The Runemakers DoubleMax

The Runemakers DoubleMax: Slot Overview

When a DoubleMax slot comes along, often one of the first thoughts is how close it will be to the Raptor DoubleMax template - a wannabe, mildly similar, or, gasp, something more original? Especially when the slot has been designed by one of Yggdrasil Gaming's partners, in this case, Bang Bang Games, which tinkered with the features in its previous DoubleMax slot, Pharaoh's Gaze. However, today's game in question, The Runemakers DoubleMax, is something different altogether as Bang Bang Games has made the first cluster paying grid slot that also happens to have the multiplying power of DoubleMax on board.

The mechanical side of The Runemakers DoubleMax is pretty inventive, which is more than can be said for the storyline side. Okay, it's a slot, not an MMORPG, but the call to action for players here inviting them to 'Journey into a mysterious realm set against a dark forest ruled by THE RUNEMAKERS' is a little thin. No matter, The Runemakers DoubleMax makes up for it by looking and sounding pretty decent when in action. A 6x6 gaming grid is where the activity occurs, bordered by creeping ivy, and is transparent, too, so players get a clear view of the cold blues and pastel purples of the fantasy world. It made for a good start, piquing interest in how cluster pays would work with DoubleMax.

Before beginning the adventure, players decide whether they want to bet 20 c to $/€50 per spin, activate the Bonus Boost, or buy the free spins round. When activating the Bonus Boost, the stake increases by 50% to have double the chance of triggering free spins. Since the info pages do not say otherwise, it would appear the RTP, no matter how The Runemakers DoubleMax is played, is 96% (with lower versions available), while the volatility is 'super high'. That's pretty high.

To create a winning cluster, you will need at least 5 matching symbols to land on the grid, connected in horizontal or vertical directions. From lowest value to highest, the paytable displays 4 runes carved into differently coloured stones as the lows, then 4 runes carved into gems as the highs. Hitting a 5-matching symbol cluster pays 0.2 to 1.5 times the bet, whereas the most valuable 14+ clusters are worth 5 to 10 times the bet. Not much for a cluster pays slot, so DoubleMax is useful for stepping in to pep the payouts. Wilds help, too, by substituting for all regular pay symbols.

The Runemakers DoubleMax: Slot Features

Cascading wins, or as they're called here Dropdowns, are critical in a DoubleMax game due to the way they increase the win multiplier and are joined by Mystic Mysteries, free spins, a free spins gamble, as well as a bonus buy.

Dropdown Feature

The Dropdown feature means winning symbols disappear from the reels, making room for other symbols to drop down, providing another chance to win. Each time players get a Dropdown win, 1 to 5 wild symbols are added to empty positions before the rest of the spaces are filled. Dropdown win chains continue until there are no more wins.

DoubleMax

Each Dropdown win doubles the total win multiplier. In the base game, the multiplier resets after a losing spin or Dropdown, whereas in free spins, the multiplier which starts at x1 does not reset until the bonus session ends.

Mystic Mysteries

During symbol replacements, Mystic symbols may appear. After a win, all new symbols may drop in as Mystery symbols. When in view on the reels, all Mystery symbols reveal the same matching symbol – this excludes scatters or wilds.

Runemaker's Free Spins

In the base game, landing at least 3 scatter symbols awards 7 free spins. Before the round begins, players have the chance to gamble for more free spins on a wheel. When successful, the number of free spins goes from 7 to 9 on the first gamble, then 9 to 11 on the second gamble, with 11 free spins being the most you can win. If the gamble is lost, players lose their free spins and go back to the base game.

Buy Bonus

It is possible to buy 7 free spins for 125x the bet. After buying free spins, players are able to gamble for more if they would like to try.

The Runemakers DoubleMax: Slot Verdict

Well, that was an unexpected bolt out of the blue. You get so used to something being done a certain way that any deviation from the normal run of things comes as quite a jolt. DoubleMax games till now have tended to be quite technically similar, generally played out on a 5x3 gaming grid with 20 or so paylines up to 243 ways to win, broadly speaking. So, to see the mechanic stretched to perform on a larger gaming space with cluster pays rather than lines or ways was a breath of fresh air.

Putting the cluster element to the side for a moment, The Runemakers DoubleMax does function very closely to a lot of other DoubleMax slots - namely, hit cascades, add wilds, double the multiplier. Repeat and win, hopefully. The Runemakers DoubleMax mixes things up by dropping in mystery symbols and, of course, cluster pays, but in a certain sense, it's a familiar formula by now. A solid formula, though, if slightly brute force, which relies on repeat cascading wins to rip through the multiplier to potentially obscene levels rarely found outside a DoubleMax game. Moreover, since cluster pay slots tend to rely on chains of cascading wins to provide their bigger entertainments anyway, pairing cascades with a doubling-up multiplier makes perfect sense.

As a result, The Runemakers DoubleMax presents an interesting proposal for both cluster pay players and DoubleMax fans to try out. It might be hard to wind the game up at times, but get it on a roll, and the Dropdown/DoubleMax multiplier combo might be quite a ride. With a 15,000x the bet max win figure, there's plenty to play for, too, in a game that charges the DoubleMax range into brand-new territory.