Gem Ghosts

Gem Ghosts: Slot Overview

Hacksaw Gaming partner Bullshark Games has taken a pickaxe to rock to develop the mining-themed online slot Gem Ghosts. Mining is one of online gambling's most fecund categories, with numerous related slots released on a regular basis. As such, the studio has made the decision to populate its mine with ghosts rather than living beings in a stab at individuality. Just as creative is an unusual bonus round which consists of a collect phase that accumulates wild multiplier symbols before a single (yet potentially retriggerable) free spin occurs with collected wilds locked in place.

In the base game, a bespectacled, beardy miner ghost floats next to the reels, while on the other side sits a skeleton propped up beside a cart full of gems. The bonus round moves to another part of the mine to take place in a room absolutely overflowing with gems, and even more ghosts. However, while this is a game about spectres and whatnot, they're of the cartoon Casper kind, so there's nothing to really be afraid of, except perhaps some brutal maths? Mining slots we've seen a lot of, mines populated by ghosts, not so much, meaning Gem Ghosts at least tries to do something unusual to stand out from the herd.

Gem Ghosts unfolds across a 6x6 cluster pays grid, where wins form when 5 or more matching symbols connect orthogonally. Each winning cluster triggers the cascade mechanic - symbols vanish, new ones drop in, and the process repeats as long as fresh wins emerge. Players can activate several feature bets to shake things up, while regular spins come with a stake range of 10c to $/€75. There are two RTP settings available, with the highest clocking in at 96.24%, and volatility maxed out at 5 out of 5, ensuring a high-stakes experience.

Ten pay symbols are listed on the paytable. They are 10-A royals, shovels, picks, lamps, helmets, and carts of gems. Five-of-a-kind clusters pay 0.1x to 1x while 27+ sized clusters are worth 10x to 150x the bet. Wild symbols replace any paying symbols. Furthermore, wilds may possess a multiplier  of x2 to x100, which applies to wins the wild is part of. Wilds have the same payout value as gem carts.

Gem Ghosts: Slot Features

For features, Gem Ghosts has respins which double wild multipliers, a Haunted Harvest bonus, Phantom Treasure, and feature buys.

Respins

When wins and cascades from a regular spin are complete, if there are three or more wilds on the grid, a respin is awarded. During the respin, all wilds and scatters remain in place while the other symbols are removed and replaced by other symbols. Multipliers on wilds double with each respin. Wilds in wins are cleared from the grid along with winning symbols. Another respin is awarded if the grid has at least three wilds on it when all wins and cascades from the respin are complete.

Haunted Harvest

Getting 3 or 4 scatters on the reels triggers Haunted Harvest, a bonus round consisting of a collect phase followed by a free spin. Scatter symbols from the base game remain on the grid for the collect phase but transform into wild symbols with a random multiplier. The feature starts with 3 spins, and each time a wild lands, the spin counter resets to 3. Regular symbols do not land during this phase. When no new wilds land for 3 consecutive spins, the collect phase ends. Wilds have a multiplier of x2 to x100.

When the collect phase ends, all collected wilds remain in place for one free spin. When there are no more wins on the grid, a mystery draw may award an extra free spin. If an extra free spin is drawn, the game returns to the collect phase, keeping any wilds from the end of the first spin. Multipliers double before the second free spin. The mystery draw can award an unlimited number of additional free spins.

Phantom Treasure

Hitting 5 scatters triggers Phantom Treasure. It is the same as Haunted Harvest except two free spins are guaranteed.

Feature Buy

The feature buy provides BonusHunt FeatureSpins at 3x the bet to make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger free spins. Spooky FeatureSpins cost 50x and guarantee at least 3 wild symbols with random multipliers land on each spin. Players may also buy the Haunted Harvest for 100x or Phantom Treasure for 300x.

Gem Ghosts: Slot Verdict

Gem Ghosts is one of those charming games which ended up packing a mighty sting in its tail. At first, it all seemed a bit unassuming, even with the ghost and skeleton in the background, as if we were in for a charming little ride through the underground on a mine cart. And to be fair, the base game is a bit like that, where wins form, the occasional wild multiplier lands to pep values, and it's all pretty conventional cluster pays stuff. In the beginning, there's little indicator of the potentially short, lethal stab that the bonus round can be.

The Haunted Harvest and Phantom Treasure bonus rounds do have precedence, though, and you don't even have to look outside the Hacksaw Gaming stable of studios to find it. Previous slots that offered the collection/payout phase format include slots such as Alpha Eagle, Shadow Strike, and Rusty & Curly. Chicken Man is arguably the closest of the lot since its Eggvenger's Assemble feature follows its collection phase with a single spin as well, where collected wilds and multipliers apply. One spin isn't a lot, but Gem Ghosts keeps you on your toes since the mystery draw can award more spins, and is unlimited - in theory. In practice, yeah, it's definitely possible to get more spins to keep the mine cart rolling along the tracks.

Gem Ghosts' final destination is a haul of nuggets worth 12,000x the bet, and while it's unclear what ghosts are going to do with all those gems, it's a sizable target for players to aim at. The bonus round feels like you've got one good whack of pickaxe on earth to see what may or may not pour forth, which might be too restrictive for some gamblers, but could be just the thing for others looking for condensed intensity.