Mermaid Riches

Released as an exclusive on 27 August 2021 and then widely on 1 October 2021, Mermaid Riches is probably the most inventive PG Soft title of its generation in mechanical terms. The grid is not rectangular: it takes a pyramid 1-2-3-4-5 shape (one symbol on the first reel, two on the second, and so on) for a total of 120 ways to win. The game's twist arrives in the bonus: the grid flips entirely to 5-4-3-2-1 during the free spins, which completely changes the geometry of the combinations. RTP is 96.71%, with an atypical and rather favourable split: 75.01% in the base game against only 21.70% in the free spins — so non-bonus sessions stay considerably livelier than the catalogue average. Medium volatility. The engine rests on cascades paired with a progressive multiplier: in base play it climbs x1 → x2 → x3 → x5 across successive cascades; in free spins all those values are doubled (x2 → x10 after three cascades) and, decisively, the multiplier is not reset between free spins. The bonus round opens on at least 3 mermaid scatters, awards 8 free spins with +2 spins per additional scatter, and retriggers on 3 fresh scatters. Two wild systems coexist: the golden oyster pearl, which moves to a random position on every paid spin and stays frozen through the cascade sequence, and count-down wilds numbered 1 to 3, showing how many more wins they can take part in before disappearing. On maximum potential, transparency is required: PG Soft advertises 20,000x your stake, but the reference simulations over one billion spins top out at 3,513x. That is a factor of five and a half — the advertised ceiling remains theoretically reachable, but it should not be your yardstick for sizing a session. Finally, the maximum bet is capped at €20 and no bonus buy is available.