Santa’s Xmas Rush

Santa’s Xmas Rush Slot Review

Slot Provider: Pragmatic Play

RTP: 96.51% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 10,000x

Our Score: 7.6

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

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Santa’s Xmas Rush

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 1st November 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.

Santa’s Xmas Rush is a scatter pays Christmas slot from Pragmatic Play. There are tumbles after every win and positions on the grid randomly marked by a snowflake become instant win prizes worth up to 2,500x or trigger re-spins. In the free spins round, marked positions are persistent between spins for the chance to build much bigger wins.

The max payout is 10,000x and spins start at 10p.

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Santa’s Xmas Rush Game Information

  • Release Date: 28.11.24
  • RTP: 96.51% | 95.58% | 94.48%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 10,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: 6
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Christmas
  • Features: Cascading WinsFree SpinsInstant PrizesRe-Spins
  • Format: Scatter Pays

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Santa’s Xmas Rush

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 Santa’s Xmas Rush on Pragmatic Play’s test servers prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: 1
  • Start balance: 100,000
  • End balance: 99,954.55
  • Win Rate: 21.5% (43 winning spins in 200)
  • Biggest Win: 49.2x
  • Free Spins Rounds: 1

Despite its high volatility, Santa’s Xmas Rush rarely stood still with wins coming around 1 in every 5 spins or more on average. And there were very few streaks of 10 or more spins without a win, which kept things interesting. There were plenty of tumble sequences of 2 or 3, and overall this felt like a really entertaining festive game. That said, the pay table values are small so even when you are winning you can be burning down the funds quite quickly, so watch out for that.

Snowflakes appear on the grid on most spins but are ONLY active if a Santa lands too. That happened on just 7 spins out of 200 which isn’t a lot. To get the most out of that feature you need as many snowflakes as possible to be active at once. Most times, only one will be active. On one occasion I had 5 or 6 in play and that produced a 14x win.

Stanta's Xmas Rush Free Spins Win
15 Snowflakes active in the free spins round for a 49.2x win

The best part was the free spins round which triggered just once after 159 spins. That produced a 49.2x win when on the last spin 15 snowflake positions produced instant win prizes. You can see that in the screenshot.

Takeaways? This is a fun, fast-paced game with plenty of wins, albeit small in size on most occasions. One of the better festive games of 2024.

What We Liked

  • Instant win prizes worth up to 2,500x
  • Instant win spots stick between free spins
  • Fun, upbeat festive theme and design
  • Tumbles after every winning spin

What We Didn't like

  • Generic gameplay, not very original

Santa’s Xmas Rush Review Scores

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

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A really fun festive slot with good potential from sticky instant win positions in the bonus round!"

Overall Score: 7.6

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

Santa’s Xmas Rush looks like its set in Lapland with a snowy landscape of fir trees and log cabins in the backdrop, a typically cheery, rosy-cheeked Santa to the right of the reels and a 6×6 grid lined with tinsel, holly and gold coins. The paytable is stacked with festive cheer too, including stockings and gingerbread men with Xmas hats on. It’s a fun-looking game with an upbeat sleighbell soundtrack too. If you want to get in the festive mood, this is a great way to do it!

Sanat's Xmas Rush by Pragmatic Play
Sanat’s Xmas Rush Game Screen

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.

Santa’s Xmas Rush has 3 RTP rates – 96.51%, 95.58% and 94.48% – for casino operators to choose from. There isn’t too much between those but we always advise to play at the maximum RTP rate if you can. To check the setting at your slot site, just hit the ‘I” button under the reels and scroll through until you see Return to Player.

To play at 96.51% RTP we recommend MrQ from Lindar Media which always ran Pragmatic Play slots at the top rate in our tests.

This is also a high volatility slot so expect an uneven distribution of wins. It can blow hot and cold and burn you balance fast so beware.

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 max payout has been capped at 10,000x which is about average for high variance slots from this studio. They have a few with much higher max wins which you can check out in this article.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 7

Santa’s Xmas Rush is a scatter pays slot which means there are NO paylines. You just need to land 6 or more identical symbols ANYWHERE on the 6×6 grid to score a win.

Santa's Xmas Rush Paytable
The paytable with 25x for 12 or more stockings

There are just 7 symbols in the pay table. They are the blue, purple, green and red gems, and the reindeer, gingerbread man and Xmas stocking. They are valued at from 0.25x for 6 blue gems up to 25x for 12 or more stockings.

There is NO wild in this game.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

Familiar features crop up throughout Santa’s Xmas Rush including tumbling wins, instant prizes and free spins. Here is how it works:

Tumbles After Every Win

As with most scatter pays slots, Santa’s Xmas Rush uses a tumble mechanic after each win. Winning symbols are removed from the grid and remaining ones, as well as new symbols from above, drop into spaces left behind. If this creates more wins, the process repeats. And so on, until no more wins are triggered.

NOTE: Scatter symbols always remain on the grid throughout a tumble sequence.

Xmas Rush With Instant Wins

Look out for the snowflake that marks up to 8 positions at random on the grid during the base game. When this happens, at the end of the tumbles, if a Santa symbol is left on the grid then the marked positions become either instant prize values or re-spins symbols.

Instant prizes are 0.5x, 1x, 3x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 30x, 50x, 100x, 200x or 2,500x.

Santa's Xmas Rush Instant Prizes
Instant Prizes in the base game

Prizes are paid out and IF there is a re-spin symbol in there, then after paying out, new values are assigned to their positions. If at this point more Santa’s appear on the grid then the new prize values are added together and multiplied by the number of Santas for the payout.

Free Spins With Persistent Snowflakes

The snow globe is the scatter symbol in Santa’s Xmas Rush. You need 4 or more to land to trigger the free spins feature. When 4, 5, 6 or 7 land on one spin you earn 10, 14, 18 or 22 free spins.

Now the game changes because EVERY time there is a tumble, where symbols are removed as part of a win, the position MAY become marked by a snowflake. If this happens, then the snowflake remains for the rest of the round.

Once again, those snowflake positions trigger either instant prizes of up to 2,500x or re-spins. But now, they remain between free spins to be used again and again. That’s a powerful feature.

The Final Verdict

There is nothing particularly original about the gameplay in Santa’s Xmas Rush but that doesn’t hold the slot back. There is a good amount of tension in seeing how many snowflake positions you can trigger on one spin, and that cranks up further in the free spins round where they become persistent between spins. And certainly the configuration is made to produce the odd big payout form time to time. The production is of a good quality too and those who enjoy traditional festive scenes will be at home. To conclude, Christmas slots aren’t always that good, but Santa’s Xmas Rush is of a high enough standard to make it worth a spin or two over the holiday season.

Useful Tips When Playing Santa’s Xmas Rush

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. Look Out For The Snowflakes

These mark spots where the instant win prizes and re-spins symbols land.

2. Look For Snowglobes

FOUR or more of these trigger the free spins round with persistent snowflakes for bigger prizes.

3. Set Your Stake To A Sensible Level

This is a volatile slot and it can burn your balance down. Use bankroll management and set your stake to a sensible level to avoid an early exit.

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

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

Who Made Santa’s Xmas Rush?

  • Name: Pragmatic Play
  • Established: 2015
  • UK License: Remote 046683-R-325951-014
  • Total Games: 500 +
  • Known For: Wide range of themes and styles, live casino including gameshow formats, and bingo
  • Popular Slots: Fruit Party, Dog House Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Release the Kraken
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