Great year for mechanics
A 2026 talking point among players is how iGaming firms are making a major push to introduce new mechanics, or completely reimagine them.
After Elk Studios rolled out Wild Toro III on Monday with two volatility settings for players to choose from, BGaming is launching a Hold & Win title with a very unusual twist – players get to roll a die to win prizes in a bonus game.
The novel free game in the Malta-based company’s new Shark & Spark: Hold & Win slot is inspired by the classic board game Chutes & Ladders. BGaming took to X earlier this month with a video clip of Shark & Spark’s showcase bonus game Sharks & Ladders along with its other releases for May:
Sharks & Ladders gets players to roll a die, the resulting values taking the main character around a board of prizes where your best chance of hitting the max win potential of $250,000 awaits.
Balanced appeal
The dice game isn’t the only surprise in this vibrant, cute sea creature-themed game. The other big plus for players is that despite Shark & Spark’s medium-high volatility rating, BGaming has gone and slapped a very generous RTP of 97% on it.
According to a BGaming release, the Sharks & Ladders bonus game was inspired by the game every home used to have – a game invented in ancient India with the snakes and ladders teaching lessons about karma before a change of name and religious theme helped Chutes & Ladders catch on in the US during World War II.
Die rolls in the Sharks & Ladders bonus game moves the grinning little predator to the top left-hand point of a 6×5 matrix filled with coins, Pearl multipliers, and arrows acting as ladders. The shark devours multipliers and can move via the die values and various arrow shortcuts to the wheel on the bottom right, where prizes starting at 100x, rising up to 5,000x, await.
Like the reimagined Chutes & Ladders bonus game, Shark & Spark’s other bonus feature – a classic Coin Respin featuring tiered Coins – is randomly triggered by 4+ Scatters, which appear as pearl-holding oysters.
Extra charm
The bet range in the slot also suits casual players and high rollers, sliding from $0.20 to a maximum of $50 per spin. During the base game, you can trigger both bonus rounds by buying it at 50x your stake with the price auto adjusting as you change the bet. This player-friendly slot also lets you choose which bonus feature you want, rather than a typical random allocation.
Ultimately, this scatter-pays slot with its novel game highlight gives Shark & Spark a lot more personality than run-of-the-mill Hold & Win ocean-themed slots.
