Ghosts of Christmas Slot

Ghosts of Christmas is a Dickensian Christmas slot by Playtech. Released in time for the holidays of 2012, this game is a true feast for the Free Slots fan. Playtech has gone all out with the Scrooge, Tiny Tim and Bob Kratchet theme, with a fantastic animated intro movie that gives the likes of Betsoft (arguably the industry’s master creator of 3D slot games) a run for its money. This slot features free games rounds and three different animated bonus games. All in all, Ghosts of Christmas is a Christmas slot with an interesting twist – the appearance of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future certainly makes for a refreshing change from all the jingle bells and Santa slots out there (although we like those too; check out Santa Surprise, Santa’s Slotto Grotto and Jingle Bells Ride).

Symbols

You’ll see Scrooge himself sitting on his plush velvet chair at the bottom of the reels, keeping you company was you spin; he features on the reels too, as the Wild symbol. The other special symbols are the chained ghost of Jacob Marley – Scrooge’s miserly, now-deceased business partner – as the scatter symbol, and the Ghosts of Christmas bonus symbol, which is Scrooge’s grandfather clock. Of course the three ghosts of Christmas also put in an appearance, as do Bob Kratchet and Tiny Tim, and a Christmas goose waiting to be cooked. The other symbols are all high value playing cards from Ace to King. All the symbols come with some animation; Scrooge’s is the most interesting – he kisses gold coins throws them into the air. Most of the other symbols simply pulsate; the Christmas ghosts do say something but it’s hard to make out what.

Wagers and Jackpots

This is a 20-payline, 5 reel slot. The highest payout on a regular spin is 10,000 coins for 5 Wild symbols. The lowest is 2 coins for 2 Ghost of Christmas Present or 2 Ghost of Christmas Past symbols. The real attractions of Ghosts of Christmas for Free Slots players playing for fun are the free games and bonus rounds.

Other ways to win

Ghosts of Christmas has a free spins round as well as three superb, interactive bonus games (one for each Christmas: Ghost, Past, Present and Future).

• Free spins: triggered by 3 or more Jacob Marley bonus symbols the free spins round is launched in spectacular style; Marley’s ghostly face appears on the reels and green smoke fills the screen. Marley’s chains and padlocks appear on the reels. During this round you will have up to 15 free spins with a  x3 multiplier. If you land 3 or more scatters again during the free spins, you’ll win even more free games.
• The Ghosts of Christmas Bonus: this is triggered by 3 or more consecutive grandfather clock symbols on an active payline. This randomly launches the Christmas Past, Christmas Present or Christmas Future bonus game. All three games take you through a wooden door to a different screen where the bonus round is played. In Christmas Past you have to choose between old-fashioned wooden school desks to reveal cash prizes (of course the real cash is for real money players only). In Christmas Present you have a choice of Christmas gifts under the tree, and in Christmas Future, you’ll find your prize among spooky, snow covered graves in a wintery graveyard.

Music, audio and graphics

The music on this slot game strikes the right balance between Christmassy jingles and a ghostly atmosphere. We believe it’s no exaggeration to say that the graphics are some of Playtech’s best so far in online slots. With the much-hyped release of this game just in time for Christmas, Playtech is clearly flexing its slot-developing muscles and isn’t failing to impress. The question is, do the other game creator giants, Net Entertainment and Betsoft, have an answer for this Playtech masterpiece?

The Last Word

Ghosts of Christmas is probably the best Christmas slot online at this time. It is certainly the best for Free Slots players spinning for fun, because of the interactive and entertaining nature of the bonus games. The graphics and animated features of this game put it at the cutting-edge of online slot entertainment. The only negative thing we have to say is that the stability for which Playtech slots are famous may have been compromised but the complexity of the game. Ghosts of Christmas got stuck more than once while we were playing it, something that almost never happens to a Playtech slot. That’s why, for us, this Christmas slot is just ever so slightly less than perfect – nine out of ten.