ALICE COOPER
Slot Overview
Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier and is most known as the singer/songwriter front man for the Alice Cooper band, as well as a prolific solo artist. Alice Cooper has sold millions of records, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and been awarded a couple of Honorary Doctorate degrees in Music. Now, he’ll be featured in a Play’n GO online slot called Alice Cooper and the Tome of Madness.
As the title implies, Alice Cooper and the Tome of Madness is based on a prior game called Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness, albeit the studio has made significant changes. The first visceral change is the appearance, and given that the game is based on Alice Cooper, it’s only natural that the ambiance be darker and creepier than usual. On the right side of the screen, Rich Wilde’s stylish figure has vanished, replaced by a picture of Alice encased in chains and padlocks – more on this later. In the main game, a 5×5 cluster paying grid in the middle of what appears to be a chapel takes center stage, before transforming into a full-fledged rock performance during free spins.
The math model has been cut and modified since Rich Wilde had a go, and it starts at 10p/c and rises to £/€100 every spin. On Play’n GO’s volatility chart, volatility has been lowered to a 7 out of 10 rating. The baseline RTP value of 96.2 percent is up, as is the potential, but the return is vary, so be on the watch for lower levels as well. Wins, on the other hand, occur when four or more matched symbols are connected horizontally and/or vertically to form a cluster. The cascade mechanic then removes the winning clusters from the screen, replacing the holes with new symbols and halting only when no new clusters form. The lower-value symbols are four skulls, followed by spiders, crosses, snakes, and hearts as the high-value symbols. Clusters of 15 or more matching symbols are the most valuable, and premium clusters of this size are worth 40 to 200 times the stake. The standard Tome wild symbol is another sign for this game, and it substitutes for all other pay symbols. Next, we’ll look at a stacked Alice Mega Wild.
Slot Features
Alice Cooper and the Tome of Madness is padded out by Play’n GO with a slew of extras, including Reality Effects, the Alice Cooper Mega Wild, the Hat of Madness, and Reality Spins.
There’s a risk that one of the Reality Effects modifiers will be triggered at random on non-winning spins. There are four of them:
- Insane Asylum — Combines all high-paying symbols into a single high-paying symbol.
- The Dungeon – converts all low-paying jobs into various high-paying jobs.
- Chamber of Horrors – obliterates symbols and replaces them with wilds.
- Temptation Room – adds a wild symbol and merges symbols into one.
On the reels, special key symbols may appear. When keys are collected, a wild symbol is left behind. When three are collected in a single spin, the stacking Alice Cooper Mega Wild appears when no more wins are possible. The Mega Wild appears on reels 2, 3, and 4, and wanders left or right between cascades until disappearing entirely.
When winning clusters appear, the Hat of Madness is charged by the number of symbols involved. Various Hat of Madness elements are triggered when particular thresholds of gathered symbols in a cascade sequence are reached, such as:
- 10 symbols: 1-2 wilds are added to the next cascade.
- 25 symbols: 3-6 wilds are added to the next cascade.
- 50 symbols: 3 Reality Spins.
- 75 symbols: 3 Reality Spins with an *2 multiplier.
- 85 symbols: 3 Reality Spins with an *5 multiplier.
Only the highest tier is rewarded if Reality Spins are obtained. The game then switches to a menu where players can pick between Reality Spins with the Insane Asylum, The Dungeon, Chamber of Horrors, or Temptation Room Reality Effects. Regardless matter which Reality Effect is selected, it will be played at the end of each Reality Spin. When the Alice Cooper Mega Wild is placed to the reels during Reality Spins, it has a possibility of adding 3 to 6 additional wilds when it walks.
SLOT VERDICT
Play’n GO has a lot of experience with these kinds of games, and Alice Cooper and the Tome of Madness is yet another playable addition to the studio’s impressive grid slot portfolio. Given the hard rock theme, it’s a little surprise that the game is mathematically and potential-wise in the middle of the pack. However, Play’n GO has paired it with an odd back narrative about Alice Cooper writing his memoirs in a bizarre diary that conjures up stories of other Alice Coopers in other realities – now he must keep writing to stay alive. Players who enjoy the weird aspect of Alice Cooper’s persona are likely to be sold.
Do you believe Play’n GO considers the risk/reward tolerances of these musicians’ fans when scheduling their slots? If this is the case, Alice Cooper’s fans might not be as wild and crazy as you might think. Volatility has been reduced from the 10/10 rating in the Rich Wilde edition, however potential has been raised. Whereas Rich Wilde’s version of the Tome of Madness could only get 2,000x the bet, Alice changes it a little further, upping the figure to 3,000x the stake. Still, some players may have expected a big-name performer like Alice Cooper to prompt a higher number, and those three Reality Spins may be an all-or-nothing thrill ride.
To summarize, Alice Cooper and the Tome of Madness offers a diverse range of features in a unique grid slot format. It helps if you like The Godfather of Shock Rock, but there’s enough here to keep general grid slot players entertained if they don’t want a massive game to go with it.