Welcome to Aloha! - the first ever Cluster Pays video slot, yet another genre-defining (and widely copied) innovation in online casino games brought to you by NetEnt. The name gives away the theme – it’s all about light-hearted fun and games on a tropical island, with an idyllic Hawaiian backdrop and garlanded, smiling tiki statues flanking the 6 reels and 5 rows where the action plays out.
In terms of game mechanics, Aloha! is a whole new kahuna. There are no paylines. Instead, wins come from horizontally or vertically adjacent clusters of at least 9 identical symbols. The high-value symbols are three different Tiki masks occupying two cells, accompanied by a set of single-cell symbols associated with Hawaii – pineapples, coconuts, shells and flowers (like the flowers around the neck of the Tiki alongside the rows who smiles when you win). The usual Wild symbol is replaced by a Substitution symbol. Free Spins are activated by a Scatter that comes as a Ticket to Hawaii. To play, just set a bet level from 1 to 10, select a coin value from 0.01 to 2.00 and click on spin.
In the base game, any winning combination can randomly activate the Sticky Win Re-Spins feature: the winning symbols stick in position while the other reels spin again. If more symbols land adjacent to the winning cluster, the reels keep spinning until no more new symbols are added to the cluster, or you will up the screen with the same symbol, at which point the feature comes to an end and a new game round begins. The Substitution symbol comes in very handy in this feature, as it transforms into whatever adjacent symbol will complete the largest possible winning cluster.
As you might expect from a NetEnt game, Aloha! has a very special Free Spins feature. Three or more Free Spins symbols anywhere on the reels will get you 9 free spins. Each additional symbol gets you one more free spin for a maximum of 12 from 6 Free Spin symbols. Once activated, Free Spins can be activated again (1 spins for 3 symbols, 2 for 4, 3 for 5 and 4 for 6). Now, Free Spins in Aloha! Cluster Pays is a whole lot more than just – free spins. Something magical starts to happen after the first couple of spins...
All flower symbols vanish from the reels after 2 spins. All shell symbols disappear after 4 spins. Six spins, and the coconuts quit. The pineapples leave the building after 8. Then the high-value Tiki symbols dominate. Uncluttered by low-value symbols, they can now form winning clusters for truly big wins – up to 2000 times your stake per free spin. The Red Tiki Mask offers 10 000 coins for 30 symbols in a winning cluster. One extra feature: if your last free spin draws a blank, you’ll get another free spin until you hit something.
Nobody would turn down a chance to go to Hawaii, and this supremely mellow online casino game is so engaging, the graphics are so fine, the music is so relaxing and the Tiki is so hospitable (he really wants you to win!) that playing Aloha! is almost like being there. And you don’t have to go to Vegas. Vegas Casino gaming Hawaii style is available on your favourite device – iPhone, Android, mobile, tablet, laptop, desktop, anyone can join the fun. Plus, with a Return to Player of 96.42%, it won’t hit you in the pocket – and if the Tiki has his way, your wins might even take to Hawaii after all.
