With a name like Secret Riches of the Irish, it was clear we were diving into a leprechaun-themed online slot set in the enchanting wilds of the Emerald Isle. Mere seconds after clicking the try game button, every assumption was confirmed. Designed by Yggdrasil Gaming’s partner studio Jelly, Secret Riches of the Irish features a leprechaun named Leppy, who collects cash symbols, potentially aided by multiplying multipliers during the free spins round.
One peculiar detail stood out on the load screen—Leppy’s way of holding his pipe. It looked as if he either has a very flexible thumb or an extra finger. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s certainly an unusual trait for a slot leprechaun. In terms of appearance and sound, Secret Riches of the Irish sticks to familiar territory. The 5×3 gaming grid is set outdoors, adorned with Celtic patterns, trees, a water feature, mystical lights, and other enchanting elements. The sound is a pleasant ditty that complements the scene. All in all, it’s a visually and aurally pleasing, if somewhat generic, experience.
Next on the agenda is selecting your wager, with options ranging from 20¢ to $/€80 per spin. There is also a Golden Bet feature available, which increases the stake by 50% for the chance to trigger additional bonuses. This medium volatility game offers two RTP models: 94% and 90.5%.
Secret Riches of the Irish features 20 paylines on its gaming grid and includes 9 regular paying symbols. These symbols range from leafy 10-A card ranks, which pay 3 to 5 times the bet for a five-of-a-kind win, to clovers, harps, top hats, and mugs of beer, which serve as the high-paying symbols, offering 10x to 20x for five-of-a-kind. While there is no dedicated wild symbol, Pot of Gold symbols can act as wilds, substituting for regular paying symbols when they appear.
Secret Riches of the Irish: Slot Features
If the keys to the secrets are the game’s features, they include Pot of Gold money symbol collections, free spins with reel multipliers, and a bonus buy option.
Pot of Gold Pot of Gold symbols are money symbols that appear on reels 1-4 and display cash prizes. Leppy, the collector, appears only on the rightmost reel. When Pot of Gold symbols land simultaneously with Leppy, he collects the cash prizes. Leppy can also appear as a Respin Collect symbol or a Boost Collect symbol. Respin Collect Leppy gathers the money prizes and then respins the reels to try to land more money symbols. Boost Collect Leppy upgrades any money symbols in view to higher prizes before collecting them.
Free Spins Landing 3 scatter symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4 awards 8 free spins. During this feature, landing 2 or 3 scatters awards an additional +2 or +4 spins, respectively. Leppy has a higher chance of appearing on the rightmost reel during free spins, and multipliers appear above reels 1-4. These multipliers are activated if a full stack of money symbols lands on the reel below. If more than one multiplier is activated, they multiply each other. Multipliers apply to all winnings.
Buy Free Spins For those eager to experience the reel multipliers in the free spins, there is an option to buy the round for 100 times the bet.
Secret Riches of the Irish: Slot Verdict
Secret Riches of the Irish was a slot that failed to generate much excitement at the start of the review and, after thorough testing, still fell short at the end. There wasn’t much to get the pulse racing; little intrigue, few secrets, and nothing exceptional stood out. The most interesting aspects were Leppy’s possible extra digit and how Jelly appears to have mirrored some of Blueprint Gaming’s collect symbol ideas, whether intentionally or not. Blueprint has extensively used these mechanics in games like The Goonies Hey You Guys or King Kong Cash Even Bigger Bananas, featuring collectors on certain reels, expanding them, and offering various versions. In Secret Riches of the Irish, you don’t need to unlock these variations. In fact, Secret Riches of the Irish bears a striking resemblance to a Blueprint Gaming slot.
When it comes to winning potential, Secret Riches of the Irish is on the modest side. While Blueprint Gaming slots often boast a 50,000x max win clause, Secret Riches of the Irish offers a more realistic figure of 2,500 times the bet. Though perhaps more achievable, this also feels underwhelming, much like the rest of the game. A higher target figure might have provided extra motivation to endure Secret Riches of the Irish’s generic feel, but alas, it does not.
On a positive note, Secret Riches of the Irish does have an appealing visual design, with subtle mystic touches adding a hint of enigma. Jelly’s Irish-meets-Egyptian-themed slot CleoPatrick DoubleMax was one of their more successful releases, so perhaps Secret Riches of the Irish will appeal to the same audience. That would be great, but it was hard to shake off the impression that Secret Riches of the Irish was ultimately a forgettable entry in the slot game market.