Jack and the Beanstalk Slots

Jack and the Beanstalk is based on the fairy tale about a boy living with his poor mum, who takes his cow to town and sells it in exchange for magic beans. This is a 20 line video slot game with 5 reels. The graphics are top-quality (starting with the amazing introduction video). This non-progressive game has a top pay out of 600,000 coins – and includes a moving wild and multi-level bonus feature themed on climbing the legendary beanstalk.

This article is a detailed review of the NetEnt Jack and the Beanstalk slot game. First of all the basic setup and how to play this game is covered, including the bet sizes and potential payouts. Next the bonus features, which include a unique ‘Walking Wild’ and multi-level bonus feature, are covered. After that, a summary and comparison of where this slot fits in with the rest of the impressive NetEnt line-up of slot games can be found.

How to play the Jack and the Beanstalk Slot

The game has 5 reels and 20 pay-lines. You cannot lower this number as on many slots, though you can decide how many coins to play (up to 10 per line) and the value of those coins. Coins vary from $0.01 up to $0.50. 10 coins per line can be wagered so Jack and the Beanstalk has a minimum of $0.20 and a top bet limit of $100 per spin.

The low-paying symbols in this game are the usual playing card icons 10 though Ace, drawn with beanstalk-like illustrations. 5 aces will pay 100 coins. The higher paying symbols include a watering can, the axe which Jack uses to cut down the beanstalk, a goat, a purple two-headed giant and Jack. If you manage to land 5 Jack icons you are awarded 1000 coins. The cards look a little too similar to each other for my taste, though this is a minor complaint in the context of a solid all round game.

The Treasure Chest is the scatter symbol. If you land 3 of these symbols across the reels it will trigger the free spins feature. In addition there is a Wild symbol with unique behavior. This is the Jack and the Beanstalk logo which substitutes for any symbol except the scatter. When you hit one of these anywhere on the screen, you will get some free spins. What happens is that this wild symbol ‘Walks’ to the left one reel at a time. If you hit it on the right hand reel then you’ll get 4 free spins as it moves across. If another wild appears in the meantime, then the free spins could last even longer. During this round, all wins are multiplied by 3.

This slot looks great and plays very smoothly, with the attention to detail (birds and butterflies on top of the frame for example) that you would expect from NetEnt. There is a configurable auto-play option available too.

Jack and the Beanstalk Bonus Features

If you land 3 treasure-chest symbols anywhere on the reels it will trigger the free spins round. You will start with 10 free spins, and will need to collect more for hitting other treasure chest symbols during the free spins. The main feature is unlocked by hitting a key symbol on the 5^th (right side) reel during the free-spins round.

There are 3 levels of this bonus, which introduce progressively more wild symbols – upping the amount of wins you’ll get. The final level will bring wild symbols in the form of golden harps which expand to cover entire reels, which is where you end up with the huge wins. You’ll need to collect a lot of keys along the way to get this far, and the biggest wins will come on top of the many mid-sized ones you banked as you worked your way up.

Jack and the Beanstalk Summary

I am impressed with Jack and the Beanstalk. From the moment you start to play (via the intro video) the game feels polished and well put together. Attention to detail is excellent, and the feature rounds are engaging enough to keep you wanting more.

This is a lower variance slot, with a lot of smaller and mid-sized wins keeping your bankroll in play while you wait for the feature round to kick-in. The walking wild is a new innovation, adding a lot of small wins in the mini-free spin rounds which this triggers. The bonus feature will kick-in reasonably often – though will not often get to the stage where the extra wilds and big wins kick in.

I would put this in the entertainment category of slot games – rather than seeing it as a slot which fans of big jackpots will be attracted to. There is enough going on to keep you entertained, and enough smaller wins to give you value for money while you are waiting for the features to start. Check out Jack and the Beanstalk for yourself!