Jolly Dicers: Overview

Jolly Dicers is an offbeat online slot released by Dice Lab, a studio that clearly can’t get enough of six-sided gaming objects. It’s the second Dice Lab title to appear on our site, following the strangely enjoyable Sugar Cubes. That cute little game did things its own way and worked well enough as a bit of light fun. With their follow-up, Jolly Dicers, the style is even more niche than the first outing. It’s fair to say it doesn’t look or feel like much else out there.

That said, Jolly Dicers isn’t short on interesting ideas, and its huge potential is likely the main hook. If the thought of rolling dice on a ship rocking at sea sounds appealing, then step aboard.

Whether Jolly Dicers clicks for you largely comes down to its presentation. The visuals and animations have a gentle bobbing vibe, similar to noughties PC titles like Tales of Monkey Island, or even Age of Booty if you stretch it. The action unfolds on a ship’s deck, and the screen is busy. Symbols drop into a 4×4 inner grid, surrounded by a 1×1 outer grid that holds special symbols. Under this 6×6 matrix, a captain and his mate crank wheels each spin to keep everything moving. It’s a cool idea and somewhat reminiscent of NetEnt’s Finn and the Swirly Spin, though it’s also easy to imagine it getting on some players’ nerves. With so much motion happening at once, an option to disable animations would have been welcome. Still, some players will enjoy the added ambience.

Before you set the pirates in motion, you’ll need to choose your stake. Tap the coin icon and pick anywhere between 10 p/c and $/€100 per spin. Auto spin is included, though note that free spins still have to be played manually even if auto is switched on. On the stats side, there’s a bit to cover. RTP is notable: it sits at 96.39% in the base game, which is decent, and then jumps to 97.5% during the Gamble Game (covered below). Volatility is also on the high side, rated 4/5 on Dice Labs Richter scale, so expect some chilly stretches between the better hits.

Wins land when 4 or more identical symbols connect vertically or horizontally. When a cluster pays, it disappears, allowing new symbols to drop in and potentially create additional wins. The standard symbols are dice faces 1-6, made from different coloured wooden pieces. Higher numbers mean higher payouts, ranging from 4 ‘ones’ paying 0.4x the stake up to 16 ‘sixes’ paying 9.6 times the stake. There’s also a wild that travels along the Orbiting mechanism in the base game, and it can substitute for any dice symbol to help complete clusters.

Jolly Dicers: Features

Jolly Dicers leans heavily on its extra modifiers to deliver most of the excitement. In the base game, there are 4 different ones that can increase your returns:

• Magic Potion – If two magic potion symbols land directly opposite each other horizontally or vertically, the dice symbols between them are transformed into the highest value symbol.
• Bombs – When two bomb symbols appear directly opposite each other, the dice symbols between them are blown away, and the value of each destroyed symbol is totalled and paid.
• Cutlass – Two cutlasses positioned opposite each other remove the low-paying dice symbols 1, 2, and 3, paying out the combined value of those symbols.
• Pistol – Two matching cutlasses opposite each other eliminate the high-paying 4, 5, and 6 dice symbols and award a payout based on their values.

The main attraction, though, is the Free Spins bonus. When 2 scatter coin symbols land opposite each other on the Orbiting Reel, they trigger 6 free spins. The bonus uses a 4×4 grid with the same dice symbols as the base game. At the beginning of every spin, two dice are rolled, and the numbers shown are removed from the following spin to improve the odds of landing wins. If a double appears, for example 2 sixes, then the six symbols are removed and one extra spin is awarded. The bonus also includes a multiplier that begins at x1 and rises by +1 with each cascade. The multiplier resets at the start of every new spin.

The final feature is the Gamble Game, and this is where things can get wild. It becomes available when 6 consecutive cascades happen in the base game or during free spins. The scene changes to an unfortunate character walking the plank. You roll dice and can win up to 6x the gambled amount, with up to three consecutive gambles allowed.

Jolly Dicers: Verdict

Jolly Dicers wasn’t the easiest slot to assess. It takes a bit of time to understand the full package and decide how you feel about it, because at first it can seem somewhat chaotic. You can tell the developers poured themselves into it, and the extra elements and constant animation may take some getting used to. A good example is the awkward way the Orbiting Reel shifts special symbols around. It was clearly designed to mimic a creaky rope-driven system, but it can be distracting early on. The same applies to the two pirates cranking the reels. So far, both Dice Lab slots benefit from a demo session or two before they really make sense.

If you’re undecided about giving it a go, the win potential could be the deciding factor—or it might not. As with many parts of Jolly Dicers, there’s a catch. The maximum win from the base game + free spins isn’t exactly thrilling at 533 times the bet. However, just like the RTP, the potential is supercharged in the Gamble Game. If you fully max out the Gamble Game, winnings from the base game + free spins can be boosted by up to 216x (6x6x6). That puts the overall top prize at an enormous 115,528 times the bet. It’s a jaw-dropping figure, though likely paired with equally jaw-dropping odds. And despite how big the number is, there’s a strong chance the maximum payout will be capped.

All in all, Jolly Dicers has some weaker points—it can feel overly complicated and a bit like it’s trying too hard, which will turn certain players away. Still, there are strengths here that may take longer to notice. For players who like to chase big swings, the Gamble Game could be a real draw. Jolly Dicers is unusual and does a solid job of creating a piratey mood, even if it’s tougher to warm to than Sugar Cubes. Credit to Dice Lab for taking a different route, because the end result is bound to suit some tastes far more than others.