Halloween Jack

Once upon a time, the name Jack at Halloween was associated with an animated character who, despite his slightly spooky appearance, was a rather friendly and, if anything, misunderstood character. In this latest online slots game from NetEnt, everything has a much more terrifying feel to it, including Halloween Jack. And he’s not the only terrifying thing about this game, as he’s accompanied by a series of scary symbols that will make even the bravest of players ever so slightly nervous about clicking spin. But, for those that are in search of a fright, who see the haunted house or the cemetery on a misty night with the full moon shining bright, then Halloween Jack certainly has the treats to make up for its tricks, with some excellent bonus features on offer too.

As to the theme of this game, as we’ve already mentioned, this is no children’s version of that fearful night at the end of October, rather, the theme is suitably terrifying with lightning striking in the background as the reels spin, and a ghostly, dark background to make those lightning strikes all the more powerful. And that’s not all, NetEnt has kindly provided a harrowing soundtrack to accompany you as you play. 

Now, in terms of the game itself, it is set up a standard 5 reel, 20 payline machine, and winning combinations can be obtained by matching 3, 4 or 5 matching symbols on a payline, from left to right. And for those who are too afraid to click “spin”, you will be happy to know that this game features an Autoplay mode, which you can set at up to 1,000 spins, so you can really take in the terror as the reels spin, or, alternatively, hide in the cupboard or under the bed if you’re too afraid. 

As to the betting range and RTP, the betting range starts at just $0.20, with a maximum bet of $100 per spin, a reasonably good range to satisfy most players, and in terms of the RTP, this is 96.28%, which is slightly above average in the sector. This game also has a hit frequency of 34.43%, which means you should be obtaining a winning combination on every one in three spins, there or thereabouts, although it is a high volatility game, so there is every chance you may have to wait a little longer for that maximum win, which in Halloween Jack is 3,000x your stake. 

Lastly, it’s worth noting that you can be spooked on the go as Halloween Jack is available to play on mobile devices as well as on desktops and laptops. Whilst we would recommend playing in a well lit place with plenty of people around, that isn’t to say that there won’t be certain players who enjoy the scare, so, if you want to head to the spooky cemetery or that haunted house with the creaky door, you can do so knowing that the reels of Halloween Jack will be spinning wherever you go.

As with most online slots games, the symbols in Halloween Jack consist of low value and high value symbols.

And, as with most online slots games, the low value symbols are made up of standard playing cards from 10 to A. However, and so as not to waste an excellent theme, NetEnt have provided us with some truly terrifying symbols, including a horseshoe, a raven, a bat, a horse, and a lady vampire, with the last of these being the highest paying normal symbol, at 1x, 10x or 50x your stake depending on whether you achieve a combination of 3, 4 or 5 of the symbol.

As to special symbols, there are two to look out for in Halloween Jack (albeit between fingers covering your eyes). The first of these is the head of Halloween Jack himself, or, for those of you who are unfamiliar, a spooky pumpkin symbol, which is the wild symbol in this game and replaces all other symbols except for the scatter symbol and the lantern symbol in order to form winning combinations. The second of these is the scatter symbol, represented by a treasure chest, and which can give you access to the free spins bonus feature if you achieve three or more on a single spin. And, last of all, there is an extra symbol in Halloween Jack, and that is the lantern symbol, and when it appears on the fifth reel during the free spins feature, gives you access to the Jack ‘o’ Lector bonus feature. 

So without making you wait any longer, below we set out the three bonus functions that it worth spinning the reels, even if you are scared: 

-       The Walking wild feature – So as we’ve mentioned, the head of Halloween Jack, or a spooky pumpkin symbol, replaces all symbols other than the scatter symbol and the lantern symbol in the regular game. And any time a winning combination is formed with the wild symbol, a 3x multiplier is applied. What’s more, when a wild symbol appears, the Walking wild feature is activated, in which a respin is awarded, and all the wild symbols move one position to the left with more respins being awarded until no more wild symbols are left on the reels.  

-       The Free spins feature – A slightly more normal bonus function, this is activated by obtaining the scatter symbol on any of the reels. Once this function is activated, you will receive 10 free spins, and if you obtain three or more scatter symbols during this function, you will receive an additional 5 free spins.  

-       The Jack ‘o’ Lector wilds feature – If you obtain a lantern symbol on the fifth reel during the free spins feature, the Jack ‘o’ Lector feature is activated, which gives you access to three additional extra wild symbols: 

o  Stacked Hell Hound – If you collect three lantern symbols, the next wild symbol will become a 2-position high Stacked Hell Hound wild symbol, which will activate the Walking Wild feature.

o  Stacked Jack ‘o’ Lantern – If you collect six lantern symbols, the next wild symbol will become a 3-position high Jack ‘o’ Lantern wild symbol, which will activate the Walking Wild feature.

o  Expanding Death Reaper - If you collect nine lantern symbols, you will be awarded with a reel of wild symbols that moves one reel at a time with each free spin.

It’s not often that we are as terrified as we are excited to get out hands on a new slots release, but that is exactly the case with Halloween Jack. NetEnt have made it clear that this is not a game suitable for children, and probably not even ideal for easily scared adults. Still, with a very entertaining theme, some excellent bonus features, including some innovative wild symbols on offer, this is definitely a game worth braving a fright for.