How To Play Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Blackwood Mobile Slot
IGT have done a tremendous job of bringing the energy and wins needed to carry this Sherlock Holmes mobile slot out of the shadows.
There are many Sherlock slots. You’ve got the drab Sherlock Mystery by Playtech, and the far better jackpot slot Holmes and The Stolen Stones by Yggdrasil, as immediate examples.
But none quite compare to this blockbuster of a game by IGT. Based on the lively 2009 film with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, the movie made the victorian sleuth interesting again by giving him a modern twist.
IGT do the same with this Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Blackwood slot. It feels fresh the moment you open the reels.
Stacked symbols and random multipliers
Usually with IGT slot games, most of the thrills hide in the bonus feature. Not here. Instead you get stacked Sherlock and Holmes symbols (the two highest paid symbols) throughout and, randomly, these can combine to create Sherlock/Holmes hybrid symbols which are the highest paying of them all.
Granted, if you catch any other symbols over these 5 reels and 30 paylines, you are unlikely to get much of a win. Or anything worth noting.
But we didn’t notice that until we were a few hours into this Sherlock Holmes slot, and it occurred to us that this casino game might as well only have two symbols as far as we were concerned.
Our biggest win of the game came when the random multiplier feature showed up, and we got four stacks of Sherlock symbols with a 10x multiplier, giving us an impressive 425 times our bet in the base game alone.
We could have kissed Robert Downey Jr. in the mouth. (But our restraining order prevents that from happening)
Tricky bonus games, but worthwhile
If you get 3 bonus scatters on the reels you trigger a click me feature that is ridiculously frustrating. Mostly because you might end up with just 5x to 10x your bet, or get to trigger one of two possible bonus features.
We’ve had some good luck on both, and they are not as hard to trigger as we’ve found in other IGT games; i.e. Kitty Glitter slot machine for example.
We just wished we could get the free spins more often, as catching 5 sticky wilds on screen makes this chase a thrilling one. That said, overall, we’ve been luckier with the Blackwood Wheel Bonus.
Still, we’ve had over 100 times our bet with both often enough to know that the wins are here for the taking.
This Sherlock Holmes Hunt for Blackwood slot machine is pure thrills, and beautifully balanced, to give you the opportunity for large wins around every corner.
The game’s afoot.
Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Blackwood Slot Stats
Mobile Slot Released | November 2015 |
Slot Type | Video Slot |
Software Provider | IGT |
Slot Reels / Paylines | 5 Reels / 30 Paylines |
House Edge / RTP | 6.76% - 3.61% / 93.24% |
Slot Volatility | Medium |
Min/Max Bet | 0.60 / 600 |
Free Spins | Up to 15 Free Spins / Up to 5 Sticky Wilds |
Bonus Rounds | Click Me, Free Spins, Stacked Symbols, Multipliers, Wilds |
Slot Themes | Detectives |
Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Blackwood Bonus Features
Mystery Multiplier Feature: During any base game spin you might randomly get a multiplier from 2x to 10x on all the wins of that spins. And getting 10x isn't that hard, just getting those wins can sometimes feel like it is.
Teamwork Feature: Again, randomly triggered, it can turn any Holmes or Watson symbols into a single 'Holmes and Watson' symbol. It's worth more than either combines.
The teamwork and multiplier feature can be triggered simultaneously.
Picker Puzzle: Get a bonus symbol on reels 1, 3 and 5 and you'll trigger the picker puzzle. You begin with 5 picks, and you select objects around Sherlock's room.
These can either be; cash prizes, +1 to give you additional picks, or the hunt or Blackwood wheel symbol.
You'll need at least 3 hunt symbols to trigger 10 free spins, 4 will trigger a very elusive 15 free spins.
The Blackwood symbol shows up more often, and you'll equally need 3 to trigger it, 4 will give you a richer initial wheel.
If you win one of the two bonus, that will trigger once you finish you pick, and you'll also be rewarded any cash collected.
Blackwood Wheel Bonus: If you manage to get at least 3 Blackwood symbols on the picker bonus, you'll get 10 spins on the Blackwood wheel.
You have three green pointers at the top of the wheel, if they land on cash you get cash, if they land on Blackwood, that pointer 'dies'. The game ends if all three pointers die, or you finish your 10 spins.
What makes thing more interesting is that you begin with only 3 Blackwood symbols on this 22 symbol wheel, then on spin 4, you get 5 Blackwoods and 1 Sherlock - and bigger cash prizes.
If an active pointer lands on Sherlock Holmes, not only will you get a huge cash injection, but the dead pointers 'live' again.
On the 8th spin (if you manage to get this far) you get 8 Blackwoods and 2 Sherlocks, with Sherlock worth 1,000 coins on his own.
The Hunt Free Spins Bonus: Mostly you'll find 3 hunt bonus symbols in the picky bonus, and you'll trigger 10 free spins.
On the background of the reels you'll see a map, with 5 faint circles drawn around areas. It's not easy to see, but they are there.
If either a Sherlock or Holmes symbol lands on those faint circles, they turn wild and remain sticky for the duration of the free spins.
Bonus Doubler: If you manage to spin the Blackwood wheel all 10 times before your pointers die, or catch all 5 possible sticky wilds in the free spins, you instantly get 2x all your wins.
Sweet, or what?