Booming Games takes our Jacpot.io players to the Land Downunder with Wombaroo, a quirky and fun game set in the Outback of Australia. Regan the Roo and Wombat Willie are the characters who lead us on a merry jig through the arid Outback, the legendary Uluru/Ayers Rock in the background, and emus and koalas making up more of the symbols on the 5x3 reels. The cute graphics and furry heroes may make Wombaroo seem quite simple in a fun way but don't be fooled, this is a high volatility slot with some excellent bonuses, although it does have a rather low RTP at 95.42%.
Booming Games has set Wombaroo in the Australian wilderness known as the Outback. It's an unusual theme and refreshingly different to the usual Big 5 of Africa, or Egyptology, or Ancient Greece and Rome. Visually the execution is excellent with crisp graphics and beautiful colours and a host of iconic Aussie imagery such as the titular kangaroo and wombat. These two characters od some odd and amusing dances when you hit the bonuses so keep an eye out for that!
The 5x3 layout is easy on the eye and playability is quite intuitive.
Apart from our heroes Regan the Roo and Willie the Wombat, Wombaroo is made up of the usual royals (10, J, Q, K, A) and bolstered by some other indigenous wildlife in the shape of emus and koalas (but no drop bears). Scatters are the Australian continent with Willie or Roo superimposed, and Wilds are gold Wild symbols.
Symbols from lowest to highest win: 10 and Jack (grouped), Queen and King (grouped), Ace, Emu, Koala, Roo and Willie, 5x Wilds.
Wombaroo has a … fun? … soundtrack. It's very subtle in the background and, together with the understated reel spins and win sounds, is definitely a secondary element in the game. Jackpot.io were expecting (hoping for?) more of a didgeridoo effect but it works in the context of the game. It's relaxing and works well with the fluffy creatures.
There are quite a few excellent features to Wombaroo.
The Wild symbol substitutes for all symbols except Scatters.
Sticky Wilds only appear during Kangaroo Free Spins and Super Feature Free Spins and remain in place for the duration of the Free Spins/Super Feature.
Landing 3 Kangaroo Scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 will trigger 8x Kangaroo Free Spins.
Landing 3 Wombat Scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 will trigger Wombat Wins - a Hold and Re-spin feature. All Scatters are transformed into coins with random values that lock in place for the duration of the Wombat Wins. Players start with 3 re-spins. Each time a new coin lands, the Re-spins are set back to 3x. The added value of all coins is the winning amount.
The Super Feature combines both Kangaroo Free Spins and Wombat Wins. Each time 2 Scatter land 1 unit is added to a meter at the top of the screen. Once the meter is filled (it takes 30 units to fill), the Super Feature is triggered, and players get 8x Free Spins with Sticky wilds. Once the Free Spins are done, all Wilds transform into gold coins.
Unlike our headline above, Wombaroo actually takes a very fun and in no way stereotypical look at an Aussie theme. It's fast and fun play with a very volatility and relatively low stakes so it probably will not appeal to high rollers. The 4,000x max win is tasty by anyone's standards, the graphics are great, and the playability is excellent.