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Shah Mat Review
We were immediately intrigued when we first laid eyes on Shah Mat. There aren’t all that many chess-themed slots out there overall, and none of them come close to this darkish, mysterious Persian-inspired 8x8 grid slot. The arabic precursor to the modern chess game was called Shatranj, and ‘Shah Mat’ translates into “the king is frozen”, or simply “checkmate”, as we say in our culture.
With 64 symbols dropping down on the authentically sized chess board grid, there is plenty of room to create 30+ matching cluster wins for single spin payouts up to 80x your stake. The merging wilds will generate multipliers to boost your base game winnings, and contribute to the global multiplier in the bonus round. We were a bit worried up front if the math model would ruin things, but this is an overall solid release with no glaring deal-breakers sticking out anywhere.
Shah Mat Features
The Cascade feature is triggered whenever you land a winning cluster, and all winning symbols are removed from the grid. New and/or existing symbols drop down to fill the gaps, and this can lead to indefinite extra wins per round. The Cascading Wins feature only ends when you land a non-winning cascade.
You can land larger versions of the premium symbols at any time, and these Super Symbols come in sizes of 2x2, 3x3 and 4x4. Wilds can also land Super Sized, and these step in for all regular pay symbols to help you form winning clusters. Wilds that are used in a win are not removed like the regular symbols, and they will thus remain on the grid for the entire cascading sequence.
Landing at least 2 wilds in adjacent positions merges the symbols into a single 1x1 wild, and a multiplier equal to the number of merging wilds is attached to the symbol. More wilds can be added to the merged multiplier wild, and this can lead to a multiplier value up to x20 at the most.
You trigger the Bonus Round with 12, 15, 18 or 21 free spins, respectively, when you land 3, 4, 5 or 6 scatters in the same spin sequence. Merging wilds in the bonus round increases the global win multiplier, instead of assigning multipliers to the merged wilds. The global multiplier applies to all wins, but it can only go as high as x20. You get +1 extra spin per scatter that lands during the feature.
The 200 Spins Shah Mat Experience
You get to see a lengthy cascade in the base game first, before we skip to the bonus round trigger at 1:11 into the 6 and a half minute highlights video. We got plenty of lengthy cascades and extra spins, and we also managed to max out the multiplier towards the end. See for yourself how we fared by hitting the play button below.
Review Summary
The visual presentation was a case of love at first sight for us, and we had our fingers crossed that the gameplay and math model wouldn’t disappoint either. Luckily, the game delivers on all fronts in Shah Mat. Going to the Persian roots of Chess adds a certain flavour of mystique to the somewhat trippy visual presentation, and lengthy cascades with merging wild multipliers are a joy to behold in the base game.
Even more so in the bonus round, of course, where the multiplier you rack up benefits all wins. The features might be on the simpler side for a grid slot, but they can certainly conspire to be highly effective when things go your way. There is an oddly satisfying quality to the overall gameplay, and while the 4,323x potential might not be exceptional, at least it’s solid enough to not ruin the otherwise excellent impression we have of this game.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 8x8 cluster pays cascading wins grid | Beware of adjustable RTP ranges |
| Wilds remain in play for a full sequence | |
| Wilds merge into multiplier wilds up to x20 | |
| FS where merging wilds increase global multiplier | |
| Win up to 4,323x your stake |
If you love Shah Mat you should also try:
SjakkMatt - is a somewhat clever chess slot, and you’ll see a lineup of premium chess pieces on either side of the grid. Landing a chess piece feature symbol outside of the highlighted area prompts one of the lined up chess pieces to move towards the symbol, leaving wilds in its wake. Collect 3 chess piece symbols in the highlighted zone to trigger the bonus round.
Bombuster - comes with a more lighthearted fruit slot inspired theme, and this explosive release plays out on a 7x7 cluster pays grid. You will benefit from 3 different bombs that stay around for a given number of spins before they explode, awarding wilds, symbols transformation and destruction. The max win is 2,020x your stake.
Lion’s Hoard - plays out on an impressively decorated metallic 5x4 grid set in an ancient vault filled with gold coins, and this creation comes with a very vivid visual impact. Collect diamonds to generate mystery reels that remain in place until you win, and these will sometimes turn into sticky wild reels. A blue diamond fills all meters, and you can win up to 7,150x your stake.
