Forest Fortune

Forest Fortune Slot Review

Slot Provider: Hacksaw Gaming

RTP: 96.31% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 10,000x

Our Score: 8.4

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About Forest Fortune

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 2nd April 2021

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.

Forest Fortune is a 5×5 Cluster Pays grid slot from Hacksaw Gaming with an enchanting autumnal vibe. Wins are triggered by landing 5 or more symbols in Clusters. In the base game, 1 or more Wilds landing cause a Spreading Wild feature, adding more to the grid and the chance of bigger clusters. In the free spins round just 4 symbols are available, including butterflies and bumblebees that progress multipliers at the top of each reel by up to 100x. The maximum win is 10,000x and spins start at 10p.

Forest Fortune Game Information

  • Release Date: March 2021
  • RTP: 96.31% | 94.37%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 10,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 5
  • Paylines: Cluster Pays
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: NatureFairytale
  • Features: Wilds, Spreading Wilds, Free Spins, Multipliers

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Forest Fortune

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 Forest Fortune for real money at Casumo Casino to test the game and this is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £0.1
  • Start balance: £10.84
  • End balance: £1.39
  • Biggest Win: 33x
  • Free Spins: 0
  • Session Time: 16 minutes 6 seconds

Despite playing 200 spins in which the free spins round NEVER triggered (although on 3 or 4 occasions I came close) I still really enjoyed this game. It’s relaxing vibe and soundtrack make it really easy to sit back and play and the Spreading Wilds were regular enough to keep things interesting. The biggest win I scored was a 33x from a Spreading Wild feature where 10 Wilds were in play. You can see this in the screenshot below. You might think 200 spins without free spins is a bad return but actually, its not that unusual for a high vaiance slot, some of which can go 250 or even 300 spins without showing!

33x win in Forest Fortune
A 33x win from the testing session on Forest Fortune

What We Liked

  • Awesome fixed JP
  • Super high variance
  • Cool Spreading Wilds feature
  • Lots of mulitpliers
  • Nice atmosphere and sounds

What We Didn't like

  • Variance too high for some

Forest Fortune Review Scores

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

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A charming slot with cute graphics and fun features, but don't underestimate it's volatility!"

Overall Score: 8.4

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

Enchanting Graphics and A Mellow Vibe Hide A Ruthless Volatility

Forest Fortune is certainly one of the most serene slots I’ve played in a while. It has a quiet, autumnal feel to it with a mellow forest glade bathed in warm sunshine, whilst a woozy piano soundtrack plays in the background and birds chirp away. This all serves to hide the creeping high volatility game model that lurks beneath the surface. It’s a very cool mix of soft production and tough maths which is in keeping with how Hacksaw like to work.

Forest Fortune by Hacksaw Gaming
Forest Fortune – mellow, autumnal vibe

Overall, the artwork is fantastic, especially when clusters of insects form and they flutter their wings, or the wind blow leaves over the grid to signal a random wild event. And what is also cool is that you’ll notice, as the pace picks up, so too does the soundtrack. Every detail has been well thought out here and Forest Fortune is a pleasure to play.

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.

Forest Fortune reputedly has at least 2 RTP settings – 96.31% or 94.37%. Personally, I’ve only ever seen it running at 94.37%. I verified it at three casinos we regularly use for testing and found the following:

This is a high variance slot like much of Hacksaw’s output and in line with slots like Hand of Anubis or Itero. So despite it’s pleasant look, this will be an unpredictable game with the potential to run cold for a long time. But it’s free spins round is nicely configured to potentially go off at any time too!

Maximum Win

Our Score 8

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.  

The maximum payout in Forest Fortune is 10,000x which is on par for a Hacksaw slot. I know of a few with a higher top payout – both Stormforged and Cursed Seas pay out up to 12,500x for example. If you are looking to chase down more substantial payouts then I recommend trying our list of slots with the highest maximum wins.

Explore Games With Similar RTP, Variance and Maximum Win

Like the numbers? Here are some more games you might want to try.

Slot SiteSupplierRTPVarianceTop Payout
StormforgedHacksaw Gaming96.41%High12,500xPlay Here
Cursed SeasHacksaw Gaming96.22%High12,500xPlay Here
Tasty TreatsHacksaw Gaming96.21%High10,000xPlay Here
The Bowery BoysHacksaw Gaming96.41%High25,000xPlay Here
Time SpinnersHacksaw Gaming96.19%High10,000xPlay Here
RottenHacksaw Gaming96.27%High10,000xPlay Here
BloodthirstHacksaw Gaming96.19%High10,000xPlay Here
Book of TimeHacksaw Gaming%High10,000xPlay Here

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 9

Forest Fortune works on a Cluster Pays system and plays on a 5×5 grid. So, you’ll need to land at least 5 or more symbols touching horizontally or vertically to create a win. The beauty of these games is that you can land clusters of 15 or more for big payouts.

Forest Fortune Paytable
Paytable with 25x win for 15 or more acorns

In Forest Fortune the maximum win is 25x at the top of the table. In some Cluster Pays games you can score even bigger wins. Check out Jammin’ Jars 2 for example with 500x wins for 32 or more symbol Clusters (bear in mind that the grid is larger at 7×7 though!).

Anyway, back to our review and there are 10 pay symbols to look out for. These come in the form of various insects and bugs, valued at from 0.5x for 5 yellow ladybirds up to 150x for 15 or more red ones, and also fruits, nuts and mushrooms valued at from 0.1x for 5 strawberries up to 25x for 15 or more acorns.

Finally, look out for the Wild which is represented by a Leaf and steps in to substitute all other symbols except Scatters when completing wins. In a nice touch it also has a special value when 25 or more land in one cluster – a 1,000x payout!

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 9

Forest Fortune Is Not Stacked With Features But Is Still Fun To Play

The features are beautifully woven into the gameplay in Forest Fortune. Its not a game that is packed with extras, but the ones that are there, make it a really fun slot to play.

Watch For Leaves Blowing Across The Screen In Spreading Wilds

The only base game feature, but one that I saw many times in testing, was the Spreading Wild. This occurs whenever at least 1 Wilds lands after a spin. Now, the wind will start blowing – signalled by leaves blowing across the screen in a random direction – so that all Wilds are cloned in that direction. The number of clones is equal to the number of Wilds that started.

So, if I had 2 wilds on the grid and the wind blowed to the right, those wilds would spread 2 spaces to the right. In total, I would now have 6 wilds.

Now, technically it would be possible to fill the entire grid with Wilds in this way – 25 in total. That is how you unlock the special Wild payout of 1,000x which must look really pleasing on the eye.

Forest Fortune Slot Spreading Wilds Feature
Spreading Wilds feature in the base game

Free Spins Round Stacked With Multipliers

If you’ve played any Hacksaw Gaming slots like Hand of Anubis or Gladiator Legends then you will know that they often come with a free spins round in which multipliers play a big part. Forest Fortune is no exception!

To start, you need to land 3 or more Butterfly Scatter symbols on one spin, anywhere on the grid. I should point out here that in 200 spins in testing I didn’t manage that once, though I did come close a few times landing 2, just not the 3rd.

The Free Spins start round starts with 3 spins and continues until 3 non-winning drops happen consecutively. With each winning drop the counter is reset to 3. So, as long as you keep winning, the counter stays, or goes back to 3 and you keep playing.

The grid is filled differently as there are now only FOUR special symbols and leaf icons, which perform no duty other than to take up space. You will also notice a new Multiplier AND a Progress Bar that sit on top of EACH reel.

Each Blue Butterfly that lands adds a value of between 1 and 100 to the multiplier on top of its reel. Any Green Butterfly that lands multiplies the multiplier at the top of its reel by between 2x and 50x. A Tornado symbol takes all the values from all symbols on the grid when it lands and adds them to EACH of the multipliers at the top of each reel.

And the best part? The Bumblebee. This guy progresses the progress bar at the top of the reel he lands on by one space. There are only 3 positions on each bar and filling ALL of them instantly earns you a 5,000x win!

The Final Verdict

Forest Fortune is another unique game from Hacksaw who rarely disappoint. After testing the game over more than 200 spins I found that regardless of the fact that I never got a look at a free spins round, it was still entertaining enough to make me want to go back for another turn. It must be something about that fruitful atmosphere, serene soundtrack and those benevolent butterflies and bugs.

As far as the all important bonus round goes, it’s also very much a Hacksaw creation. In the best runs, multipliers will accumulate in huge amounts above the reels in epic style, and one particular symbol – in this case the tornado – can power-up your wins significantly if it ever lands. In which case that 10,000x win might just be in reach. The caveat once again of course is that the volatility of Forest Fortune means you will probably have many fruitless spins before the lucky ones land. But that is high risk gaming for you. And if that is your thing, then this is a great slot to test your luck on.

Useful Tips When Playing Forest Fortune

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. Play At A Sensible Stake Level

One of the things I like about Hacksaw Gaming slots is the 10p minimum stake as standard. That means you can play at a low bet level and stretch your balance further to have a chance of unlocking free spins.

2. Be Patient 

When a game doesn’t give you a bonus round in 200 spins you know it is a volatile slot. So, be patient with Forest Fortune because when the bonus does arrive, it might just go off in style!

3. Play With The Sound On

I recommend playing Forest Fortune with the sound on to get the full relaxed atmosphere thanks to that serene piano soundtrack and those chirpping birds! It really adds to the experience!

4. Choose A Licensed Slot Site From Our List

You should only play at slot sites licensed in the UK like the ones listed on this page. That means they are safe and secure and the games have been tested to ensure that they are fair.

Who Made Forest Fortune?

  • Name: Hacksaw Gaming
  • Established: 2018
  • UK License: 54059
  • Total Games: 50 +
  • Known For: Dark, high variance output and bonus rounds driven by combining multipliers
  • Popular Slots: Hand of Anubis, Itero, Gladiator Legends, Break Bones
Find More Hacksaw Gaming slots

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