Romanov Riches from Fortune Factory Studios: Slot Review - a trove of royal gems awaits!

This is the first game release from up-and-coming software provider Fortune Factory Studios. It is published in collaboration with software giants Microgaming. This slot revolves around the iconic Romanov dynasty which ruled Russia from the 17th century until the Bolshevik revolution of the early 20th century. Up until the revolution, the Romanov dynasty was said to have amassed a vast fortune full of sparkling gems and diamonds. Join us as we head to Russia to see if we can find our very own Romanov gem-filled fortune on the reels in this slot?

Romanov Riches is a 5 reel slot with 15 paylines that comes with Mystery Stacks, Multipliers, Respins, and a 3 Wheel Bonus feature.

Special Features

The first feature to discuss is your typical Wild symbol which is illustrated by a white snowflake with the word ‘Wild’ displayed in front of it. The main job of this symbol is to replace all other symbols apart from the Bonus symbol to help form winning combinations on the reels. Keep a close eye on this very special symbol as it is the most valuable symbol in the game.

On each reel in the base game, a stack of Mystery Symbols can appear. This stack will be replaced by one chosen symbol. The selected symbol will replace the 2 leftmost Mystery Stacks, while the other symbols, including the Bonus symbol, can replace other Mystery Stacks to help you rack up plenty of big wins on the reels. This is known as the Mystery Stack feature.

Land 2 matching Mystery Stacks, starting from the leftmost reel, and you will activate the Respin feature. Once triggered, the stacked symbols will lock into place when the respin kicks in. If a matching stack lands on the next adjacent reel (reel 3), then you will be awarded another Free Respin. When there are no more matching symbol stacks on adjacent reels then the Respin feature will end. This highly lucrative feature can lead to all 5 reels displaying Mystery Stacks which can award wins as high as 750X your initial wager!

The Bonus symbol is represented by an image of an ornate gold frame with the word ‘Bonus’ displayed inside. This symbol is used to trigger one of 3 different Wheel Bonus features and triggers when you land 3 or more stacks of Bonus symbols starting from reel 1. For example, 3 Bonus Stacks triggers Wheel 1, 4 will trigger Wheels 1 and 2, and 5 Bonus Stacks will trigger Wheels 1, 2, and 3. Wheels 1 and 2 award cash prizes whereas Wheel 3 will award a multiplier as high as 10X which is then applied to all winnings collected from Wheels 1 and 2. It’s possible to win the top bonus prize of up to 1,000X your bet in this feature.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The presentation of the game is superb as the reels feature an intricate design and are placed in front of a stylish purple background full of gems, diamonds, and pearl necklaces. Symbols are wonderfully rendered onscreen and consist of a variety of different coloured sparkling gems as well as your standard A – 10 icons. The animations are a real visual treat as symbols enlarge and sparkle when part of a winning payline. In particular, I really enjoyed how the screen is covered with shimmering diamonds whenever you land a big win on the reels. It is a fine example of how rich the Romanov dynasty really was!

The music is soft techno with a trance-style soundtrack used. It complements the fast-paced gameplay really well.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game features 15 paylines, a solid RTP of 96.08%, and a top payout worth 1,000X your wager.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, 1.00, 1.20, 1.40, 1.60, 1.80, 2.00, 2.40, 2.80, 3.00, 3.20, 3.60, 4.00, 5.00, 6.00, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00, 24.00, 25.00, 28.00, 30.00, 32.00, 35.00 36.00, 40.00, 45.00, 50.00, 60.00, 70.00, 80.00, 90.00, 100.00

Based on a bet of 0.20:

• Silver Wild Symbol: 0.50 for 3X, 2.00 for 4X, 10.00 for 5X
• Green Gem Symbol: 0.07 for 3X, 0.20 for 4X, 0.80 for 5X
• Blue Gem Symbol: 0.07 for 3X, 0.20 for 4X, 0.80 for 5X
• Purple Gem Symbol: 0.04 for 3X, 0.08 for 4X, 0.25 for 5X
• Red Gem Symbol: 0.04 for 3X, 0.08 for 4X, 0.25 for 5X
• A Symbol: 0.02 for 3X, 0.04 for 3X, 0.15 for 5X
• K Symbol: 0.02 for 3X, 0.04 for 4X, 0.15 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 0.01 for 3X, 0.02 for 4X, 0.05 for 5X
• J Symbol: 0.01 for 3X, 0.02 for 4X, 0.05 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 0.01 for 3X, 0.02 for 4X, 0.05 for 5X

Our Verdict on Romanov Riches

For a first game release, Fortune Factory Studios have done themselves really proud with this title. It features a novel theme, excellent graphics, exciting gameplay, and a nice set of bonus features for you to enjoy. The star attraction of this slot is without a doubt the Wheel Bonus feature which can be quite tricky to trigger but is definitely worth investing some time in as you can win a spectacular top prize of 1,000X your bet here. A minor downside to this slot is that it does not offer any Free Spins but this is nicely compensated by the lucrative Respins feature which triggers quite often. When it comes to variance, I found this slot to be Medium which means that you won’t have to wait too long until those gems land you a nice little profit on the reels. For slots with a similar gems theme, check out Da Vinci Diamonds and Joker Gems.

Stack those gems to unlock a massive fortune on the reels when you play Romanov Riches!