Birds

BetSoft has been known for quite a while for producing extremely high-quality slots that use great 3D graphics. The Birds online slot is a good example of that, but it's also a good example of them breaking the mold a bit and going with an atypically approach. In this game, players will match up symbols based on them connecting in horizontal and vertical patterns. If you get three or more matching symbols that touch each other veritically or horizontally, even if it's not in a straight line, then you'll get payouts, and that's much different than the normal payline approach. Between the graphics and atypical gameplay, this is definitely a game that players will want to take a look at.

Format and Layout

The layout of this game uses five columns and three rows. However, as is described in the above, it does not use the traditional payline structure. Bets in this game are based on spending 25 coins per spin. You can choose coin sizes starting at $0.02, so the minimum bet per spin is $0.50. However, the coins go up to $1 apiece, and players can bet as many as five times the normal number of coins, so the betting range goes all the way up to $125 per turn. This is obviously a very inclusive betting range that covers what will be reasonable bet sizes for the vast majority of players.

The Cascading Wins Feature

After each spin, if you make a winning combination, it's awarded normally. However, once that win is given, the winning bird symbols fly away, and the symbols fall downward to fill in the space left behind. Then new birds fly in to fill the remaining empty spots on the game grid. From there, new winning combinations can be awarded again. This feature gives you chances for several payouts on a single spin, but it's also responsible for an important bonus feature.

The Free Flights Feature

With the cascading wins feature above, if you end up having four cascades in a single spin, then you trigger a bonus feature. Four flights wins eight free plays, five flights earns 12 free turns and a whooping 20 free spins are awarded when you get six flights on a single spin. Seven or more flights awards 14 free spins plus another free spin for every flight in that round, so you're getting 21 for 7 flights, 22 for 8 flights, etc. This is a cool way of awarding free spins that we can't remember having ever seen before, and it just goes to show how innovative BetSoft slots are becoming.

Symbol Set and Top Payouts

The multi-colored bird is wild in this game. However, because this game doesn't use a normal payline structure, there are no special wins for multiple wilds. For the rest of the wins, you are awarded a payout for each bird "eliminated" through winning combinations. Yellow birds are worth 100x, red (in the black cap) are worth 25x, the orange are worth 20x and the yellow are worth 15x. You can pick up 8x for the green bird along with 4x for the purple, 3x for the pink (in pigtails), 3x for the light blue, 2x for the black and 2x for the white.

It's important to note that wilds can count for up to four different colors depending on how the birds are laid out in the winning combinations. When a wild counts for more than one bird, it awards the value for each of the individual birds it counts for. For example, if it counts for both a red and orange bird, then it would award 45x total since the red is worth 25x and the orange gives 20x.

Our Thoughts

BetSoft has done an excellent job with this game, and it really shows that popular slots are starting to really push the boundaries of what's considered normal in the genre. Birds combines an atypical concept for awarding wins with a new way of awarding free spins that we've never seen before, which is very exciting. The payout structure is also based on a per-symbol basis instead of specific combinations (3x having one value, 4x having another, etc.), which is also interesting. This structure has an effect of smoothing out the volatility while still allowing for some pretty significant wins. We definitely recommend players take a look at this game because this could very easily be the future of the slots industry.