Secret of the Stones MAX Slot: Review

Secret of the Stones MAX: Demo

If you enjoyed NetEnt’s Secret of the Stones slot but found it a little low on the variance front, then look again at the revamped MAX version. The gameplay in this 5 reel, 25 payline game is virtually the same as the original but the potential payouts of up to 25,000 x your bet per spin are much, much higher. Bigger rewards mean more volatility though and this is a high variance update. The highlight is the free spins round where picking stones can deliver some explosive wild and multiplier extras. Play from between 25p and £125 per spin.

Norse design

There’s a Norse feel to the sound and visuals in Secret of the Stones MAX which are very well constructed. Joining the lower value A to 10 symbols are rune stone style snake, wolf, bull, owl and deer symbols. The payouts on offer from each symbol vary depending on whether you’re playing in Classic or MAX mode. More on that shortly. Look out too for the bearded elder which is the wild. This substitutes for all the standard symbols.

Classic or MAX mode?

If you want to play the original Secret of the Stones, opt for the Classic version. For the high risk, high reward version choose MAX mode. The gameplay is very similar. The payouts different in each mode though. For example, landing 5 of the deer symbol in Classic mode pays 50 times your bet – in MAX mode, that rises to 160 times your bet.

Free Spins feature

The differences between Classic and MAX mode are most clearly evident when you trigger the Free Spins feature. To do so, you’ll need to land 3, 4 or 5 of the Tree of Life scatter symbol on the same spin. You’ll receive at least 10 free spins. You’ll get to add some modifiers though by picking stones. You’ll get 3, 4 or 5 picks depending on the number of scatters. The rewards on offer vary depending on which mode you’re playing in.

Classic mode MAX Mode
3, 4, 5, 6 or 10 extra free spins 3, 4, 5, 6 or 10 extra free spins
An increase of the starting 1x multiplier by 1x or 2x An increase of the starting 1x multiplier by 1x, 2x or 3x
Reels 2 and/or 4 will be wild throughout the free spins

The deer or owl symbols act as extra wild symbols

Reels 2, 3 and/or 4 will be wild throughout the free spins

The deer, bull or owl symbols act as extra wild symbols

MAX version all the way

We liked the classic Secret of the Stones but we like the Secret of the Stones MAX version even more. While the original was low on the variance front, this MAX version ramps it up to the high range – the different is max payouts is 2,500 x bet versus 25,000 x bet per free spin.

It all comes down to the extras you can collect from the picks. If you like high risk, high reward action, then Secret of the Stones MAX has become a very playable proposition. NetEnt offers you MAX versions of 2 other slot games, Victorious and Berryburst – Victorious MAX is recommended and is 1 of NetEnt’s most popular games ever.

 

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