Crystal Mystery Introduction
Crystal Mystery, an exciting online pokie from GameArt, is available to play on browsers and mobile or tablet devices. This free pokies game sees you taking on the role of an intrepid explorer or treasure hunter in search of a mythical crystal skull and other wondrous treasures of the ancient world. This is a five-reel pokie with 10 fixed active playlines, with prizes awarded for successful two-, three-, four- and five-of-a-kind matches.
There are also free spins to win and the option to double your winnings multiple times. The game has a strong Aztec or Mesoamerican theme, starring a character who bears a strong resemblance to Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider videogame franchise, while the skull itself may well be familiar to fans of the Indiana Jones film series.
Prize quest
The female explorer/treasure hunter is the most valuable regular symbol and finding five of her on an active payline will award the maximum normal prize. Second is the pyramid symbol, which carries a maximum prize of the same value as the maximum scatter win.
At the other end of the prize table are the Q, J and 10 symbols, which all award the same size prize; however, with numerous chances to win and bonus features, these slightly smaller amounts can soon add up.
This game also features a scatter symbol: the crustal skull. This functions in a slightly differently way to some other pokies. As previously mentioned, in addition to awarding a top prize equal to that of the pyramid symbol for finding five in any configuration regardless of paylines, this symbol can also be used to trigger the bonus round.
Finding three, four or five symbols will trigger this bonus round, which begins by awarding you 10 free spins. During this round you will be assigned a random mystery symbol at the start of each spin. The game first calculates all regular line wins before expanding the mystery symbol on the reel and awarding prizes on winning lines accordingly.
Surprisingly, this bonus round can actually be retriggered indefinitely during the free spins, meaning that there are some serious opportunities to rack up big winnings; in addition, the crystal skull symbol itself can be used to substitute any regular symbol as part of a winning combination on a payline.
Cards on the table
In addition to the regular wins and the bonus free spins mode, there is a gambling option for those who are feeling lucky. After any win, the autoplay button changes to ‘gamble’ temporarily and clicking on this will trigger the gambling mode. In this mode there is a randomly-selected playing card lying face down and you have to decide whether it is black or red.
A successful gamble will double your initial win; however, guessing incorrectly will result in you not winning anything. Using this feature, you can gamble each win up to five times, with the current winnings from each successful gamble being doubled. This can result in some very big payouts if you are lucky.