Circle of Sylvan

Circle of Sylvan Slot Review

Slot Provider: Fantasma Games

RTP: 96.38% | Variance: Medium | Maximum Win: 5,542x

Our Score: 7.6

Play at Grand Ivy Casino
QUICK LINKS: Game Information | Where To Play | Full Review | Testing Notes | Tips For Players | About The Developer

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About Circle of Sylvan

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 24th May 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Circle of Sylvan is a magical slot from Fantasma Games with a medium variance and 720 win ways on each spin. It comes a Jackpot Wheel in the base game with prizes of up to 5,000x. Landing Sylvan symbols increases the size of the prizes and eventually triggers the wheel. The free spins round is a Hold and Win game with a special multiplier taken from a multiplier meter that is active in all game phases. The top win is 5,542x and spins start at 10p.

Circle of Sylvan Game Information

  • Release Date: 30.05.24
  • RTP: 96.38% | 94.41%
  • Variance: Medium
  • Maximum Win: 5,542x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 3-3-4-4-5
  • Paylines: 720
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: FantasyMagic
  • Features: Free SpinsHold and WinMultipliersWilds
  • Format: 5-Reel

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Circle of Sylvan

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 200 spins on Circle of Sylvan on Fantasma Games test server prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: 1
  • Start balance: 10,000
  • End balance: 10,013.80
  • Win Rate: 16% (32 winning spins in 200)
  • Biggest Win: 42x
  • Free Spins Round: 2

Despite a relatively low win rate – just 16% of base game spins triggered a win – there was always a lot going on in this slot. That’s because Sylvan symbols dropped many times, easily on 1 in 4 spins, triggering animations that lit up the tree and grew the jackpots. So as a result the game feels much busier than the win rate suggests.

Jackpot Wheel in Circle of Sylvan
A 29.5x win on the Jackpot Wheel

In 200 spins I got 4 Jackpot Wheels with wins of 29.5x, 12x, 12x and 6.5x. These were made up of 2 of the lowest value jackpots and 2 of the second lowest. Then the free spins Hold and Win dropped twice, producing wins of 42x and 32.4x. How successful you are there depends in part on the multiplier meter. On both occasions I had only increased it to 2x by the time the round triggered, which is an indicator of how hard it is to grow it. You’d have to play for a long time to earn a high value multiplier.

Circle of Sylvan Free Spins Round
The free spins round in play with a 2x multiplier

What We Liked

  • Fun progressive multiplier and jackpot features
  • Jackpot wheel with up to 5,000x prizes in base game
  • Hold and Win game in free spins round
  • Amazing magical visuals and soundtrack
  • Medium variance brings on regular wins

What We Didn't like

  • Relatively low max win

Circle of Sylvan Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 9
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 7
  • Symbols and Paytable 7
  • Features and Gameplay 8

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"Awesome production and nicely balanced gameplay make this a really fun slot to play with regular wins and chances to spin for the big jackpots."

Overall Score: 7.6

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

Superb Atmosphere In This Magical Game

Fantasma are known for their fantastical game themes and designs so the mystical style of Circle of Sylvan comes as no surprise. The backdrop is a river, forest and mountains, lit up by silvery moonlight. A solitary tree sits to the left of the grid and in front of it a giant gold and purple circle with another tree inside of that, emanating gold coins. Its all very enchanting and the soundtrack adds a further magical vibe to proceedings that fans of this studio will no doubt appreciate.

Circle of Sylvan by Fantasma Games
Circle of Sylvan – a magical setting for an enchanting game

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Circle of Sylvan has 2 RTP rates – 96.38% and 94.41%. Any slot site you play at will choose for themselves which rate they run the game at. To be honest there is not much to choose between the two, but we recommend playing at 96.38% if you can. Sites like Casumo and Grand Ivy usually run Fantasma Games at the optimum RTP settings.

Circle of Sylvan is a medium volatility game. So it is not as volatile as most of the slots we review here. It may be more forgiving and the wins may be more evenly spread making this one a good entry point for casual slots fans trying out Fantasma Games for the first time.

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

Reflecting the mid-range volatility the win potential in Circle of Sylvan is just 5,542x. That’s still the chance to win over £5,000 with a £1 bet, but there are much bigger max wins out there if this doesn’t float your boat.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 7

The game plays out on a slightly unusual 5-reel grid with a Christmas tree shape of 3-3-4-4-5 rows. It is a win ways game which means wins are triggered by landing 3 or more identical symbols on adjacent reels from left to right, regardless of the row they land on.

Circle of Sylvan Paytable
The paytable with 8x for 5 top paying premiums

That gives you 720 win ways per spin (3x3x4x4x5).

The pay table has 8 pay symbols. The 4 low value ones are the spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts. These are valued at from 0.2x for 3 clubs up to 1.2x for 5 hearts. The premium symbols are the owl, hawk, wolf and bull, valued at from 0.8x for 3 owls up to 8x for 5 bulls.

There is also a Wild represented by the letter W. That will substitute for any pay symbol to complete a win. It only lands on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

There are jackpots and a Hold and Win free spins round in Circle of Sylvan with some interesting progressive features built in too. Here is how they work.

Jackpot Wheel

First you have the jackpot wheel which can only be activated by landing Sylvan symbols – gold coins with trees on them – anywhere on the grid.

You’ll notice jackpot values displayed above each reel. When a Sylvan symbol lands it increases the value of the jackpot above it by 0.5x the stake. The jackpots are as follows:

  • Reel 1 – 5x to 75x
  • Reel 2 -10x to 100x
  • Reel 3 -50x to 250x
  • Reel 4 -200x to 1,000x
  • Reel 5 -1,000x to 5,000x

When the Jackpot Wheel is activated then it will spin and land on a colored segment representing the prize value for that jackpot level with a top prize of 5,000x.

Free Spins Multiplier and Free Spins

The bonus scatter is represented by the letters B-O-N-U-S. You need one to land on each of the reels to trigger the free spins round. That gets you 3 spins.

But before that happens, in the base game you have a chance to build a multiplier that will be applied during the free spins round. The multiplier grows when bonus symbols land on ONLY four reels. Then a point is added to the multiplier meter instead. When you have 2 points in that meter, then the multiplier goes up a level.

The levels are as follows:

1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x, 10x, 12x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x.

When the free spins round starts – when you land B-O-N-U-S on all 5 reels – then those bonus symbols LOCK into position and convert into coins. Remaining positions become individual spinning symbols which may only settle as blanks or more coins.

When coins land, they lock into position too and the counter re-sets to 3 spins.

If you manage to fill a reel with coins then they are all collected as prizes and the positions unlock again.  And … another point is added to the multiplier meter.

Only when you run out of spins is the total prize evaluated and the multiplier applied before a payout is made.

The Final Verdict

This is a really well constructed slot game. The audio and visuals are superb and knit perfectly with the gameplay which is nicely balanced so that Sylvan symbols are regularly dropping and pushing up those jackpots whilst moving you closer to the next jackpot wheel event. It helps that this is a medium variance game so it will trigger its features more regularly than high volatility games. Certainly that was the case in our test session which produced 2 free spins rounds and 4 jackpot wheels in just 200 plays. Overall, this is an excellent place to start for anyone new to Fantasma, or for those who just enjoy magic-themed games with charming visuals.

Useful Tips When Playing Circle of Sylvan

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Watch The Jackpot Values Increase On Each Reel

Every time you land a Sylvan symbol the jackpot value on its reel will increase. This will be reflected in the prizes available when the game finally triggers. So keep watching for Sylvans!

2. Watch For BONUS Symbols on EVERY Reel

You need a BONUS symbols on ALL reels to trigger the free spins round. So watch out for those to drop. And remember, if only 4 reels are covered then you still get the benefit of increasing your multiplier.

3. Play At A Sensible Stake

Follow our bankroll management advise and play at a sensible stake level to avoid burning out too quickly whilst you chase down those features. You only have to bet 10p per spin.

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

We have chosen the slot sites on this page because they score high in our reviews and they are all licensed by the UK Gambling Commission which makes them fair and safe places to play slots.

Who Made Circle of Sylvan?

  • Name: Fantasma Games
  • Established: 2017
  • UK License:
  • Total Games: 30 +
  • Known For: Fantasy-style games, Megaways slots, original and innovative features
  • Popular Slots: Heroes Hunt Megaways, Hades - River of Souls, Flower Fortune Megaways
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