the minimum and maximum accepted bets as well as how to play it. In addition, I will compare it to other games and try to offer some similar options that have features this slot lacks.
Overview of the Slot
Wizard of Oz is the first part of WMS’ Wizard-of-Oz-themed series. This game offers action placed on five reels and 30 paylines. The exact number of lines can be changed and players can play with anything between 1 and 30 betting lines. This online slot machine boasts with a wide betting range that makes it acceptable to low rollers that can bet as little as £0.01 per spin and for high rollers that can wager up to £150 per spin. WMS equipped Wizard of Oz with three bonus games and each one of them comes with sweet surprises.
Software: | WMS | Progressive jackpot: | No | Bet Range: | 1p – £150 |
Lines: | 30 | RTP: | 96% | Graphics: | 6/10 |
Reels: | 5 | Autoplay: | Yes | Animation: | 8/10 |
Free Spins: | Yes | Quick spin: | No | Sounds: | 8/10 |
Bonus Rounds: | Yes | Mobile: | Yes | Overall Score: | 7.9 |
At first sight, Wizard of Oz seemed a bit disappointing to me. The game features only themed symbols and that was a plus from the start; however, I wasn’t too fond of the icons that seemed a bit too simple and not of a high quality. I am used to games by NetEnt, Microgaming and Playtech that are graphically perfect and this WMS’ title didn’t win me over when I started it. Nevertheless, once I played for a while I changed my opinion since the symbols grew on me, plus the bonus rounds revealed some awesome animations and videos. Therefore, the overall experience I had playing this game was next to fabulous.
Symbols, Pays, House Edge
I already mentioned that all symbols in this slot are themed and that’s great. There are three special symbols and eight standard icons. The best paying standard symbol is Dorothy and she can earn players from £250 to £3,750, depending whether there are 3, 4 or 5 icons per active payline. The next best-paying symbol is the one with Dorothy’s new friends; their payouts vary between £125 and £2,500. The rest of the symbols are divided into two groups of three; the first group (ruby slippers, Glinda and dog) pays from £50 to £750 and the other group (balloon, house, and tornado) pays £25-500.
Talking about the RTP and house edge, I can say that Wizard of Oz could be better. The game’s return to player percentage is set at 96% and that’s over the 95% line. Nevertheless, house edge of 4% is pretty high for top-played slot machines, especially when there are games whose house edge is as low as 1%. One thing I would like to point out, however, is that the game offers regular wins thanks to the relatively big number of paylines (30). Even though playing with the max number of betting lines requires a higher minimum bet, it’s compensated with wins after approximately 5-10 spins.
Jackpot, Wild, Bonus Games
WMS included some really cool features on Wizard of Oz and I believe that’s the main reason why the game became an instant hit among players. First, there’s a jackpot symbol with simply written “Jackpot” all over it; hitting anything between three and five such symbols can earn you the following prizes: £500, £5,000 and £50,000. Furthermore, the game’s logo has the role of a wild symbol and it can substitute all other icons except for the jackpot and bonus symbol. Thanks to the wild, you can hit winning combinations even with two matching symbols or you get better payouts.
Before moving on to the bonus games, I want to highlight that you can randomly spot the good fairy appearing on the reels and forming a wild reel, hence drastically improving your chances of earning a prize. Now, let’s say a bit more about the bonus features; these are triggered with feature symbols landing anywhere on reels 1, 3 and 5. You get to choose one of the symbols in order to reveal a cash prize, the Flying Monkey free spin feature or Emerald City cash prizes round. During my sessions, I managed to hit the Flying Monkey feature and I can say it’s pretty awesome as well as rewarding.
Mobile-Friendly Version
Playing Wizard of Oz on desktops and mobile devices is pretty much the same. The only differences can be spotted in the display size and the sounds. I am a huge fan of playing on tablets and smartphones because it’s somehow easier; however, I think that the graphics and sound effects quality is lost if you play on devices with small screens and weak speakers. Nonetheless, WMS optimised Wizard of Oz for mobile use and thus the overall experience you’ll have with it will be positive. Expect easy navigation, one click actions and lots of entertainment. When it comes to supported devices, I know that the game can be played on any device as long as you have Adobe flash player installed on it. The game can be started instantly via the browser, even though the exact way of playing may depend on the casino operator.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, Wizard of Oz is one of WMS’ most popular games and now I can understand why is that so. If I have to select three things that made me fall in love with this slot then I would say bonus games, theme and animations. There’s no need to further explain these awesome features since I already wrote everything about them. Nevertheless, I would like to add that some other reasons why you should have Wizard of Oz in mind next time you’re thinking of spinning the reels are the good betting limits, mobile friendliness and, naturally, the juicy jackpot.
Similar Slots
Even though Wizard of Oz is a movie-themed slot, I would like to compare it to IGT’s Da Vinci Diamonds. The updated version of this game offers 40 paylines and thus makes it a bit better option than Dorothy’s adventure. Also, the game has falling symbols instead of spinning reels and, therefore, a single spin can win you multiple wins. When it comes to movie-themed slots, some cool options are Microgaming’s Jurassic Park and Playtech’s King Kong. Both these games are masterpieces with incredibly attractive bonus features and very high payouts. I must admit that the last two mentioned games have much better graphics than Wizard of Oz and Da Vinci Diamonds.
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