243 Crystal Fruits Slot Review

243 Crystal Fruits Review

Even classic fruit slot machines can offer pleasant surprises, and 243 Crystal Fruits from Tom Horn Gaming is here to prove it. Released by this fairly well-known provider in 2017, it features 5 reels and 3 rows (a 5x3 layout) where you initially play with just 5 fixed paylines. This game features medium volatility, indicating a balanced ratio of hit frequency and prize sizes. We were also pleased by the fairly high RTP of 96.55%, which is above the market average.

To land a winning combination, you need to land three or more matching symbols on any of the five available paylines. Any such combination starts from the leftmost reel only. As we’re all used to, your prize is the product of the multiplier for a specific symbol (and taking into account the number of symbols) multiplied by your bet size. And since the betting range here is from €0.50 to €100 per spin and the maximum multiplier is x100, you won’t be able to bet more than €10,000 (not a particularly impressive amount compared to what many modern titles offer).

243 Crystal Fruits Reels Screen

The title hints at a multitude of fruit symbols, and that’s true, as oranges, lemons, grapes, plums, and cherries frequently land on the reels. The most valuable symbol here is the Seven, and you can win up to 40x your bet for five of a kind. Tom Horn has also added a rather unusual Wild243 feature that activates a more advanced mechanic with 243 betways.

243 Crystal Fruits Features

At first glance, this game looks like just another simple fruit slot like the ones from EGT. But Tom Horn Gaming is known for adding unexpected twists to its games. There aren’t as many extras as one might hope, but there are still a few features worth mentioning.

Wild 243

If you see a crystal cube with the corresponding label, then that's right, it's a Wild. It retains its key function of substituting for standard paying symbols. So use the Wilds (when available) to create winning combinations more often.

Gamble Feature

We have a maximum multiplier of just 40x in the base game. So it is quite difficult to score truly big wins in the base game. But that’s where the Gamble feature comes in. And it gives you a chance to at least double your prize. Just click this button when luck smiles on you again, and you’ll be taken to a separate window with four face-down cards. Here, everything follows the classic rules, so correctly guessing the suit will give you a 2x extra multiplier. But Tom Horn has gone even further by adding a unique Take Half feature that allows you to keep half of your winnings and make another Gamble attempt. However, the casino operator may set a maximum win limit, after which this doubling bonus will no longer be available.

243 Crystal Fruits Big Win Screen

243 Respin

The Wild243 symbol can appear on any reel, and that’s where its advantage lies for you. And if it’s part of a winning combination on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th reel, instead of the usual 5 paylines, now you get 243 Ways to Win. What’s more, winning combinations explode to make room for new symbols. So this is exactly like when we deal with the well-known Cascading Reels feature. Remember that the number of consecutive cascades decides what the grand prize will be. This is because there are extra multipliers ranging from x1 (for the first cascade) to x5 (for 4 consecutive wins). These respins end when you reach the x5 multiplier or if no further cascade occurs. And the best part is that the number of Wilds on the grid does not affect the number of respins.

Theme & Graphics

Tom Horn took the classic fruit theme but redesigned the symbols to look like crystals and gemstones. It seems to hint at big payouts, even though the graphics aren’t exactly very good. The detail is lacking, and the animations fall far short of modern releases. If you can overlook the somewhat poor visuals, 243 Crystal Fruits is perfectly fine to play, especially because of its pretty low volatility level. On the plus side, the title works very well on mobile devices, so you can spin it anywhere.

243 Crystal Fruits Free Play

The experts at SlotCatalog always recommend trying out the free versions of games before betting real money. That’s why we collect demo versions of various titles from providers and feature them on our website. 43 Crystal Fruits may seem like a very simple and familiar option. But in reality, you deal with several unusual features here, so it’s best to approach it prepared. We have a 43 Crystal Fruits free play version, and you can spin its reels as many times as you want. If your free credits run out, simply restart the game by clicking the 43 Crystal Fruits demo button.

Pros & Cons of the 243 Crystal Fruits Slot

Our Verdict

We gave this game a try, and it often reminded us of many other titles from Tom Horn Gaming. Furthermore, this release is similar in spirit to some hits from providers like Wazdan and Amatic, who love to combine traditional mechanics with something new and unusual. On the plus side, the stated medium volatility and high RTP of 96.55% feel fair here, so you can expect plenty of hits in the base game, even if they yield modest prizes. However, the maximum potential of a x100 multiplier is clearly not what will attract high rollers.

The bonus mechanics with 243 betways are undoubtedly this slot’s trump card. Simply land a Wild on the right (any middle) reel to take advantage of the many ways to win and the essentially cascading mechanics (though here it’s called respins). Each new cascade increases the extra multiplier, so the 243 Respin feature promises some really good prizes. To sum up, 243 Crystal Fruits is still more suited for those who love stability and predictable gameplay. But start with the 243 Crystal Fruits demo to learn all about every aspect of this title without risking anything.