Rhyming Reels: Hearts & Tarts Pokie Machine
Rhyming Reels: Hearts & Tarts is an online pokie that’s based on the old nursery rhyme about the Queen of Hearts who made some tarts which get nicked by a Knave. The Kings beats him up and the Knave promises not to do it again. It’s one of the less well-known subject matters in Microgamings’ Rhyming Reels range that also includes Georgie Porgie and Jack and Jill, but just because it’s not so famous it doesn’t mean the games is no good.
It’s got 5 reels, 30 paylines, stacked wilds for extra winning chances and a high-paying free spins game, along with a bet range that should suit most bankrolls.
Opening up the Game
It’s been designed to look like a book of nursery rhymes, with the reels resting across its pages, and a restful red background to it all. The game title is above the reels and below them is a series of control buttons that can be used to select bet sizes, the number of lines activated and to actually spin the reels.
For some reason, the normal format used by Microgaming has been changed a little, so anyone wanting to use the Expert mode, which lets them spin the reels for a set number of times, until a particular amount has been won or lost, will need to look below the control buttons to find these options.
The minimum stake is just 0.01, which activates a single line out of the 30, so upping this to 0.30 per spin and covering all lines will see all winning combinations paid out. The value of a coin can be adjusted up to 0.25, and up to 10 coins can be placed on each line, giving an overall maximum bet of 75.00.
Rhyming Reels: Hearts & Tarts
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The usual 10, J, Q, K and A icons are included as the lower value symbols, with the 10 being worth 3x, 10x or 30x the coin amount per line, when 3, 4 or 5 land on an active line running from the left side reel.
Moving up to the A, players win 10x, 30x or 100x for the same combination, while the picture symbols that are related to the theme include oven gloves, a plate of heart-shaped tarts, some attractive maids, the Knave in a woolly hat and the rather plump Queen herself who is worth 100x, 300x or 1000x the coins bet on a line.
Our beautiful Queen can be stacked on the reels, which will improve the odds of getting a winning spin, potentially contributing to several wins at once.
The Rhyming Reels: Hearts & Tarts logo is wild and when it appears, it can act as all except the scatter symbol if that means it will complete a winning combination. Not only will any wins created this way be doubled in value, it will also pay the highest wins in the base game when making up a row on its own, with 20x for just 2 of them on a line, while getting a full line of 5 will pay out 4000x.
A crown is a scatter symbol, so it can land anywhere on the reels with just 2 of them being worth a payout of 2x the total triggering bet, while 3, 4 or 5 of them pay 3x, 20x or 200x the bet amount, and also launch a free spins game.
10 spins will play out, during which any wins will be doubled in value. To help get some of those wins, the wild symbol will be stacked for the duration, and if it completes any lines, the resulting payout will be quadrupled, with the potential for the jackpot of 2,400,000 coins to be claimed in the free spins round.
If 3 or more scatters land again, the free spins will be re-triggered, with the new ones being added to the end of the current games.
A Heart Warming Game?
Rhyming Reels: Hearts & Tarts is a good-looking pokie that complements the Rhyming Reels range. It’s probably the least played of them, simply because the rhyme isn’t so popular, but players shouldn’t overlook it as the bonus features can be pretty rewarding.
If there’s any issues with it, they are pretty minor ones. The high card symbols are the same ones that feature across much of the Microgaming range, but this could either be seen as repetitive or a positive thing.
Another thing that’s missing is a gamble game, but again, this could be a good thing, as these are usually a good way to lose money rather than win more.