Mad Scatter’s Tea Party

It’s time for another Alice in Wonderland-based slot, this time a very dark version brought to you by Slingo Originals. Titled the Mad Scatter’s Tea Party, this new slot looks more like the Addams Family and Stephen King had a mind meld than the pastel-colored happy story we remember from childhood.

How does it compare to Wonderland or Alice and the Mad Tea Party? Let’s find out….

Overview: Mad Scatter’s Tea Party

You’ll find several of the main characters from Lewis Carroll’s original book in this slot, including Alice herself, plus the Mad Hatter, March Hare and the adorable Dormouse. Alice feels a bit macabre, with her eyes encircled in black, and the Mad Hatter is a bit too serious, but it’s a pleasant departure from the books and more suited to the adult audience that the game is geared to.

The game also offers players standard paylines and 4 Scatter-type wins, along with 4 Free Spin Bonus games.

Who will the Mad Scatter’s Tea Party appeal to?

While this is a Slingo Original game, it is not the typical Slingo (bingo + slots) game that they are known for. However, if you’re a fan of their non-Slingo games like Dragon’s Gems, Pay of the Dead, Pigasus & Friends, etc., then this will appeal to you.

Budget players will like the low bet amount, which starts at 20 cents and the return-to-player percentage of 95.3% means a decent return on your money.

Gameplay: Mad Scatter’s Tea Party

The game is played on a 5 reel, 3 row grid. You’ll find a STAKE box located to the left of the grid that you can click on to raise or lower your stakes (from 20 cents to $100). Once you’ve determined your stake, you’ll need to choose one of four characters to be your Mad Scatter.

Click on the Change Scatter symbol, located on the bottom left of your screen to choose between Alice, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse. You can choose to change your character as often as you like. Once chosen, if you get 3 or more of your Mad Scatter characters, they will expand and pay as Scatters, leading to some very nice wins.

Other symbols you’ll find in this game are the Wild Clock, Teapot Bonus, and 10-Ace. The 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace are set on a chessboard background and appear to be the only symbols to pay in traditional paylines, of which there are 10. The Wild is also only viable with the 10-Ace.

Additional features

There is a Teapot Bonus, triggered by 3 Bonus symbols. You’ll get between 4 and 18 free spins, depending on your Mad Scatter character, and a multiplier that ranges fro 1x to 10x. During bonus play, any additional teapots will reveal additional Mad Scatters and a multiplier is revealed on each spin. Free spins cannot be retriggered.

One of the hidden gems of this game is the pithy quotes that appear at the bottom of the screen after every spin. You’ll find funny and mysterious sayings from the book, such as:

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.
You must close your eyes or you won’t see anything.
When that day comes, I shall Futterwacken….vigorously.

(For your edification, the Futterwacken is the silly dance that the Mad Hatter is prone to do.)

Special features: Mad Scatter’s Tea Party

Alice Free Spins

If your Mad Scatter character is Alice, your free spins are determined by the number of Teapot Bonus symbols you get. Three symbols get you 10 spins, 4 will get you 14 and 5 will get you 18. Additionally, you will receive a multiplier that will be between 1x and 4x.

Mad Hatter Free Spins

If your Mad Scatter character is the Mad Hatter himself, your free spins are: 3 symbols get you 4 spins, 4 will get you 8 and 5 will get you 12. Additionally, you will receive a multiplier that will be between 1x and 10x.

March Hare Free Spins

If your Mad Scatter character is the March Hare, your free spins are: 3 symbols get you 6 spins, 4 will get you 10 and 5 will get you 14. Additionally, you will receive a multiplier that will be between 1x and 8x.

Dormouse Free Spins

If your Mad Scatter character is the Dormouse, your free spins are: 3 symbols get you 8 spins, 4 will get you 12 and 5 will get you 16. Additionally, you will receive a multiplier that will be between 1x and 6x.

What works?

Scatter Wins

Scatter pays don’t happen very often, but when they do they can be pretty massive. On a $5 bet, 4 Dormouse Scatters paid $250.

Free Spins

Free spins are fairly generous and even more so when a multiplier is factored in to each and every spin. Plus you can get extra Mad Scatters from the adorable teapots that pop up on the reels.

What doesn’t?

No Retrigger on Free Spins

While the wins during the Free Spins Bonus round can be good, we’ve been spoiled by the large number of games that allow for retriggering of this bonus. Since the Bonus doesn’t come around all that often, and can yield as little as 4 free spins, we’d love to be able to play a bit longer on occasion.

Low-Value Wins

Payouts are less frequent than similar games, with the 10-Ace symbols payouts being somewhat low (often 50-75% less than your bet amount).

The Scores

Graphics & soundtrack 4/5

Muted dark colors are used in the background, with black and gray chessboards the background for the 10-Ace. While the look is somewhat old, it’s actually a fresh take on the story and its characters, much more serious and subdued.

Soundtrack is minimal, but not unpleasant. It sounds very much like a forest scene with wind and faint animal sounds…until you hit the Spin button. Then you’ll hear music that would likely take place in this storybook fantasy. When your Mad Scatter character or the Teapot Bonus symbol lands, you’ll hear a cymbal, and when there’s a win, a bell will go off.

Originality & creativity 4/5

Love this take on Alice in Wonderland. Having a darker, more mysterious air feels much more adult than other storybook slots. They utilize the characters well by implementing the Scatter Win feature around them. While we’re used to Scatter Pays, the fact that this slot has 4 available Scatter Pays is unusual.

Play value 3/5

This is a low to medium volatile slot with a range of betting options and an RTP of 95.3%. The wins aren’t as frequent as other similar slots, with only 10 paylines and 5 symbols paying out. But the Scatter Wins, while also somewhat infrequent, can be pretty large. If you’re patient and prefer fewer large wins over many small ones, then this is the game for you.

Jackpot potential 2/5

The max jackpot on this slot is a pretty standard $250,000, but winning it seems to be a bit more difficult than other similar slots.

Repeat play 3/5

I’d actually rate this 2.5 out of 5, but had to round up for the sake of consistency. I like the look and feel of the slot, and enjoyed the larger payouts, but often had to play for quite a while before hitting one. With no Autoplay feature, it can be a bit tedious.

Total score: 16/25

The Mad Scatter’s Tea Party is a unique take on a classic story. Scatter Pays and some hefty Bonus spins help to make this game more fun to play. And it’s available for mobile, tablet and desktop.