Birds Pokie Review
Everybody has seen birds on powerlines but it is Betsoft who created Birds! – an adorable 5-reel 25-payline pokie. It is adorable indeed: cute birds are twee-animated and sounded, and the way the reels and combos are designed is nothing but WOW. No more rotating reels, birds are flying, not rotating. Birds pay their own way, in flights. It looks like a toy but it is about playing for real money and winning up to $1500 in a base round. It is a “chain reaction” pokie, so any single bet may trigger extra rounds that cost nothing but can still earn. Free spins are designed so as to last and pay nearly forever. A gamble feature with gamble adjustments is attached. It is an irresistible attraction for Aussies who are fond of top-notch animation, exclusive design and good chances for making hoot.
Gameplay and betting
This is a very special case: there is no paylines in the strict sense and any 3 or more birds of a kind pay whenever they flock together into a “flight”, be that vertically, horizontally or both ways (but not diagonally). Thus, one has to adjust only the value of coins selecting from $0.01 up to $1 with a Choose Coin control and then the bet level from 1 to 5 with a Bet level control. The Bet level button is a bet multiplier: the minimum wager is always 25 coins, and a gambler may increase it by x2, x3… up to x5 or up to 125 coins, that is from $1.25 to $125. Tip: birds are flying slowly and perform a lot of tricks. To speed up, select a turbo mode in the Options menu at the top left corner.
“Spin” scares all birds off the lines and “Max Bet” does the same but setting the bet on the top level, 125 coins. New birds come on powerlines and if there is a winning flight, the win is paid out and the winning flock flies off. That causes the re-arrangement of birds: those who are still on the powerlines fall into vacant places and new birds come to fill in the positions – absolutely free of charge for a gambler. If newcomers compose a flight, the win is paid out again, and the birds fly off again, letting new birds come and earn. The process continues until no more winning flights land on the screen.
So, this is a “chain reaction” game: a win triggers a new free round, and a new win does the same again and again. Thus a single bet may trigger a long streak of rounds, each giving you a chance to earn real money. There can be seven wins in a row and even more, theoretically.
Pokie symbols and payouts
No one tells you the species of these frantic birds, so let them be “payable birds”. There are 10 payable birds, and the paytable looks stunningly low unless one reads the rules. The matter is that awards are provided for each bird in the flight, not for a certain combination. That means a payout of 2 credits for 3 sleepy white birds and up to $1500 for 3 birdies with a feather crown. And then a chain reaction feature comes into play: winning birds are off, birds re-arrange and new birds come, new flights are made and pay out, and all over again until it stops. That nice feature requires one initial bet, goes for as long as one’s luck holds and earns every time there is a winning flight.
Free spins: Endless round
Every time there is a win, blue bubbling water raises up in the Free Flight Tweet’o’meter on the left side of reels. An Aussie needs at least 4 wins in a row to trigger free spins – and this is not an extraordinary thing, there could be 4, 5, 6, 7 and more wins in a row. The number of free spins is calculated as follows: 4 flights in a row trigger 8 frees spins, 5 flights trigger 12 free spins, 6 flights activate 20 free rounds, and 7 and more flights launch 14 free spins plus the number of triggering flights. So 10 flights would make it 14 + 10 = 24 free spins. During free rounds new free spins are awarded without any limits, so it may take quite a while and earn quite a lot!
Bird goes wild
Earning and triggering free spin rounds are further assisted by a Wild symbol. It is a very peculiar species, which looks whimsical and is wild to any other bird. There is more to that: 3 or more adjacent Wild birds will substitute, each one at a time, for all symbols on powerlines. This feature allows completing quite a lot of winning flights, and a 125-coin bet could earn you up to $910 in a single spin.
Gamble feature: The winner takes it all! Or a half
After a win in a base round one may try his luck with a gamble feature. It is activated with the Double Up control and is designed as a coin toss. One may bet all or 50% of his win on heads or tails. The number of tosses is unlimited, just like the number of free spins, so a lucky Aussie may double the win as many times as he feels inclined to do. A valuable addition and a nicely made one! The feature is inactive in a free spin mode.
Bottom line on Birds!
This 5-reel 25-payline pokie is a feather in Betsoft’s bonnet and a must-play for any gambler. It is superb in terms of design, animation and sound, and is perfectly compatible with PC, tablets and mobile devices. The gameplay is truly entertaining. Base round wins reach $1500 and are based on the “chain reaction” principle, meaning one bet may trigger numerous consecutive wins. Three or more adjacent Wild symbols earn up to $910. Free spins are a bit tricky to get but there are up to 20 free spins with an option to earn more. A gamble feature with a 100% or 50% gamble option and unlimited tries is the last but not the least feature that deserves an excellent mark.
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