| Software developer : | ELK Studios |
| Supported on mobile devices : | Yes |
| Release date : | June 2016 |
| Payout Percentage RTP (?) : | 96,4% |
| Volatility / variance (?) : | Medium |
| Features (?) : | Free spins, Marching Reels, Wild and Scatter symbols |
| Roles / pay-lines (?) : | 5 / 40 |
| Min. / Max. bet : | 10p up to ÂŁ100 |
| Max. prize : | 180,000 coins |
Be a general and lead your troops to glory and riches untold in Elk Studiosâ Poltava, an online video slot loaded with combat arms and huge win potential. Poltava has an RTP of 96,4% and the tempting chance to win up to 180,000 coins â thatâs 1800x/Total Bet! Poltava has 2 game modes: Normal Mode with Marching Reels and Bonus Mode with Flames of War Free Spins. Play online from any Windows desktop or iOS/Android mobile device to defeat your enemies and steal their treasure.
Poltava is a 4-row, 5-reel, 40-fixed payline, online slot set in the middle of a wooded battlefield. There are subtle background animations such as falling leaves during Normal Mode with wins flashing in bright gold numbers across the slot screen. During Bonus Mode, the Lion symbols flame up and their jaws open and close. The overall visual quality of the graphics is outstanding and pretty much what weâve come to expect from Elk Studiosâ slots in general. The music is easily forgettable in its subtlety.
Poltava shows values for both Balance and Bet in cash only along the bottom of the slot screen. Click the stack of coins in the lower left corner to select a Cash Bet ranging from 10p-ÂŁ100 at Mr Green. The slotâs default setting is to show a fixed Coin Bet value of 100 and show all matching symbol values listed in the Paytable in coins. Players have the option to switch Paytable values to cash in game options. When listed in coins, pays remain fixed despite changes in bet selection. When listed in cash, pays change to show potential wins relative to changes in bet selection. Wins are displayed in cash temporarily after a winning combo is formed.
Poltava has a total of 10 symbols. There are 2 special symbols including a Poltava Wild and a Lion Scatter symbol. The Wild can stand in for any symbol except for the Lion. The Lion Scatter only appears on reels 2-4 and acts as a trigger for Free Spins during Normal Mode gameplay. During Bonus Mode, Lions appear across all the reels and act as Sticky Wilds awarding extra Free Spins. Poltavaâs 8 regular symbols include 3, higher-paying, combat arms symbols: Calvary, Artillery, Infantry, and 5, lower- paying symbols: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10.
Gameplay is left to right starting from reel 1, so get 3+ of any symbol to form a winning combination. When compared to most slots, Poltava pays relatively low along a single payline. Get 3+ Calvary symbols, 4+ Artillery symbols or 5+ of the remaining 6 regular symbols to profit. The highest value symbol is the Calvary symbol which pays (200, 150, 125) coins which only gives the potential to, at most, double the Total Bet. Fortunately, multiple wins on differing lines are allowable which boosts the slotâs win potential. This online slot relies heavily on Marching Reels and Free Spins to reach that potential 180,000 coin max prize.
Special Features
Poltavaâs Autoplay ranges from 10-100 consecutive spins with no advanced options.
Unique to Elk Studiosâ slots, there are 4 advanced betting strategies: Optimizer (bet level adapts to a selected percent of remaining balance), Leveller (raises Total Bet on consecutive losses up to 10x the original bet), Booster (raises Total Bet after a single loss and resets after a win) or Jumper (raises Total Bet after a win and resets after a loss).
Additional Game Settings include switching âquick playâ on/off, âcoin viewâ on/off and âsoundâ on/off.
Flames of War Free Spins: Triggered by the appearance of 3 Lion Scatter symbols, 3 initial Free Spins are awarded. Lion symbols turn into Sticky Wilds that can appear on all reels during Free Spins. Each additional Lion that appears during a Free Spins round awards 1 additional Free Spin.
Marching Reels: This Re-spin mechanism is a Poltava Normal Mode Feature triggered by a reel entirely covered in 4 identical combat arms (4-Calvary, 4-Artillery or 4-Infantry). The troops will march right with the appearance of more matching combat arms. The new âreinforcementsâ fall in line behind the triggering combat arms reel while the rest of the symbols spin again. The march ends either when the army reaches reel 5 or no new matching combat arms appear. If a higher value combat arm fills a reel to the right of the existing combat arm reel, the higher value combat arm will replace the lower value one.
Poltava is rich in big win potential due mainly to its Free Spins and Marching Reels. While testing the demo version at Mr Green, this online slot paid relatively infrequently when compared with other slots. We got around 1.9 Normal Mode wins, including Marching Reel wins, every 10 spins or so. About half of those wins were profitable, multiple payline wins. Out of 100 spins, Marching Reels occurred 3 times and cumulatively awarded 23.5x/Bet. Flames of War Free Spins also triggered 3 times for us awarding 120x/Bet over the entire session. If you find battle-themed slots exciting, try leading a troop of fierce Vikings in Yggdrasilâs Vikings Go Wild.
