Christmas Tree: Slot Overview

Developer TrueLab Games fully embraces the festive mood in the plainly named slot Christmas Tree. Launched via Yggdrasil’s YGS Masters program, the game pays tribute to the most familiar symbol of Xmas: the tree. Whether it’s a real one with that unmistakable scent or a budget artificial version, nothing signals Christmas quite like a big green tree parked in the living room. TrueLab has placed one front and centre, turning it into the backdrop for a grid slot packed with workshop-worthy features.

Thanks to its outline, Christmas Tree loosely brings to mind Play’n GO’s slot Gold Volcano, as both use a triangular layout. TrueLab goes all-in on the Winter Wonderland vibe, layering in purple-tinted snow, a snowman, a snug house in the distance, and even a star reminiscent of the one said to have guided the three wise men to Bethlehem. It’s difficult to imagine what other Xmas elements the studio could have squeezed in. It’s so seasonal that you have to wonder if anyone will still be keen to play it on boxing day (or beyond) once they’re full of roast meat and eggnog, and their gifts haven’t quite met expectations.

Christmas Tree can be played on any device, with stakes chosen from 40 p/c up to $/€40 per spin. That fairly steep minimum bet may put off some low-rollers who might prefer to take their Christmas cheer elsewhere. Still, an RTP rating of 96.4% should satisfy most players, while the volatility can be as elusive as Santa, showing up only once a year. Christmas Tree also comes with notably high potential, and while chasing it, players can theoretically expect a win roughly every three spins, as the hit frequency has been rated 31.6%.

The game uses a 6 row grid arranged in a 2-3-4-5-6-7 formation, where each higher row contains one fewer symbol until the top row holds only two. There are no paylines or ways to win, as TrueLab uses a cluster pays approach instead. Connect five or more matching symbols diagonally to score a win, which also sets off the cascade mechanic.

The paytable keeps the theme going, beginning with three decorations in green, blue, and purple as the low-paying symbols, then moving to candy canes, sweets, and bells in the mid range. After that come two premium icons – Santa and an Angel. The last standard symbol is a snow globe wild, which substitutes for anything except the Mystery Symbols.

Christmas Tree: Slot Features

Cascades are the main add-on and the usual route into most features if you can chain enough of them together. Alongside that, two random extras can occasionally drop in to deliver the odd bonus win.

First up among the randoms is the Blizzard feature, which can trigger when a cascade sequence ends with no further wins. A freezing gust sweeps across the grid and places 3-9 mystery symbols in random spots. Those mystery gift boxes then all turn into the same symbol – either regular pays or wilds. The second random event can occur on any spin when the snowman on the left stirs and pelts the grid with snowballs, targeting one low or mid symbol type. Every visible instance of that symbol then becomes wild.

Cascades activate after every win. Winning symbols are removed from the grid, allowing new ones to fall into place and potentially create another win from the same spin. Cascades keep going until no additional wins appear. If three or more cascades land consecutively, the game rewards players with one of three presents:

• Coin win – a wheel spins to award a win of 5x to 1,000x the bet.
• Total win multiplier – a different wheel spins to apply a win multiplier of 2x to 30x.
• 5 free spins.

Free spins include multiple perks. The snowman is guaranteed to be active on every spin, throwing snowballs to transform symbols as outlined above. In addition, a progressive win multiplier is added, beginning at x1 and increasing by +1 after each cascade. Free spins cannot be retriggered.

Christmas Tree: Slot Verdict

If you’ve ever wondered what Christmas inside a snow globe might feel like, the Christmas Tree slot offers a pretty convincing sample. Its upbeat festive atmosphere makes Christmas Tree a fitting pick for the holidays. The title ‘Christmas Tree’ may not be the most inspired, but the studio’s dedication to the seasonal theme is hard to fault.

So, was it worth investing in a fresh Xmas release? Overall, it’s a respectable attempt. Christmas Tree delivers the kind of stats players look for, and the gameplay can be genuinely engaging. As with many grid slots, the key is building momentum and keeping the chain going to reach the later, more rewarding parts of the game.

In a few respects, Christmas Tree comes across like Yggdrasil’s own Carol of the Elves. You don’t receive many free spins once you finally get there, but they can be action-packed. A major difference is that Christmas Tree provides roughly 4 times the potential at 25,000 times the bet though the chances of hitting that haven’t been shared, so it’s best to treat the number cautiously. Free spins may take a while to show up, but at least the opportunity exists to get a little reckless. Like sprinting to the tree on Christmas morning and spotting your name on the biggest present, it’s a great moment when it finally lands.