The perfect game for Christmas – it’s the Nutcracker! Are you feeling festive? If so, this slot is sure to hit the spot. Taking its name from the famous Russian ballet, the Nutcracker is a slot with a simply magical atmosphere – and even more magical prizes available. With a charming snowy backdrop straight out of a Christmas card, players will feel like it’s Christmas already!
How much do you know about the Nutcracker?
The Nutcracker is one of the most famous Christmas stories and has been adapted into books, film, and television since its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1892. Composed by famous musician Tchaikovsky, the story is an adaptation of a fantasy story written by E.T.A Hoffman by the name of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, about a girl who befriends a toy nutcracker which then comes to life and battles against the evil Mouse King. This was originally not a story for children by any means, but Alexandre Dumas (best known as the author of The Three Musketeers) reworked the story to be somewhat lighter.
Tchaikovsky was inspired to create the uniquely tinkly music for the Sugar Plum Fairy after hearing the sound of a celesta, a sort of miniature piano that at the time was a very recent invention. At the time, such instruments were extremely rare, but Tchaikovsky liked it so much that he was forced to sneak one all the way from Paris back to Russia. The celesta will also be recognisable to many modern ears, having been used in the iconic (and also very tinkly) “Hedwig’s Theme” from the Harry Potter movies. Interestingly, while Tchaikovsky wrote the score for two other famous ballets – Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake – he felt that the Nutcracker wasn’t his best work, considering Sleeping Beauty to be the best show he ever composed. Critics agreed and thought that the play would be cancelled quickly. Just goes to show! Sadly, Tchaikovsky died just a little less than a year after the initial production of the Nutcracker – though he wouldn’t have lived to have seen the show become truly popular anyway, as it only really took off in the mid-1950s. Ever since then, the show has been a traditional part of the Christmas theatre season.
How to play
The online slot sports five reels with twenty paylines that stretch left to right. Emblazoned on those are all manner of traditional Christmas icons like a cuddly teddy bear, shiny toy train, and a girl holding a beautiful doll. The most valuable symbol of all is the mouse, which – when five of a kind are matched up in a row – will pay out 50x the player’s stake!
Of course, there’s a useful scatter symbol too – the magical Sugar Plum Fairy! This cute little pixie will reward the player with a sweet payout wherever it appears. Like any decent slot game, there’s also a wild symbol in the form of the Nutcracker toy soldier. This little man will replace any of the other symbols on the reels (aside from the scatter symbol) and link up unconnected symbols to create new winning paylines out of nothing. The appearance of the Nutcracker can link up previously unconnected symbols and create new paylines out of nothing.
The Nutcracker Mobile Experience
Just like any other good slot game from online casinos, the Nutcracker is able to be played on a computer, or on a mobile phone, or on a tablet device. As long as the player has a charged battery and a strong internet connection, then the fun’s all there to be had. There’s no difference in terms of gameplay – the game handles exactly as it does on a computer when it’s played on a handheld device, so that no one misses out. Being able to play fantastic online casino games like the Nutcracker no matter where they happen to be is a fabulous feature that everyone loves and something we’re immensely proud to offer. Why not try downloading our app and exploring the variance of games waiting there to be played?
The Nutcracker Bonus
If the player should happen to stack the middle reel full of Nutcracker wild symbols, this will activate the nifty Nutcracker Gift Bonus & Free Spins feature. A selection of gift boxes will appear and the player can select one: each contains a random amount of free spins between five and ten. During the time these free spins are used, the stacked wilds in the middle reel will stay exactly where they were, massively boosting the player’s chances of a big payout. If they should happen to get a winning combination, the reels will spin again with the winning symbols staying fixed in place. As long as winning symbols appear, the respin feature will continue.
If three or more of the Sugar Plum Fairy scatter symbols appear on the reels at once, the player will receive between ten and thirty Fairy free spins. During the time these spins are being used, if the player obtains a Nutcracker wild symbol on the middle reel, the potential payouts will multiply every time it appears up to a maximum of 10x. Any scatters obtained during the free spins will simply reward the player with another free spin, meaning that the fun can go on and on! Landing three or more scatters will simply start the whole feature all over again – potentially meaning that the player can get up to 60 free spins in total while playing the Nutcracker!
