Play Tattoo Mania for Free

In Tattoo Mania there are 30 unfixed paylines ; at the start of the game, simply use the + and – arrows in the Lines tab at the foot of the screen to determine how many lines on which you wish to play. It’s possible to stake between 0.5 and 5 credits for each line, making the maximum bet 150 for every spin of the reels. Tattoo Mania’s reputed return-to-player percentage is 96.8%.

Tattoo motifs (hearts, rambler rosebuds, aces) decorate the 5x3 grid while heavy metal/hard rock music soundtracks the game. Tattoo Mania’s control panel is arrayed along the bottom of the screen, with Winner Paid, Total Bet, Lines and Coins tabs. You can also click into the Paytable, regulate the Auto Rolls and trigger maximum bet by clicking Bet Max.

Icons appearing on the reel grid itself include playing card symbols and suits: green clubs, red diamonds, black spades, Aces, Kings, Queens… There’s also a bird in flight, a horseshoe, a hand of four aces (four of a kind), a pair of flaming red dice. All of the icons are illustrated to resemble tattoos and though we think the symbols are a tad unimaginative, they don’t look too bad on the whole. The rules of the game are simple: you must match combinations of three, four or five icons in order to win pay-outs or trigger features.

The images of the dice and the swallow offer pay-outs, but also entry to some bonus games. In one, you’ll be asked to play a scratch card, with the aim being to uncover the letter J; in the other, you get to toss the dice. Depending on how you fare, your multiplier will be increased. For five dice, you can win between 5,000 and 30,000. For four it’s between 1,000 and 6,000 and for three, between 200 and 1,200. Similarly with the swallow: for five it’s between 800 and 4,000; for four, between 500 and 2,500; and for three, between 25 and 125. Other symbols in the game offer regular pay-outs which do not fluctuate, except depending on your stake. They range from 4,000 for five Aces to 3,000 for five Kings.

You can win 2,000 for five Queens, 300 for five diamonds, 200 for five clubs and 100 for five spades. Most of the attractive sums are linked, as ever, with hitting four or five matching symbols, although you can win 150 for hitting three Aces and as much as 1,200 for three red dice, as stated above.

A bonus symbol exists in the form of a red heart with the word BONUS appearing on a scroll wrapped around it. When you find this symbol you’ll collect 100 bonus points, and when your total reaches 1,000, you’ll enter the Master Bonus mini-game. In this, you’ll be tasked with finding horseshoes. The game concludes when you make an incorrect choice, or when you locate all five horseshoes. Not too innovative, granted, but potentially lucrative.

As well as a bonus symbol, the game includes a wild in the form of a blue horseshoe: simply use it to replace other icons and make up winning combos. The four Aces symbol is also useful, in that it grants free spins. Win one, two, four, six or 12 free spins for every extra scatter icon that you manage to unearth. The free spins can also be prolonged.

It must be said that Tattoo Mania is a fair slot game, one which offers the potential for handsome wins. Its primary advantages lay in its variety, its bonus features and free spins; negatives include generic icons, the lack of a progressive jackpot, the fact that the wild does not grant pay-outs in its own right. Over all it divides opinion – much like tattoos themselves.