Contrary to the popular belief, luck of the Irish has little to do with good fortune and the term did not sail to America together with the first Irish immigrates; it has been coined on the American soil at the turn of the 19th century and widely used among gold miners, who needed to keep their spirit up and persevere through particularly harsh conditions while mining for gold.
Although commonly misconstrued as a concept of having good luck, the phrase actually refers to a positive and optimistic attitude when prospects are bleak – a skill any gambler should develop, especially if playing online slot machines. It is, therefore, no wonder that a number of gaming software developers have been inspired by the Irish Luck notion, featuring not only the popular symbols from Irish folklore, but also using the theme to convey a message and attract potential players with the promise of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If you are a firm believer in symbolism and ready to keep your chin up through a few dry spins in order to get to the Leprechaun’s gold, here are some of the most popular slots that fit the Irish luck concept perfectly:
Irish Eyes by Microgaming
Offering a traditional interpretation of the theme, Irish Eyes is a standard 3 rows and 5 reels slot with 25 adjustable paylines. The maximum bet per line is $2.00, with a potential bet multiplier of x100, which the player can land in the bonus game. The highest grossing symbol of the game is The Leprechaun – the slot’s Wild icon – which can generate up to 10,000 coins for the combination of five icons. Scatter symbol is the proverbial Irish Maiden, which can not only cash out up to 100 coins but will also unlock Free Games Feature. Once activated, this feature will initiate the session of 12 Free spins that can be re-activated by a new Scatter icon and during which all winnings will be tripled.
The landing of the Wild symbol on the reels 1 and 5 will trigger the Pick and Win Feature, where the player gets to play the picking game and reveal an award. This feature can be unlocked during both base game mode and during the free spins and has the potential of increasing the won amount by x100.
Golden Shamrock by NetEnt
Overloaded with symbols that are meant to bring you good luck, this 5 reels and 20 adjustable paylines video slot by NetEnt can cash out 200,000 coins, which, with 96.4% return to player rate, would categorize Golden Shamrock as a medium to low volatility game.
The strongest features of the slot are its symbols, audio and sharp graphics. The Leprechaun is the Wild symbol, which can expand after landing on reels 2, 3 and 4. Golden Clover brings even more of good luck in the combination of 3, when the Free Spins are activated. During this mode, additional scatters can re-activate the bonus session and award 1-5x multipliers. Other high value symbols are the Pot of Gold, Golden Horse Shoe, The Harp, Leprechaun’s Hat, Pipe, Beer Glasses and the Accordion.
As far as the bonus features are concerned, Golden Shamrock is not too extravagant and Free Spins and multipliers are pretty much all you get. The visual aspect and RTP are a sufficient compensation for the lack of more original bonuses and this slot remains one of the all time favourites among NetEnt fans.
Plenty O’ Fortune by Playtech
Plenty O’ Fortune promises a lot with its intro and definitely manages to deliver – the bonuses include Free Games, Wishing Well Bonus and End of The Rainbow Bonus. In addition to the base game symbols – Wild Rainbow, Wishing Well, Pot of Gold, Leprechaun, Plenty of Fortune logo and standard A, K, Q and 10 – additional icons will appear during the Free Bonus game, multiplying the total bet by 1x, 2x and 5x.
The Leprechaun icon in combination of 3 and positioned on reels 2, 3 and 4 will unlock 12 bonus spins. The spins cannot be re- triggered during the bonus mode and once the 12 spins are completed, the player will be returned to the base game. Wishing Well icons will trigger the extra feature regardless of their landing position. The prize will depend on the number of icons that unlocked the bonus feature – for example, if Wishing Well mode was triggered by 4 icons, the winning amount will be doubled, or even 10 times as high if 5 icons activated the feature.
The road to the riches is not easy, so once the End of the Rainbow Bonus is triggered, the player will need to help the Leprechaun reach the pot at the Rainbow’s end, collecting the pots with smaller coin amounts along the way.
Lucky Leprechauns by Saucify
A more psychedelic approach to the theme, Lucky Leprechauns slot is a 5 reels and 40 adjustable paylines video slot, with a betting range of $0.01 to $100. Sticking to the bonus features basics, Saucify does not offer anything more than Free Spins and the Lucky Leprechaun which can randomly transform any icon into the Wild.
Still, even with the limited number of special features it provides, this slot definitely falls under a slot category with a strong visual appeal and a decent payout of 40,000 coins.
Rainbow Jackpots by Red Tiger Gaming
When it comes to bonus features and visuals, Rainbow Jackpots is definitely one of the best interpretations of the theme. The Free Spins bonus is launched with the formation of three Pot of Gold icons and the feature is turned into Mega Free Spins when the Lucky Leprechaun awards extra spins sessions. The same symbol triggers the Triple Beer Bonus, where each beer mug can generate a generous winning and reveal a 200x, 300x and 500x multiplier. The counterpart of this feature is the Beer Bonus that comes with smaller multipliers of 30x, 50x and 100x.
Another advantage of the Rainbow Jackpot slot is that its symbols can be swapped with the higher value icons and Wilds during Symbol Swap or Mega Symbol Swap feature, offering much higher payouts.
