Rickety Cricket Slot Machine

Overview

Rickety Cricket features 5 reels and 25 pay lines. You can also change the bet per line from $0.01 to $4.00, making the minimum wager worth one cent and the maximum bet worth $100.00 per spin.

Assuming you'd like to quickly change your bet to the maximum, just use the bet max button on the right hand side. Also note that auto play allows you to keep the reels spinning for 1 to 50 spins.

One more helpful betting tool that's provided is the advanced tab, which allows you to set both basic wagering options and win / loss limits. The latter is a very helpful bankroll management tool that Amaya provides in many of its newer slots.

Earlier we mentioned how Rickety Cricket features a similar angle to Bug's Life. This is definitely clear from the background artwork, which shows a detailed green field with Rickety looking over the top of the leaves.

While the symbol graphics aren't absolutely terrible, they don't come anywhere close to a Pixar movie, nor do they even match the quality of the background.

Speaking of the symbols, you'll see generic letters, a snail, hallow log with eyes peering out, mosquito, fire fly, queen been, flower, and leaves.

The flower is both wild and the highest paying symbol, delivering 750 coins when you get five of these on a pay line.

You also get to see Rickety Cricket when the flower shows up in winning pay lines since he pokes his head out from between the petals. Other animations include the fire fly lighting up and turning off, and the mosquito flying against a window.

First off, you need a bug zapper to appear in reel 1 combined with queen bee, fire fly, and / or mosquito symbols in reels 2, 3, 4, and / or 5.

When you land one of these combinations, you'll see the zapper go off while the bugs get fried. And while this might be bad for them, your win gets multiplied as a result.

The size of your scatter depends upon how many bees, fire flies, and / or mosquitos you land on the reels. Your payout will be multiplied at the following rates:

Overall, we think this detailed scatter set up is pretty interesting and should please slots players who are tired of seeing the same type of scatter in every game.

One problem that we should mention before moving on, though, is the hitch in spinning the reels. We noticed around a one and a half second delay between when you spin the reels and when they actually go. This same problem is seen in a few other Amaya games, and it's definitely one element that we could do without.

Bonus

You earn 8 free spins whenever three bonus leaf symbols land anywhere on reels 2, 3, and 4. These free spins also come with a random multiplier on winning combinations worth 2x, 3x, 5x, or 8x.

We triggered the bonus round twice and only managed to get a 2x and 3x multiplier during these free rounds. However, we imagine that you can rack up some big payouts if you're lucky enough to get a 5x or 8x multiplier, along with winning combinations.

You can retrigger the 8 free spins by getting another three bonus symbols on the reels, and the cut off point for retriggering these spins is 98. We doubt that anybody will earn extra free spins in 11 straight rounds, but it's worth keeping in mind just in case you go on an incredible streak.

The variable multiplier is certainly a nice touch to the free rounds. However, we think that Rickety Cricket would really benefit from having a second screen bonus round that gives the game more defining characteristics beyond the theme.

Land Based Rickety Cricket Slots Machine

You can also find a Rickety Cricket slot machine in brick and mortar casinos. This game plays almost exactly the same as the online / mobile version, but there are some slight differences.

The most notable difference is that you can play up to 40 pay lines on the land based machine, versus the 25 pay lines offered online.

You'll also notice some slight changes to the betting options bar, with the land based game featuring a plain bar, and the online / mobile version offering a more stylish, wood colored betting area.

As you can see, none of these changes constitute rushing to your nearest brick and mortar casino to play the Rickety Cricket machine. However, the additional 15 pay lines might please players who want more action from each spin.

Comparison to 100 Ladies Slots

Another bug themed slot that's similar to Rickety Cricket is IGT's 100 Ladies. This game centers on a love story between two ladybugs and also has a Bug's Life type feel.

We would have to say that 100 Ladies is much closer to this Pixar classic than Rickety Cricket based on the visuals. The 3D graphics are designed really well and certainly enhance the experience.

Some players will also like that this slot features 100 pay lines, hence the name, which gives you a lot more action on each spin.

If we have one complaint about 100 Ladies, it's that there's no second screen bonus round or any defining scatter / free spin elements. You can get free spins, but you only receive a fixed 2x multiplier, rather than the more interesting variable multiplier in Rickety Cricket.

100 Ladies also doesn't have anything close to the variable scatter payouts that are featured in Rickety Cricket. Speaking purely in terms of special features, we have to give Rickety the edge.

However, if you're looking for a better overall game design and stellar graphics, then 100 Ladies is the best choice in this regard.