Beach Invaders introduces a thrilling video slot game adventure with 30 distinct ways to clinch victories, masterfully crafted by NetEnt. This game unfolds on a dynamic 5x4 reel structure, offering players an immersive experience brimming with unique features such as Expanding Wilds, Locked Wild Progress Bar Free Spins, and Shifting Wilds accompanied by an Increasing Multiplier, all designed to amplify the excitement and engagement of the gameplay.
Within the game, symbols on the lower end of the pay scale include the traditional 10, J, Q, K, and A. Managing to align five identical symbols of this category can yield rewards ranging from 1.5X to 10X the initial bet placed. On the more lucrative side, symbols represented by beverages encased in frames of various colours - green, orange, pink, and yellow - stand out as the higher-paying icons. Securing a combination of five matching symbols from this group can significantly increase winnings, offering payouts between 20X to 50X the bet.
The wild symbol, depicted by a green, frog-like monster, plays a pivotal role in the game's mechanics, providing payouts of 5X, 20X, and 100X the bet for combinations of 3, 4, or 5 symbols, respectively. Additionally, the flying saucer acts as the game's scatter symbol, with the landing of three such symbols simultaneously triggering the eagerly anticipated free spins feature, opening up new avenues for winning. The wild symbol in Beach Invaders not only facilitates the formation of winning combinations by substituting for other paying symbols (excluding the scatter symbol) but also boasts the capability to expand and cover entire reels, enhancing the potential for substantial wins. This expanding wild can appear on any reel, introducing an element of surprise with each spin.
Players can also engage with a unique Locked Wild Progress Bar feature, where collecting ice cube patches on paying symbols gradually fills a progress bar. This bar, divided into four segments, indicates the number of spins during which any landed wild will remain locked in place, adding a strategic layer to the gameplay.
Upon activating the free spins feature with three scatter symbols, players are granted 10 free spins. This phase of the game introduces the shifting wild, which not only expands but also moves one position to the left with each spin, incrementally decreasing in size and increasing its multiplier with each move. This shifting wild starts with a 1X multiplier that grows by 1X with each step it takes across the reels. In instances where multiple wild multipliers contribute to a win, the highest multiplier value is applied, maximising the potential payout.