Dog Pound

Dog Pound Review

Dogs deserve a home where they can feel secure and well-fed and where they can play with their own kind. Dog Pound is such a place designed by Reel Kingdom and filled with joy, barks, and some sweet payouts for those willing to take a risk. It was officially released in the first days of December, and now, we come up with a comprehensive review!

Reel Kingdom is the most productive partner studio of the industry-renowned provider Pragmatic Play. The parent company stands behind many slot series, including The Dog House. Moreover, in the last two months, Pragmatic released another 2 sequels - The Dog House - Mutley Crew and The Dog House - No Dog Left Behind (98.02%).

A quick look shows that the Dog Pound slot has taken a lot from the series, including a similar design and vibe. However, fans of the studios will quickly notice the Big Bass Bonanza mechanics - 5 reels, 3 rows, and 10 paylines, as well as mixed Dog payouts, Bonus symbols, and a wild that activates during the bonus minigame.

During the base game, lines pay from the leftmost reel to the right for 2 or 3, 4, and 5 symbols of a kind. Autoplay is part of the game, as well as many other technical features, like Battery Saver, Quickpin, and Turbo Spin. Sadly, the base mode lacks any bonus features, which is another similarity with most of the titles in the Big Bass Bonanza series!

Dog Pound Slot - Game Screen

Dog Pound comes with several dog items that appear as high-valued symbols and 5 dogs that pay medium-valued prizes in mixed ways. The low-valued figures are the usual suspects - A, K, Q, J, and 10, paying from 0.20x to 10x the bet. Dog House is the only symbol paying for even 2 on a line - from 0.50x to 200x the stake.

Paw Pendant awards from 3x to 100x, Food Bowl and Collar - 2x to 50x, and Mixed Dogs pay between 1x to 100x the wager. As you can see, payouts are pretty impressive, especially when we discuss a slot game characterized by high levels of volatility. The Hit Frequency, however, isn't the highest one!

Dog Pound features a wild symbol as well, the Dog Catcher, but it is active only during the Free Spins mode. Wilds substitute for all symbols except scatters and have other powers, which I'll reveal later! As usual, the betting range is quite wide - €0.10 tp €250 per spin, which makes various strategies possible!

Another massive advantage of the game is the excellent payout rate. The Dog Pound RTP is 96.71%, and we have no information for the release of other variants with poorer potential. Then again, it would be wise to stay vigilant and check the rate before a real money session. The max win is decent - 5,000x the bet!

Dog Pound Features

Dog Pound suffers a weakness that most of the Big Bass Bonanza slots have as well - few bonus features. The base mode is almost completely empty of such, which may cause boredom to a certain extent. However, the Free Spins minigame compensates massively, with various modifiers, retriggers, and multipliers!

Money Symbols

Even during the base mode, Dogs carry different cash rewards equal from 2x to 500x, and the rarer 1,666x, 2,500x, and 5000x the bet. These can be only won via Cash Collect in bonus mode, but are one of the short ways to the game's maximum win. To get them, you'll first need at least 3 skaters in view!

Free Spins with Modifiers

Scatters, 3, 4 or 5, award 10, 15, or 20 free spins, and the slot is packed with 2 random features that may activate if you spot only 2 scatters. A Net may pull one of the non-scatter reels to reveal a 3rd symbol, or the Respin modifier may activate. It will cause a nudge of all reels with scatters, one position down, while the others will respin to eventually bring more scatters.

In any case, if you activate the bonus minigame, the Dog Catcher will try to activate from 0 to 5 modifiers by catching dogs. This is a completely random feature, and all modifiers will become applicable for the subsequent Free Spins minigame:

• Extra Free Spins - bonus starts with +2 free spins, and each retrigger will award 2 extra free spins.
• Start from Level 2 - bonus starts from Level 2 on the progressive Trail.
• More Dogs and Nets - an increased chance to hit a Symbol Conversion Spin feature or a Net.
• More Dog Catchers - more Dog symbols are in play.
• Catch More Dogs - more wild symbols are in play.

Wild symbols collect all Dog values in view and are also collected in the Progressive Trail displayed above the reels. Every 4th Wild Dog Catcher retriggers the feature and awards 10 extra free spins up to 4 times. On each level, the win multiplier increases in the following order: 2x, 3x, and 10x.

The retriggered batch of free spins is played after the previous one! Special reels are active during the bonus mode and 3 random features may activate:

• Net Feature - if Dogs are on the grid but no wilds, a Net may appear and pull one or more reels to bring Dog Catcher symbols.
• Conversion Spin Feature - if Dog Catcher symbols are in view, but there are no Dogs, some random symbols may turn into Dogs.
• Conversion Animation Feature - if there are Dog Catchers in view but no Dog symbols, an animation may start to transform all symbols except the wilds into something else.

Dog Pound Slot – Free Spins Gameplay Screen

Buy Free Spins

The Bonus Buy feature is part of Dog Pound, but it might be unavailable in countries where these tools are prohibited. It allows players to instantly activate the Free Spins bonus by landing 3 to 5 scatters. The Bonus Buy RTP remains the same as the base play - 96.71%, and the asking price is 100x the bet.

Theme & Graphics

Ever since the introduction of the legendary The Dog House by Pragmatic Play, the Dogs theme has become a favorite for all fans of cartoonish slots. Dog Pound is somewhat of a sequel to the series crafted by the provider's closest partner, Reel Kingdom. Therefore, we can't ask the scriptwriters for more.

The visual and audio performance are at the expected high level, with nothing too lavish and spectacular. After all, it's a light-hearted slot game with cartoons and funny animations. Still, graphics and audio effects are excellent. I can say the same for the titlés mobile compatibility, which will hardly surprise anyone.

The Dog Pound slot is compatible with desktop (Windows, Linux & MacOS) and mobile devices (Android & iOS). I recommend playing in landscape mode because of the multiple tabs and for optimal visual quality. On the other hand, some seasoned gamblers may feel a bit bored by "another sequel", although a hybrid of two massive series!

Pros And Cons Of Dog Pound Slot

Our Verdict

Dog Pound is a nice blend of popular mechanics and features wrapped into one of the most attractive themes by Reel Kingdom. The Dog House series seems to have exhausted its potential after so many sequels with different mechanics. Besides the already mentioned ones, I must add The Dog House Megaways.

It was the second game in the pack, and it offers up to 117,649 ways to win and a win potential of over 12,000x the bet. The Dog House Multihold followed with up to 4 bonus grids and sticky wilds, and The Dog House - Dog or Alive moved the action in the Wild West, offering a 10,000x jackpot and sticky wild collectors.

In general, the series exhausted the set with mechanic options, and the provider decided to make a bold move. For me, mixing two large and extremely popular series is a huge risk, and in this particular case, it's not justified enough. Fans of Big Bass Bonanza and other similar games like Big Catch Bass Fishing and Fishin' Frenzy by Blueprint may feel a little bored.

On the flip side, the most passionate fans of these mechanics will have another title to play with. I must admit that the max win could have been higher, but the presence of all random features, a high RTP rate, and a wide betting range level the scales. So, if you are ready for another fun adventure, the Dog Pound is expecting you!