The classic Fish Party slot might be one of Microgaming's best-kept secrets

Slots based under the sea, or on an aquatic theme, are ten a penny nowadays. There are some really good examples of games in this genre and you can certainly add the Fish Party slot to that list.

This popular Microgaming slot is a relatively simple 243 Ways to Win slot across the five reels, that features Stacked Wilds in the base game, and Stacked Wilds and standard symbols in the Free Spin bonus round.

So is this one slot that will have you leaping into the sea for an adventure under the water, or is there something a little fishy about just how good this slot appears to be? We decided to play the game to find out for ourselves.

Overview

• Game: Fish Party
• Developer: Microgaming
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 243 Ways to Win
• Minimum Bet: 0.30
• Maximum Bet: 15.00
• Jackpot: 97,000
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: No
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Low to Medium

Presentation

One of the nicest features of the Fish Party slot is that it is a somewhat relaxing game. The slot looks like it is set under the sea, or in an aquarium, with a simple yet effective watery backdrop behind the reels. A line of bubbles separates each of the five reels on this 243 Ways to Win slot.

The controls are at the foot of the reels and the sound is very simplistic but effective, comprising mainly of some generic sounds and water effects. It is not the most eye-catching slot in terms of visuals or sound, but it is one that is easy to follow and pleasing to play. It is also one of the best slots you can play on a mobile device as even on a smaller screen, it is very easy to distinguish between the symbols.

What is on the reels?

What is pleasing to see on the Fish Party slot is that there are no playing card low symbols on the reels. Instead, we have a positive undersea cornucopia of symbols, starting with the hermit crab as the lowest paying symbol in the game.

Other symbols include a worm on a fishing hook, a starfish, and an assortment of different coloured fish. The green fish is the lowest paying, with the puffer fish the next lowest followed by the purple, orange and then the blue fish.

The highest paying symbol on the reels is the treasure chest which offers the chance to win up to 10.3x your total bet if you can hit five on a single pay line.

Wild features

The Fish Party logo is the in game Wild and in the base game, and also during the Free Spins bonus round, you will find that the Wild can be stacked across all five reels. The fact that this symbol is stacked means that it is easier to trigger wins, especially when you land more than one of the stacked Wilds on the reels, especially the first few reels.

In addition, if you land the Fish Party Wilds across the reels then you will trigger the top base game prize for landing five or more across the reels and with this symbol being stacked, it is possible to land it across multiple lines too, which can greatly increase the value of your win. Fill up all five reels with Wilds and you will trigger the base game jackpot of 97,000 coins.

Free Spins features

The Clamshell with the eyes looking out are the Scatter symbols in the game and they serve a dual purpose. If you land two or more of them across the reels, then you will win a prize of between 1x and 100x your total bet.

However, if you can land three or more Scatters, then not only will you claim a cash prize, but you will also trigger the Free Spins bonus game, which will see you earn between 8 and 20 Free Spins, depending on how many Scatters you landed to trigger the bonus game.

This will take you to a new reel set and on this new set of reels, all the higher value symbols on the reels are Stacked across all the reels. This means it is much easier to hit some of those important higher value wins in the Free Spins bonus.

Best of all, if you can land three or more Scatter symbols once again during the Free Spins round, then you can re-trigger the bonus. One of the most exciting features of the Fish Party slot is that it is comparatively easy to hit the Free Spins bonus, and even re-trigger it, compared to some other slot games and it is this frequency of playing the bonus that makes Fish Party one of the more popular Microgaming 5-reel non-progressives.

Best feature of the Fish Party slot

There's no doubt that the Free Spins bonus game and the fact that you can activate it relatively easily compared to some other Microgaming slots, is what makes this game so appealing, but for me I think the most pleasing aspect of the game are those Stacked Wilds in the base game and also Free Spins. They are responsible for so many of those smaller value wins in the base game and they make you feel like you are getting excellent value for money when playing the game. Don't get me wrong, the Free Spins bonus is fantastic, but for me the Wilds just edge it due to how frequently they play a part in you landing a win.

Conclusion

Give the Fish Party slot a few spins and it is not difficult to see why this game is one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to Microgaming slots. It is an immensely popular game thanks to a combination of great low to medium variance game-play, a relatively high top jackpot prize and bonus features which can be triggered relatively quickly and easily. This is without doubt one of Microgaming's finest releases over the years and it is well worth a few sessions of any slot players time.

You can play the Fish Party slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.