Since the world’s most famous fictional detective first appeared on the pages of Conan Doyle’s novel, “A Study of Scarlet”, over a century ago in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been reincarnated countless times.
In late 2015, in partnership with Warner Brothers Entertainment, slot software developer Interactive Gaming Technology also jumped on the Sherlock Holmes bandwagon. Thus, the opium-smoking mystery solver was reborn once more, this time in the five-reel, 30-payline online video slot, Sherlock Holmes – The Hunt for Blackwood.
The Betting on 221B Baker Street
Sherlock Holmes betting lines are fixed at one coin per slot and players may wager up to 30 coins per line.
An Elementary Theme
This slot is based on the Warner Brothers Sherlock Holmes film franchise, in which Robert Downey Jnr. plays Holmes and Jude Law plays his long-suffering sidekick, Dr Watson.
Sherlock Holmes character symbols include Holmes; Watson; the beautiful Irene Adler, as played by Rachel McAdams; and Holmes’s nemesis, Blackwood, as played by Mark Strong. Other symbols included on the Sherlock Holmes reels are Blackwood’s wheel, and Holmes’s pipe and his trusty English bulldog, Gladstone.
Special Sherlock Holmes Mystery Features
There are two special mystery features in the Sherlock Holmes slot that increase players’ wins or their odds of landing a winning combination.
- The Sherlock Holmes Mystery Multiplier
At any random point in the game, the Sherlock Holmes slot may award a mystery multiplier of between two and 10 times the total wins on a winning payline combination.
- The Sherlock Holmes Teamwork Feature
In recognition of poor old Watson, who often saves the day without receiving any credit for it, the Sherlock Holmes slot has a special mystery teamwork feature. This feature is also randomly triggered and sees the Watson and Holmes symbols merged into one, more valuable symbol of the duo.
Sherlock Holmes Video Bonus Games
Bonus games are triggered where the Sherlock Holmes theme really comes to life, with actual video slips from the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film.
These games are triggered whenever three or more Sherlock Holmes bonus symbols appear simultaneously on Reels 1, 3 and 5. This triggers the Picker Puzzle game, through which players may enter the other two bonus features.
- Picker Puzzle Bonus Game
Players must choose from five clues, each of which conceals cash rewards and an additional pick, entry to the Hunt Bonus Game, or entry to the Blackwood Wheel Bonus Game.
- Hunt Free Spins Bonus Game
Players are awarded either 10 or 15 free spins, depending on whether they find three or four free spins symbols in the Picker Bonus Game. Here, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson become high-value symbols. If the Watson symbol lands on one of the Xs on the map in the background of the reels, it becomes a fixed wild and stays in position for the remaining spins.
If all such X-marked spots are filled, a 2x multiplier is applied to all free spins and Picker Puzzle wins.
- Blackwood Wheel Bonus Game
By discovering three wheel bonus symbols in the Picker Puzzle, players gain access to the Blackwood Wheel Bonus Game. In this Sherlock Holmes bonus game, players land Sherlock prize wedges on active pointers to unlock prizes. If players have at least one active Sherlock Holmes wedge at the end of the game, they could double their prizes.
The Blackwood wedge, however, deactivates Sherlock wedges and more Blackwood wedges appear as the wheel continues to spin.