Welcome to the first underwater release by AvatarUX, although it’s pretty much a reskin of their previous PiggyPop. They have made some changes to the math model though, and the most significant change is that you get a more favorable, albeit average, 96 % RTP in this version. ReefPop comes with engaging subsea visuals, and the PopWins mechanic expands the grid from 6×4 to a maximum of 6×6 in the base game.
Maxing out the grid is also how you trigger the bonus round, where the grid can expand up to 6×8 (and become locked there for the remainder of the feature). You also get a multiplier that increases by +1 per PopWin, and it never resets for as long as the feature lasts. It also has no upper limit, and this is how you’re most likely to close in on the10,000x potential. Visually, we prefer this release, and given the better math model it seems like no-brainer.
You can win both ways in this game, and the dynamic grid offersbetween 8,192 and 524,288 ways to win. The mid, high, and super high value symbols pay 1x, 1.5x, and 3x your stake, respectively, and there areno wild or scatter symbolsin this game. Winning symbols are removed and replaced by 2 new random symbols via thePopWins mechanic, and this is how the grid expands and the number of win ways increase. Up to 6 positions per reel is possible in the base game.
You need to max out the grid so all 6 reels have 6 positions each to trigger theBonus Round, and the gridcan expand to 8 positions per reel during the feature. Reels reset to the lowest reel height you have achieved between free spins, and you start out with only3 free spins. The free spins tally resets to 3 every time you land a win though, and theglobal win multiplierstarts at x1.
The Win Multiplier increases by+1 per PopWin, and it never resets for as long as the bonus round lasts. It comes with no upper limit as well, and theGolden Shark symbolcomes with a multiplier that’s equal to the number of golden shark symbols in sight. Maxing out the grid with 8 positions per reel increases the goldenshark multiplierby+2x per symbolin view.
AGamble Wheelbecomes an option before the bonus round starts, and this can increase your default grid height from 4 positions to 5, and from 5 to 6 if you choose to gamble again. Be careful, however, as losing the gamble means that the whole bonus round is lost.
TheBonus Buy menuis available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. It comes with 3 options this time, and you can purchase thestandard bonus roundfor100x the stake. You can also pay100x your staketo get theGamble Wheel feature, but you risk losing everything you paid for if the gamble is unsuccessful. In addition, you can pay400x your staketo get thebonus round with a 6×6 sized starting default grid.
You get a brief taste of the base game, before we purchase the Gamble Wheel feature. It took us no less than 3 unsuccessful gambles before we finally won, and this gave us a 5×5 starting default grid with 18,750 ways to win. The bonus round starts at 1:27 into the 3:16-minute highlights video, and you can see for yourself how we fared by hitting the play button below.
There’s no denying that ReefPop is a reskin of PiggyPop, but AvatarUX has apparently made some changes to the math model. The bonus round comes with a hit rate of 1 in 172 spins, which is decent, and wins between 5,000 and 10,000 x your stake has a 1 in 10,035 spins hit rate in the regular bonus round. Thàt hit rate increases to 1 in 2,543 spins in the maxed out version of the bonus round, and the win cap hit rate is 1 in 29,069 if you purchase the top-tier feature.
You have a 33.47 % chance of getting your money back if you purchase the top-tier bonus round, but enough with the numbers already. The biggest problem we have with this release is the awkward spin pace. There is a pause after each spin before the spin button becomes active again, which gets annoying, and this is hardly the first time we have encountered this problem with AvatarUX releases. It gets amended in mysterious ways sometimes, but we don’t understand why they keep doing this in release after release.
Pros
Cons
Introducing the first underwater release by AvatarUX, which is essentially a revamped version of their previous game, PiggyPop. However, there have been some notable changes to the math model, including a more favorable 96% RTP. ReefPop offers stunning visuals of the underwater world and employs the PopWins mechanic to expand the grid from 6×4 to a maximum of 6×6 in the base game. To trigger the bonus round, players must fill the grid to its maximum size of 6×8, where it remains locked for the duration of the feature. Each PopWin also increases a multiplier by +1, which never resets and has no upper limit, making it possible to achieve the game’s maximum potential of 10,000x. This visually appealing game allows wins from both directions and offers between 8,192 and 524,288 ways to win thanks to the dynamic grid. Symbol values range from 1x to 3x your stake, but there are no wild or scatter symbols. The PopWins mechanic removes winning symbols and replaces them with 2 new random symbols, expanding the grid and increasing the number of win ways. In the base game, up to 6 positions per reel are possible, but to trigger the bonus round, all 6 reels must have 6 positions each. The grid can expand to 8 positions per reel during the bonus round. Reels reset to the lowest achieved height between free spins, and players start with only 3 free spins. However, landing a win resets the free spins tally to 3, and the global win multiplier starts at x1, increasing by +1 per PopWin for the duration of the bonus round. The Golden Shark symbol carries a multiplier equal to the number of symbols in view, and maxing out the grid with 8 positions per reel increases the Golden Shark multiplier by +2x per symbol. Before the bonus round begins, players have the option to gamble and increase the default grid height. However, losing the gamble results in the loss of the entire bonus round. The Bonus Buy menu offers three options, including purchasing the standard bonus round for 100x the stake, paying 100x the stake to activate the Gamble Wheel feature (with the risk of losing the payment), or paying 400x the stake for a bonus round with a 6×6 starting grid. The game review video showcases a starting grid of 5×5 with 18,750 ways to win, achieved after three unsuccessful gambles. The bonus round starts at 1:27 in the 3:16-minute video. ReefPop has a decent hit rate of 1 in 172 spins for the bonus round and a hit rate of 1 in 10,035 spins for wins between 5,000 and 10,000x your stake in the regular bonus round. The hit rate increases to 1 in 2,543 spins in the maxed out version of the bonus round, and the win cap hit rate is 1 in 29,069 for the top-tier feature. Purchasing the top-tier bonus round gives players a 33.47% chance of getting their money back. However, one notable drawback of this release is the awkward spin pace, with a pause after each spin before the spin button becomes active again. This issue has been encountered in previous AvatarUX releases and remains a concern.