Sinbad

Sinbad from Quickspin is an original game from 2013 which has undergone an HTML upgrade and an overall polish. Join Sinbad the intrepid sailor in his epic journeys across the East and beyond. Packed full of adventurous slot features, this remake of the original is not to be missed.

Read on for the full review.

SLOT FEATURES	Three Free Game Options, Random Stacked Symbols
RELEASE DATE	23rd March 2021
GAME PROVIDER	Quickspin
SLOT TYPE	Video Slot
THEME	Arabian
REELS, ROWS, PAYLINES	3-4-4-4-3, 40 Paylines
BET LEVELS	£0.40/£80
MAXIMUM WIN	748x Your Stake
SCATTER SYMBOL	Yes: SHIP
WILD SYMBOL	Yes: WILD
BONUS GAME	No
FREE SPINS	Yes
RESPINS	No
MULTIPLIERS	Yes
JACKPOT	No
RETURN TO PLAYER	97.07%
VOLATILITY	Low

Staying true to the original game’s mathematics, Sinbad is a low volatility slot. This is a remnant of Quickspin’s pre-Playtech days, before the deviation to high variance and high potential win designs. The change of direction was most likely encouraged by Playtech to get with the times. Although a little outdated today, Sinbad was and still is a fun game to play.

Features

Base Game:

• Stacked Symbols
• A different set of stacked symbols is selected each spin.

Free Games:

Ape Free Spins

Every time the Ape appears and smashes the reels, one or more locked wild symbols will be awarded. The locked wild symbols will remain locked for the rest of the free spins bonus. This is the most volatile option.

Roc Free Spins

Collect Diamond Scatter symbols to get extra wild symbols and extra free spins. Collect 3 Diamond symbols to get the first extra wild (Sinbad), an additional 4 Diamond symbols awards the second extra wild (Sherardize) and 2 extra spins, an additional 4 Diamond symbols awards the third extra wild (Khalif) and 2 extra spins.

Snake Free Spins

A Snake Wild symbol on the first and the fifth reel awards the Snake feature for that spin. A snake slithers over the game leaving wild symbols near its trail. This is the least volatile option.

Paytable Review

A clean symbol hierarchy with 1 high-tier symbol as the WILD, 5 mid-tier character symbols and 5 low-tier gems. The more valuable two within the mid-tier range are signified with more embellishment in their borders and more gold, standing clearly above the rest of the characters.

As for prizes… Sinbad has 88% of its prizes at or below bet! This is a distinct sign of low volatility. The WILD and PIC1 pay 2 of-a-kind as minimum and seem completely unnecessary as they eat up so much return and only reduce the already low win hit rate further.

Player Profile

Sinbad is a game for the casual player who might like to experiment with the different Free Game options. There isn’t enough volatility or potential in this game to maintain a seasoned player’s interest for very long.

Audio

The game audio is well balanced and immersive. The single win tune for the lower prizes becomes repetitive as numerous wins fall into this group.

Playability

It doesn’t take you long to realise you’re playing a low volatility game; in fact, it is evident within a few spins. Its high win frequency and large number of wins below your bet tell the story early on.

However. Sinbad includes a clever ‘randomly stacked symbols’ mechanic which Quickspin claims ‘ensures interesting wins in the base game’. Technically, one or more symbols are randomly stacked to give the game some gameplay variety. This may seem contrived, and it might just be, but Sinbad frequently pays 5-15x your bet as surprise wins in the base game, which is a nice little pick-me-up. Occasionally, the wins from the stacked symbols in the base game overshadow feature wins.

The game is completely unplayable at default standard spin, weighing in at 5.1s per spin. It’s as though the game isn’t interested in your wager and wants to fall asleep mid spin. The Fast Play option* boosts gameplay to 1.9s making for snappy and active gameplay but attacks your balance considerably quicker. To put this into perspective, the two spin times equate to either £12 per minute or £32 per minute respectively playing £1 bets. Something in between would have been preferable.

_{*This option might not be available in all jurisdictions.}

Scatters are removed from the free games, meaning no retriggers. Considering how often they land and sound the base game; in the free games their absence is incredibly noticeable.

The Scatter landing on reel 2 appears very frequently, every 4 or so spins, blocking line wins every 4 or so spins.

• Win Hit Rate: 1 in 2.8 (estimated)
• Feature Hit Rate: 1 in 150 (estimated)
• 10x Big Win: 1 in 57.5

The Glory Spin

It is unclear how Quickspin’s quoted max win of 748x is achieved. Even during the Ape and Roc Free Games, where wilds are either sticky or stacked, a full screen of wilds doesn’t add up. 5 of-a-kind wilds pay 12.5x where wilds on all 40 lines equates to 500x your bet. What are we missing, Quickspin?

Delights and Surprises

• The high frequency of mid-range prizes is what makes Sinbad appealing.

Shortcomings

• There is a mismatch between Quickspin’s theoretical RTP of 97.07% (quoted in-game), Quickspin’s marketing material of 96.06% and the independent test results of eCogra who calculated the game to run at 96.63%. This isn’t a significant difference, but any RTP mismatch between game and Accredited Testing Facility reduces the integrity of the developer and game.
• The 2 of-a-kind prizes for WILD and PIC1.
• The incredibly small paytable.
• Its low potential win.

Conclusion

It’s questionable why Quickspin chose to resurrect this game. In the HTML5 remake, there is nothing wrong with the production, the visuals are lovely and the audio spot on, it’s just the math that is so outdated. Its low volatility, low win hit rate, small prizes and extremely low win potential are dwarfed by today’s standards. Sure, its high RTP is appealing, as well it should be at 97.07%, but it should be noted that over 70% of this is in the base game leaving a mere 27% for the free games. Free games, typically, are a fizzer.

It’s as though Quickspin realised their volatility was extremely low and added the random stacked symbol feature in a bid to boost it a little, which it has, but at the cost of the free games. Quickspin have done a fabulous job bringing this old favourite into the HTML5 era. But we must ask ourselves, does it remain relevant among the big hitters in recent years? Yes, those nostalgic few reminiscing the original release from many years ago will enjoy a trip down memory lane… but it is doubtful for how long.

Sinbad gets 61 Spins out of 100 based on the following ratings:

PLAYABILITY	85
ORIGINALITY	50
BUILD QUALITY	85
MARRIAGE	75
IMMERSION	85
RUN FOR MONEY	20
INTEGRITY	25
TOTAL	61