Play Riches of the Sea for Free

The secret to success calls for rolling a series of reels repeatedly until you turn up something of worth. That’s it. Roll, win or lose, repeat. WorldMatch have drawn their inspiration from The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo with this slot, but nothing that could be called outright plagiarism. Still, you know the drill: buxom mermaids with strategically placed seashells and a series of creatures from the depths and the not-so-depths.

While most slots promise to take you all the way to the top, Riches of the Sea is a race to the bottom, where seaweed, sand and – oh yes – priceless treasure awaits. Are you ready to take the plunge into iGaming’s very own Mariana Trench?

The reels, which comprise a standard 5 x 3 layout with a total of 20 lines, are set against a coral reef backdrop. Starfish, clownfish and various species of coral can be made out while, overhead, the sun’s rays penetrate the first few feet of ocean.

Once you start rolling those reels, the background, pretty as it may be, will swiftly be forgotten about. Focus. There’s money at stake here. Speaking of stakes, the coin size can be set between 0.01 and 2.0, while an autoplay button is available for those who are content to automate the whole process. You might as well: playing manually starts to lose its lustre after the first 100-odd spins.

While your average video slot isn’t going to win any awards for the majesty and might of its sound effects, WorldMatch’s are weedier than most it must be said. Audio isn’t their strongest suit, put it that way. Thankfully, the bleepy theme tune can be muted via the game controls, leaving just the sound effects which are innocuous.

WorldMatch aren’t sticklers for change. Adopting the ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mantra, they’ve stuck with the game features and symbols that typify the bulk of their slots. On the plus side, this means the learning curve is non-existent. If you’ve played one WorldMatch slot (or indeed any slot for that matter) you’ll know exactly what to do.

Credit where credit’s due though: one feature the software company deploys, which many of its peers don’t, is a complete playing guide. Click on the ‘i’ symbol in the bottom left and then the trophy icon to view a full list of symbols accompanied by their values for 3, 4 or 5 in a line.

The lowest value symbols are the playing card symbols which are embellished with a blue aquatic effect, in keeping with the nautical theme. 10, J, Q, K and A are worth 5, 20 and 150 for 3, 4 or 5 matching. The sea creatures are more rewarding, starting with the orange Nemo fish which is worth 250 for 5 in a row.

The dolphin and squid symbols may represent creatures that typically frolic at opposing depths of the ocean (fun fact: only 250 giant squids have ever been photographed by mankind, such is their shyness and aversion to shallow water), but they’re worth 250 for 5 symbols. The shark symbols are worth 500 for 5, with the blue whale slightly higher at 600.

The game’s mermaid symbol is wild, substituting for any symbol except scatter, which is played by a clam. Score 3, 4 or 5 scatters anywhere on the reels to trigger free spins. The wild symbol is the game’s logo – Riches of the Sea – which applies a nice multiplier to any of the symbols it’s applied to. A pair of wilds will secure a multiplier of 2, rising to 750 for 5 symbols.

Riches of the Sea isn’t the most inventive of slots, but it plays smoothly and is easy to follow. The graphics are pleasing, the sound is unimportant and the riches to be won make it all worthwhile.