Holmes and the Stolen Stones Review

Crime, drama and intrigue, it’s all going on in our Holmes and the Stolen Stones Review, thanks to Yggdrasil Gaming, the multi-award-winning gaming provider. They’re the makers of titles such as Joker Millions, Valley of the Gods and Hyper Burst – seasoned games with bright graphics and dazzling soundtracks.

But will the hipster imagined Sherlock and Watson discover the stolen treasure and unite you with huge jackpots? Come on, reader, the game is afoot!

Theme and Symbols

Yggdrasil have outdone themselves when it comes to weaving immersive gameplay into a traditional slot game. Holmes and the Stolen Stones slot is a triumphant blend of excitement and mystery all wrapped up in a neat little theme, which touches every element of the slot, however small.

Take the symbols for example. At first glance, you’ll find the familiar playing card suits as the four basic symbols, but alongside them is Watson’s notebook, a magnifying glass and Holmes and Watson themselves.

These are Holmes and Watson like you’ve never seen them before, though. Far removed from the visions of Basil Rathbone, or more recently Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, this Sherlock and Watson are an interesting blend of hipster meets Peaky Blinders characters. Watson has a lumberjack beard, specs and sideburns whereas Sherlock has an open rolled up shirt and chest tattoo. So, not as you’d expect a stuffy old Victorian detective and his well-educated sidekick to appear at all.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones – Sounds Ominous

Then there’s the sound. The musical elements of the game add intrigue. There is a classical theme playing whilst you spin the reels, but it’s dramatic, grandiose, just very…Holmes, giving the game an interesting twist.

Sound effects are also put to good use, too, with the sounds of the reels spinning punctuating the musical score as well as different notes for the free spins and bonus symbols. Yggdrasil are well-known for taking an idea and turning it on its head, and in Holmes and the Stolen Stones Online Slot, they’ve done just that.

How to play Holmes and the Stolen Stones

You need no gaming experience to Play Holmes and the Stolen Stones Online. All you’ll need is a casino that provides the slot game and a bankroll, however small. You see, one of the bonuses of this game is its financial flexibility.

The mobile-optimised game has 20 pay lines with a minimum coin value of 0.01. That means you can play for as little as 20 coins. For those with larger budgets, the maximum coin value is 2 coins per pay line, meaning $40.00 a bet. You can adjust the coin value and the number of spins you’d like to play in the menu at the bottom of the slot screen. Alternatively, you can opt for autoplay which allows you to sit back and watch the slot play itself.

While playing the Holmes and the Stolen Stones Real Money game seemed all but certain, we instead visited the Yggdrasil website where we could play the game for free. We are lowly writers after all. If you’d prefer to try the Holmes and the Stolen Stones Real Money game, check out our casino reviews to find a reputable place to do so.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones – Winning Combinations

The idea is to match symbols across the reels from left to right. Consecutive lines of three or more symbols over a pay line count as a win. There are also bonus symbols which can trigger free spins or the warehouse crate bonus round. Spin three or more of the bonus symbols across the five reels to see the effects for yourself.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones RTP

We’d be lying if we said we’re maths experts, but we understand the importance of the law of averages when it comes to playing Online Slots such as Holmes and the Stolen Stones.

One of the figures needed to understand an online slot is the RTP number. This represents the Return To Player of funds that they’ve wagered. The higher an RTP the more likely a player is to recoup funds spent. The lower the number, the less likely they’ll recoup their cash, in theory, anyway. Holmes and the Stolen Stones has a high RTP of 96.8% (anything over 96% is where we aim). It makes sense to seek out games with high RTPs, like Holmes and the Stolen Stones Slot, to extend gameplay.

Yggdrasil Online Slots have a reputation for having decent RTPs, so it should come as no surprise to find other games from their catalogue also have RTPs of at least 96%. These include Rock the Cash Bar, CherryPop Slot and the newcomer Hades Slot with its Underworld theme where players pit their wits against the King of the Underworld himself.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones Volatility

Hades may be a volatile place to call home, but the same can’t be said for the Holmes and the Stolen Stones Online Slot. The slot volatility – that is, how often a game will payout, and whether they will be large or small wins is low.

Games with high volatility pay out less than games with a low volatility figure, but wins are likely to be larger when they do payout. Games with high volatility are often sought out by those chasing jackpots. Of course, to sustain gameplay for long enough to win a jackpot you’ll need a substantial bankroll.

This rules many players out, who would probably benefit more from a lower volatility game. This way wins come little and often, allowing a player a chance to build up their kitty slowly and steadily with no huge variation in their bankroll as they do so.

Bonus features, Wilds and Free Spins

You’ll find no Wild symbols in this game, but there are bonuses aplenty, not least the Stolen Stone bonuses themselves. Holmes is on the hunt to rediscover these stones, and if he does he’ll be heavily rewarded. These stones appear during free spins or in normal play, although our experience found that they are much less likely during normal play.

To get free spins you’ll need to either spin three or more golden keyhole scatter symbols across the reels or spin five stone shards in the same spin. Either way, this will result in a reward of 10 extra spins.

Five Stolen Stone Bonuses to Enjoy

The stolen stone bonuses run from left to right at the top of the reels. The first is the smallest bonus with the others becoming larger the further right we travel. Each of these bonuses are awarded when five shards of the same colour are spun on the reels. This is an accumulative bonus, so all five shards don’t have to be present in the same spin.

Rusty Keyhole Bonus

The golden keyhole scatter icons should not be confused with the blue keyhole scatters. Spin three or more of these to trigger the warehouse bonus round. This warehouse is filled with crates. Keep picking these crates one by one to get bonus winnings or stone shards. The game ends once a crate is picked with a smoke bomb inside.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones Strategies

You might think that because slot game reels are triggered using a Random Number Generator that there’s no chance of pushing the odds in your favour. While this is true in many respects, there are small things that a player can do to enhance their chance of success.

Active Participation

Many people believe in a “sense” that a game is about to drop big. We’ve never really gone for the idea ourselves, but we do understand how important it is to be in tune with the game you’re playing to enable you to stay in control of your bankroll. By avoiding the autoplay button and spinning the reels yourself you are actively participating in the gameplay. This small action alone allows you to stay focused, avoiding the possibility of dissociative decision making, something which research has shown may play a part in problem gambling.

Understanding Bonuses and Budgets

Adding spins to your gameplay increases your chances of meeting a game’s RTP. One way of increasing your spins on Holmes and the Stolen Stones is to lower your coin value. Alternatively, check out promotions that offer spins on specific games or add extra funds to your betting account. You’ll usually find these on the website’s promotion page. Make sure to read the terms and conditions carefully to ensure the bonus is right for you.

Holmes and the Stolen Stones Review – Our Thoughts

Holmes and the Stolen Stones is an exciting game which offers players the chance to win bonus cash through special bonus rounds and normal play.

One of our favourite bonuses is the free spins bonus which when triggered also increases the chance of spinning a stone shard on the reels. These bonuses help contribute towards an excellent RTP of 96.8% which offers a reasonable chance of success to the player.

The real star of the show is the theme which is imbued into every element of the game from the music to the icons, transporting the player back to Victorian England at its finest. Did you enjoy our Holmes and the Stolen Stones Review? If so, how about checking out one of our other reviews aimed at Online Slots?