Santa Paws Slots

No, not Santa Claus… although Santa Claws might be more relevant here! We have checked out the Santa Paws online slot game to find out whether it is worth adding to your list of Christmas-themed slot games. This one has been around for a few Christmases now, so it may not be the most polished one of all, but it still has something to offer.

You'll know the name of this developer

It comes from the Microgaming stable of games, and while it is one of their earlier games, it is certainly well worth checking out.

Demo access supplied once again

Most Microgaming titles that we have tried do have a demo to explore. It's always our preferred way of finding some entertaining online slots to try when we have a few dollars to spare.

Does this have a Christmas theme?

It does, but not quite in the way you'd expect. It features lots of animals dressed for the festive season, so expect a red nose on a whale (yes, really), along with an owl wearing a Santa hat and carrying a gift. A little unusual, but we rather like that!

You can tell it's an older game from the design

Yes, the background for the reels is dark blue, and while we have whales, a snow fox (possibly, it's hard to tell), and an owl among the animals here, they're more basic than modern games would render them. We've got the usual letters too, although they've all got a dense dusting of snow.

How to play the Santa Paws slot game

There are five large reels here, each offering three symbols. Snow-covered icons to either side of the reel set show the paylines. There are no progressive jackpots to look for in this game.

The whale wearing a red nose and antlers is the wild symbol. However, there is another wild that looks like a polar bear, so you've got more wild potential in this game than in many others you might play.

There is also a cheery-looking penguin wearing a Santa hat and carrying a purple gift with a gold bow on it. He's the scatter symbol.

How many paylines can you bet on?

There are 20 available lines, and you can adjust the quantity you bet on if you want to. We wouldn't suggest you do though - it's better to keep the line bet low enough that you can play them all.

Lots of possibilities for betting on the Santa Paws slot game

Look for the minimum penny wager per line if you're eager to start in an affordable way. This means you can bet on all the lines with just 20 cents a go. The largest bet goes a lot higher, high enough to appeal to the high rollers out there at $200 a spin.

Look for PAYOUT to find the paytable

This appears underneath both reel one and reel five, so you've got two ways to get to it.

No bonuses here apart from having two wild symbols

They're ideal for giving you a few extra chances to score a prize as you play the game. However, there are no second screen bonuses in Santa Paws slots.

Free spins courtesy of the cute little penguin

You do need to find three of them to gain entry to a round of 12 free games, but he certainly does bring you a gift, doesn't he?

These are just standard spins, so you won't get bigger prizes from any multipliers, but you can try looking for more penguins to gain another set of spins along the way.

This one offers a healthy RTP

The game manages to offer an impressive 96.52% as the return to player percentage, so it's a good one to see.

What's our rating for this slot game?

It looks more basic than many other Christmas slot games, but it still has some easy appeal. Two wilds are the highlight here for us, and of course we get a chance to earn some free spins too. It gets a solid if basic 7.5 out of 10 from us.

What's the largest prize potential on offer?

With no chance of multipliers or progressive jackpot prizes, you can merely hope to see prizes worth up to 4,000x your bet if you get the best outcome here.

The demo is the ideal introduction

You never can tell whether you're going to love a game or not, so having that practice version is an ideal way to figure out what's going on.

Are you going to switch to playing for real?

Try the demo and see if this slot game offers enough appeal to encourage a switch. Microgaming has released other festive slots, but is the simplicity of this one the pull you're looking for?

Can you find this one for mobile devices?

Check at any casino you find that offers Microgaming slot games. You can then see if it also appears in their mobile casino.