GemPops Slot Review

GemPops Slot Overview

GemPops is a new casino slot from Avatar UX. Fans of previous Avatar UX games can look forward to another release with popping symbols and expanding reels. However, the usual PopWins feature, where winning symbols are replaced by new symbols in the same positions, has been exchanged for the Popscades feature, which adds new symbols from above. It makes the gaming experience more similar to the Megaways mechanic. The new Xpops feature also shares similarities with Megaways, expanding reels randomly on any spin or cascade.

The mission this time is to collect valuable gems and hopefully multiply your wins with the Reel Multipliers, which become active whenever a reel reaches its maximum height. And don’t forget to look out for the diamond, which can take you to the lucrative Free Spins feature.

GemPops is a video slot from Avatar UX with 5 reels that can have between 3 and 8 rows. Depending on the number of symbols, there are between 486 and 32,768 ways to win on each spin. The Min.bet is 0.2, and the Max.bet is 100. The default RTP is 96.01%, but the developer is also releasing it in two other versions with RTPs of 94% and 90.5%. You spin the reels with high volatility and a hit frequency of 24.83%, where the max win is capped at 10,000X the bet.

When gems are popping, don’t miss the features Popscades, Xpops, Reel Multipliers, Ante Bet, Gamble Wheel, Free Spins, and Bonus Buy.

GemPops Slot Information

GemPops takes the player to a cave or maybe an underground mine. It’s probably a place where valuable gems can be found, although none are in sight. A purple light covers the walls, and the reels are framed with a neon-looking purple light. There are 3 rows on each of the 5 reels when you start the game, but any reel can expand up to 4 rows, changing the setup on each spin. As in other games from Avatar UX, a feature expands the reels for every winning symbol that disappears. It’s called Popscades and works a little differently than the developer’s usual feature PopWins.

To the side of the reels is a counter telling you how many ways to win there are on each spin, and above each of them is a Reel Multiplier that grows when you make wins. All you have to do to score a win is land 3 or more symbols of the same type on adjacent reels, starting on the first reel to the left or the right. The ways to win are doubled compared to other games with the same number of symbols since you can make wins from two directions.

The lower-paying symbols are coins of 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A. Making a 5-of-a-kind win with them awards between 0.5X and 0.75X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are red, orange, purple, green, and blue gems in different shapes. They will give you between 1.25X and 5X the bet for a win containing 5 symbols. There is no Wild Symbol but a Scatter Symbol that can trigger the Free Spins. In the Free Spins is also a special Bomb Symbol.

GemPops Slot Features

What is the max win in the slot GemPops?

You can win up to 10,000X the bet.

What features are available in the slot GemPops?

The features are Popscades, Xpops, Reel Multipliers, Ante Bet, Gamble Wheel, Free Spins, and Bonus Buy.

Popscades

Whenever you make a win, the winning symbols will disappear, and 2 new symbols are added from above for every removed symbol. The Popscades can extend the reels up to 7 rows in the base game and 8 in the Free Spins. The feature is a little different from Avatar UX’s PopWins, which adds symbols in the same position as the removed winning symbols.

Xpops

Each reel can randomly expand with between 1 and 4 rows. The Xpops feature shares similarities with the Megaways mechanic that changes rows on every spin.

Reel Multipliers

There’s a Reel Multiplier on top of each reel, starting at 1X. Each multiplier increases by 1 for every time a winning symbol pops on its reel. Whenever a reel reaches its max height of 7 symbols in the base game, its corresponding Reel Multiplier is activated. It will multiply every win on the reel by its number.

When a reel reaches 8 rows in the Free Spins, its multiplier will be added to the global win multiplier, which will be in use for all future wins. The Reel Multiplier is never active if the reel isn’t expanded to its maximum height.

Ante Bet

Increasing your standard bet by 25% activates the Ante Bet. It will add more Scatter Symbols to the reels, doubling your chances of triggering the Free Spins.

Gamble Wheel

Landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatter Symbols triggers 5, 8, or 12 Free Spins with a multiplier of 1X, 3X, or 5X. If you land 3 or 4 Scatters, you can choose to gamble your spins for a chance to win more. A successful gamble of 5 spins will give you 8, and if the wheel is on your side when you have 8 spins, it will transform them into 12. However, if you’re unsuccessful, you lose all your spins and go back to the base game.

The Gamble Wheel can end on a special golden slice that awards 12 spins with a 1X multiplier on the first gamble and 16 spins with a 3X multiplier on the second. The probability of hitting the golden slice is 1% in both cases, and the total win probability is 48.7% in the first gamble and 48.1% in the second.

Free Spins

The Free Spins start with 5, 8, 12, or 16 Free Spins depending on how many Scatter Symbols trigger the feature and if the player won any extra spins in the Gamble Wheel. The starting win multiplier will increase every time a reel expands to the maximum of 8 rows, and its Reel Multiplier is added to the total win multiplier.

You can also land a special Bomb Symbol, which can award up to 3 extra spins. The symbol expands the reel it lands on to its maximum height and triggers its corresponding Reel Multiplier.

The Free Spins end when the player runs out of spin.

Bonus Buy

You can buy 5 Free Spins with a starting multiplier of 1X for 75X the bet. You can also try the Gamble Wheel with a chance to 8 Free Spins for the same cost. Paying 300X the bet will get you 12 Free Spins with a 5X multiplier.

GemPops Slot Conclusion

GemPops is another cool game from Avatar UX, where symbols are popping during cascading wins while the reels are expanding. However, the studio has developed a new mechanism called Popscades, which works slightly differently than the regular PopWins. Instead of adding new symbols in the same positions as where winning symbols are removed, Popscades refill the grid from above during cascading wins. You can still count on the reels to increase by one row for every winning symbol until they reach their maximum height of 7 symbols in the base game and 8 in the Free Spins.

There’s also a sweet Reel Multiplier feature in GemPops, which increases by 1 for every winning symbol on the reel. Whenever a reel reaches its full height, the multiplier is applied to all wins with winning symbols on the reel. In the Free Spins, the Reel Multiplier is added to the total win multiplier that applies to all wins during the entire feature.

The gem theme may not be Avatar UX’s most innovative move, and the graphics aren’t impressive either. The setting looks good, but we could wish for something more than an empty cave. The default RTP of 96% is, however, about average in the slot industry, and the max win of 10,000X the bet is also generous.

If you want to check out some games with the PopWins mechanism, we can highly recommend MonkeyPop and PixiePop. Both games have solid max wins of 14,240X and 20,000X, and reels that can expand up to 7 and 8 rows. MonkeyPop takes you to a tranquil place in the countryside, and PixiePop introduces the player to a gang of fairies.

GemPops by Avatar UX has a Reel Multiplier that activates whenever a reel is fully expanded after making consecutive wins.