Big Stack Nutcrack

Big Stack Nutcrack Review

Print Studios takes you to Santa’s workshop in Big Stack Nutcrack, a Christmas-themed remake of Big Stack Lumberjack. This is not your regular “lazy” holiday reskin job, though, as Print Studios has taken the time and effort to add brand new features and upgrade existing ones. Replacing the lumberjack with Santa works pretty well too, and he uses his magic wand to chop down Nutcracker symbols similarly to the timber symbols from the original game.

You can play with bet levels ranging from €0.10 to €50 per spin in the Big Stack Nutcrack slot, same as the original game, and the 5x3 grid with 10 paylines is intact as well. You win by landing matching symbols across at least one payline, starting from the leftmost reel. Winning symbols include gingerbread baubles, coffee cups, bells, and candles as the lower-value symbols and Fritz, Fillip, Cavalier, and Drosselmeyer as the premium Nutcracker symbols. The low-value symbols all pay 2.5x for 5 of a kind wins, while the premiums pay 5x to 10x for the same.

Big Stack Nutcrack Slot - Reels Screen

The 1x3-sized Nutcracker symbols replace the timber symbols from the original game, potentially filling entire reels. This is when they do their magic and reveal a multiplier of up to x100, which this time stays active for 3 subsequent spins. What’s more, the 3-spin countdown is reset for each new multiplier upgrade. Santa will spring to life randomly when at least one Nutcracker symbol is fully in view and wave his magic wand to topple it. This can potentially help connect wins, as the symbol falls either to the left or right randomly.

The Yuletide Gifts feature is brand new, randomly awarding an instant prize when landing on a reel with a multiplier. This prize can be boosted by up to all multipliers in the bonus round. There are 3 bonus round choices this time, all featuring increasing non-resetting Nutcracker symbol multipliers. The Ultimate bonus round offers the best multiplier increments and highest hit rate of falling Nutcrackers. Big Stack Nutcrack is a high volatility slot game with an RTP of 96.27% and a max win of 20,000x your stake.

Big Stack Nutcrack Features

There are plenty of features to cover in this Christmas release, and we will detail each of them below. We also encourage you to check the Big Stack Nutcrack free play demo at the top of the page so you can get familiar with the features firsthand. Let’s jump in!

Nutcrackers & Falling Nutcrackers

The Nutcracker symbols are stacked 3 positions high and can cover full reels if they land fully in view. When landing fully in view, the Nutcracker symbol reveals a multiplier of up to x100. This multiplier is then stored above the relevant reel for the next 3 spins. If a new Nutcracker symbol adds its multiplier to an existing multiplier, the combined multiplier remains active for the next 3 spins. The multiplier boosts all wins with the symbol that created the multiplier, regardless of which reel the multiplier sits above. When Nutcracker symbols land fully in view, they may be cut down by Santa to cover positions vertically from their bottom position to the left or right.

Yuletide Gifts

Landing a Yuletide Gift symbol on a reel with an active multiplier will sometimes award a random instant prize. In the bonus round, this prize may be boosted by any of the accumulated Nutcracker multipliers in the meter, or it can be boosted by all of them. The Yuletide Gift is only awarded in the bonus round if there is at least one multiplier in the meter.

Santa's Sleigh

Santa's Sleigh, seen in the background, gets filled gradually as you play. When Santa's Sleigh is full, Whistle symbols are added to the reel strips. Whenever you land a Whistle symbol, you may trigger the Ultimate Nutcracker bonus round. Whistle symbols are removed from the reel strips after the Ultimate Nutcracker bonus has finished, and Santa's Sleigh resets to a random fullness level. Santa's Sleigh fills independently per bet level, and this feature is only available in the base game.

Nutcracker Free Spins Bonus

The Nutcracker Bonus Round triggers when you land at least 3 wild scatters in view, and you then get to choose from 3 options:

• Low Volatility - awards 10 free spins with a high chance of Falling Nutcracker symbols and multipliers that increase by +1 per Nutcracker symbol fully in view.
• Medium Volatility - awards 7 free spins with a medium chance of Falling Nutcracker symbols and multipliers that increase by +2 to +50.
• High Volatility - awards 7 free spins with a low chance of falling Nutcracker symbols and multipliers that increase by +5 to +100.

Nutcracker symbols that land fully in view add their multiplier value to the Nutcracker multiplier meter to the left of the reels, and these accumulated multipliers never reset for the duration of the bonus round. You win 2, 5, 7, or 10 extra free spins from landing 2, 3, 4, or 5 wild scatters on the same free spin, respectively.

Ultimate Nutcracker Free Spins Bonus

The Ultimate Nutcracker Bonus Round triggers randomly whenever a Whistle symbol is present on a base game spin, and Whistle symbols are only available after the Santa’s Sleigh feature has been triggered. You get 7 free spins when this bonus round triggers, and it features the highest multiplier increase (+5 to +100) and a high chance of Falling Nutcrackers.

Big Stack Nutcrack Slot - Free Spins

Big Stack Nutcrack Bonus Buy (not UK)

Eligible players can purchase the bonus round via the Feature Bet bonus buy menu, located above the spin button. Simply hit that star icon to open the menu, then pay 109x your stake to be guaranteed to trigger the regular Nutcracker Bonus Round choice menu. You can then choose between the 3 options, just like when you trigger the feature organically.

Theme & Graphics

Big Stack Nutcrack has the same fairy-tale atmosphere you get in so many Print Studio slots, taking you close to the North Pole where Santa is busy chopping down nutcracker soldiers, perhaps to put them in their place. The snow-covered backdrop is as idyllic as they come, evoking the Christmas spirit with Santa’s sleigh and reindeer flock in the background. The reels fall into place with a warm, wooden thud, and Santa waves his magic wand to throw wrapped presents into his sleigh. The soundtrack adds to the festive spirit, and the reels are filled with Xmas symbols.

Big Stack Nutcrack Free Play

This is a volatile game with a unique toppling mechanic, and it’s therefore important to know what you’re up against before playing for real money. We strongly recommend that you try the free Big Stack Nutcrack demo, located at the top of this review page. You can purchase the bonus round as many times as you want and get a sense of how the mechanics play out in practice. After you feel satisfied with your Big Stack Nutcrack free play session, you can consider our selection of casinos below the demo (all verified to carry this title).

Pros and Cons of Big Stack Nutcrack

Our Verdict

It’s rare to see Print Studios resort to something that balances on the razor’s edge of reskin territory, not least since this developer likes to take their sweet time between each new release. Big Stack Nutcrack is close to being a clone, but the enthusiasts over at Print Studios have wisely added enough new features and upgrades to avoid the dreaded reskin stamp. A semi-reskin job is also more forgivable for a Christmas release like this, as most providers simply churn out clones and call it a holiday.

The core “toppling” hook was more refreshing the first time around and also more satisfying to watch when a sturdy lumberjack goes to work instead of Santa with a magic wand. The base game is still a pretty unforgiving experience, and the toppling Nutcrackers are few and far between. To their credit, Print Studios has attempted to mitigate the base game grind with the 3-spin multiplier countdown system, which can potentially create tense moments. Still, it rarely leads to anything too exciting.

It would’ve been more fun if the Nutcracker symbols were wild or perhaps turned into multiplier wilds when they topple. You just don’t get the impression that these symbols are very effective at delivering solid payouts, and the feature becomes a bit gimmicky once the novelty wears off. I mean, the best outcome is not really when they topple anyway, but rather a full screen of matching Nutcrackers revealing the x100 multiplier. The toppling action seldom delivers anything worth a mention.

The Yuletide Gifts feature can be seen as a Christmas bonus addition and can potentially lead to big wins, especially in the bonus round where all multipliers can combine to boost the prize. Having 3 bonus round choices instead of just 2 feels more balanced and complete, but the Ultimate FS round is still the most likely to do serious damage. Overall, Big Stack Nutcrack is a solid Christmas release, and while the 20,000x max win remains, Print Studios has generously increased the RTP a bit, offering a slightly better edge in the spirit of the holiday season.