Coven Rising

Coven Rising Review

Pragmatic Play brings Coven Rising to its September 2026 line-up. Four witches have gathered in the woods, with the game unfolding inside the ritual circle between them. Instead of straight reels, there are 43 positions arranged 1-4-7-6-7-6-7-4-1, with a separate spot right in the middle for the witches.

It took me a few spins to understand where I should actually be looking. Wins need at least five matching symbols, but they can connect from the sides, above, below or diagonally. When that happens, the winning positions are used again for a respin. The rest of the circle stays where it is. Blanks can also occupy some of the spaces and don't pay anything.

Each of the six paying symbols has five possible levels. They first show up at Level 1, some worth only 0.05x. Level 5 is a different story, with the highest-paying symbol reaching 50x the bet. Red Witch can trigger these upgrades during play. Green works with the Coins, Yellow changes Blanks into paying symbols and Blue brings Wilds onto the grid.

Coins can be worth as much as 500x, although simply landing one isn't enough to collect it. You need the Green Witch in the centre. I like this part of the setup because the middle position can change what would otherwise be a fairly ordinary respin. The witches have upgraded forms as well, and their stronger effects become especially useful once Free Spins are running.

The regular game has a 96.42% RTP and medium volatility, while the top win is 5,000x the bet. There are also Ante Bet and two ways to buy Free Spins, each with a slightly different RTP. Visually, most of the light comes from the ritual itself: glowing lines, symbols and magical effects against a much darker forest. The music stays suitably eerie without being particularly loud, with stronger sound effects coming in when a witch activates.

Coven Rising Features

Most of the extra action in Coven Rising comes from the centre of the circle. The four Witches can change a respin in different ways, and several of those changes become more important during Free Spins. There are also symbol levels, Coins, an Ante Bet and two ways to buy the bonus.

Cluster Pays and Respins

Coven Rising uses Cluster Pays, with groups of five or more matching symbols needed for a win. Connections count in every direction here, including diagonally.

After a win, only the symbols involved in that cluster respin. Everything else stays where it is. The middle position also respins at the same time, giving another Witch a chance to appear while the sequence is still going.

Symbol Levels

Each of the six paying symbols has five possible levels. They first show up at Level 1, some worth only 0.05x. Level 5 is a different story, with the highest-paying symbol reaching 50x the bet.

The Red Witch is what can move these symbols up. Its regular version picks one type of paying symbol and increases it by one level. An upgraded Red Witch does this to every paying symbol instead. During Free Spins, any levels gained this way stay in place until the bonus ends.

Witch Modifiers

All four Witches use the position in the middle of the grid. I found it quite easy to tell them apart after seeing each effect a couple of times, as they don't simply give different versions of the same modifier.

• Green Witch collects every Coin currently visible and pays their combined value.
• Red Witch increases the level of one randomly selected paying symbol.
• Yellow Witch changes up to five Blanks into random paying symbols.
• Blue Witch turns the middle position into a Wild.

Each Witch can also appear in an upgraded form. Green adds between 1 and 5 Coins to available Blank positions before collecting them. Red upgrades every paying symbol, while Yellow changes all available Blanks instead of stopping at five. Upgraded Blue adds another two Wilds to the grid as well as the Wild in the centre.

Coins

Coins range from 1x to 500x the bet:

• 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x
• 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x
• 100x, 250x, 500x

A Coin doesn't pay simply because it lands. The Green Witch needs to appear and collect it.

There is an extra rule during Free Spins. After a Green Witch collect, the amount won is added to the highest-valued Coin involved in that collect. That Coin remains on the grid. If a higher Coin subsequently lands, the new one takes its place. This can continue until the Coin is collected or the Free Spins round finishes.

Free Spins

Three Scatters start the bonus with 12 Free Spins. More Scatters at the initial trigger give you more spins:

• 3 Scatters: 12 Free Spins
• 4 Scatters: 16 Free Spins
• 5 Scatters: 20 Free Spins
• 6 Scatters: 24 Free Spins

Two or more Scatters during the bonus add another 2 Free Spins for each one that lands.

This is also where some of the Witch effects stop being temporary. Red Witch upgrades remain for the rest of the round, while the Green Witch can leave a collected-value Coin on the grid as described above.

Ante Bet

Ante Bet is quite expensive in Coven Rising. I pay three times the normal stake when I switch it on, as the bet multiplier jumps from 20x to 60x. The reason for using it is the Free Spins trigger, which becomes seven times more likely.

RTP is slightly higher with this option as well, moving from 96.42% to 96.50%.

Buy Free Spins

There are two bonus purchases. For 100x the base bet, I can skip the regular game and start Free Spins immediately. This option plays at 96.48% RTP.

Buy Super Free Spins costs 200x. The important difference is in the centre of the circle: Blank symbols cannot land there during Super Free Spins. RTP for this version is 96.49%.

Theme & Graphics

Coven Rising puts the game right in the middle of a witches' ritual. I can see all four characters around the circle throughout play, while the 43 positions sit between them. Each witch has a different colour, which also shows up when her effect is triggered.

It is quite a dark game. Candles and small lights around the circle do most of the work, then you get brighter effects when a Witch comes into play. The symbols themselves look like coloured stones. There isn't much music competing with what happens on screen either. Most of what I noticed while playing came from the sounds attached to wins and the Witch modifiers.

Coven Rising Free Play

You can use Coven Rising free play to get used to the circular grid before playing with real money. I found the demo particularly useful for following the respins and seeing what each of the four Witches actually does when she lands in the middle.

The Coven Rising demo runs on virtual credits, so nothing is deposited or withdrawn. You can change the bet, watch the symbol levels and Coins, and see how the Free Spins round works without risking your own money.

Pros And Cons Of Coven Rising Slot

After spending some time with Coven Rising, I liked how much the four Witches can change what happens on the grid. I needed a little more time with the 43-position grid, especially once the different Witch effects started coming into play.

Our Verdict

Coven Rising needed more time from me than most Pragmatic Play slots. The 43-position circle isn't difficult once you know what to watch, but at first I was following the respins, the middle position and the symbol levels all at once. After a while, the four Witches made much more sense and I started paying more attention to which one appeared than to the cluster itself.

Green was the most interesting for me because of the Coins, especially with values going as high as 500x. I also liked that Free Spins keep some progress instead of simply repeating the base game. Red Witch upgrades can stay in place, and Green gets an extra rule for collected Coins. That gives the bonus something worth building during the round.

There are a few things I like less. The 5,000x maximum win isn't particularly high, and Ante Bet is expensive at three times the normal stake. Super Free Spins cost 200x as well. I would probably use the regular game first rather than paying that much just to remove Blanks from the middle position.

For me, Coven Rising works because it doesn't feel like another standard Pragmatic Play grid slot. The witches actually matter to the mechanics, and the unusual board has a reason for looking the way it does. It takes a little longer to learn, but that was also what kept me interested once I understood how the different modifiers worked.