A Tale of Elves Slot Review

A Tale of Elves: Slot Overview

When I fire up A Tale of Elves, I get hit by Christmas from the first spin. The 5-reel, 243 ways layout sits in a snow-covered forest, framed by trees and fairy lights, while free spins move you into the elves' workshop full of old-fashioned toys. On the surface it looks like a cutsie cartoon seasonal slot, but there is a cold-hearted math model lurking underneath.

Playable from 30p up to 12 quid a spin, A Tale of Elves feels quite modest stake-wise, yet the gameplay is anything but casual. Microgaming rates it very highly volatile, and I would agree after long sessions; it can fire off strings of dead spins before suddenly linking stacked elves and wild wreaths. That mix of cosy visuals and hard-hitting swings gives it a very old school Microgaming flavour.

A Tale of Elves Symbols and Paytable

On the paytable in A Tale of Elves you first get the J to A royals, drawn all puffy and snow-white. Above those sit the four elves in blue, green, orange and yellow outfits. Five of a kind elf wins range around 5x to 8.33x the stake in the 243 ways setup. The wreath symbol is the wild, paying more than any regular symbol while also substituting to complete combinations.

Santa himself acts as the scatter and is actually the most valuable symbol in the whole game. The paytable gives him the top award for five in view, and that is on top of his feature duties. Even two Santas anywhere pay through the Random Cash Prize feature, where the game picks a one-off win up to 50x the bet, so he never feels like a dead symbol.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Scatter
	5	x600
	4	x60
	3	x3
	Wild
	5	x50
	4	x10
	3	x5
	5	x25
	4	x8
	3	x3
	5	x20
	4	x6
	3	x2
	5	x17.5
	4	x5
	3	x1.5
	5	x15
	4	x4
	3	x1
	5	x6
	4	x1.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x6
	4	x1.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x4
	4	x1
	3	x0.2
	5	x4
	4	x1
	3	x0.2

A Tale of Elves Features and Random Cash Prizes

A Tale of Elves keeps the feature list tight, but I rate the Random Cash Prize as a life saver during long base game stretches. Land two Santa scatters anywhere and the slot picks a random payout worth up to 50x your stake. It is not the most generous mechanic, yet hitting roughly once every 19 spins on paper, it does a decent job of breaking the grind when the reels go quiet.

Free Spins Options in A Tale of Elves

When I talk about A Tale of Elves, the free spins feature is always the main attraction. Three or more Santas anywhere bring in the bonus, with 3, 4 or 5 scatters paying a top-up of 1x, 20x or 200x your stake before spins start. On average you are looking at something like one free spins trigger every 209 spins, so it rarely feels like a quick hit style bonus.

Once the feature is triggered, you pick between four coloured Elf modes that mix number of spins, multipliers and stack sizes. Blue Elf Spins give 18 spins with a 2x multiplier and that elf stacked six symbols high. Green offers 14 spins at 3x and stacks of five. Orange cuts to 10 spins at 4x with four-high stacks, while Yellow is 8 spins at 5x with stacks three symbols tall.

The Yellow Elf option is the most volatile, but also where the monster stuff can happen if you are chasing a screen of yellow helpers or wilds. I like that the Random Cash Prize remains active during free spins, so the odd 50x hit can drop on top. You can retrigger by landing at least three Santas again, though it always replays the same mode rather than letting you pick a new one.

The 200 Spins A Tale of Elves Experience

Running a 200-spin test on A Tale of Elves gave me a good feel for how streaky this slot can be. For the first chunk it was typical high variance stuff, stretches of dead results broken by the odd Random Cash Prize. Then a cluster of stacked wild wreaths landed across several reels in one spin and the win meter jumped far higher than you would expect from a jolly looking Christmas game.

Not long after that, three Santas rolled in and kicked off free spins. I went for the Yellow Elf option, aiming for that 5x multiplier and higher risk profile, which suits the way I like to play. The bonus itself felt swingy; a couple of spins did almost nothing, then one screen lined up big stacks and the return on that single feature paid for most of the session.

RTP, Volatility and Max Win in A Tale of Elves

On the numbers side, A Tale of Elves runs on a 95.07% RTP, which is a bit below the current industry norm, especially for a non-jackpot slot. The trade-off is the very high volatility and max win potential that can reach around 20,000x your stake; figures like 20,166x have been floated around for the Yellow Elf mode. Aurum Signature Studios stayed old school here too, avoiding flexible RTP ranges.

A Tale of Elves Slot Verdict

A Tale of Elves can look like a blatant Christmas cash-in at first glance, plastered with tinsel and elves hammering away at wooden toys. Once I got past the cosy surface though, it reminded me of classic Microgaming action from the 243 ways glory days. The gameplay is simple, but the combination of stacked premiums, solid wilds and multipliers inside free spins means it can still throw up eyebrow-raising results.

For me the only real downside is that slightly stingy 95.07% RTP and how monotone the base game can feel when features dry up. The frequent Random Cash Prize helps, and having four free spin options lets you choose how punishing you want the variance. If you enjoy an uncomplicated, unapologetically seasonal slot to grind through winter evenings, A Tale of Elves holds up very well.

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