Dolphin Reef: Held Wild Reels and Five-Respin Comparisons

Dolphin Reef’s documented twenty-line feature holds expanded dolphin wilds on reels two and four for five respins. The remaining reels continue around them. This guide follows the trigger and scatter count, distinguishes the pictured release and compares Dolphin Gold, Dolphin Cash, Wacky Waters and Mermaid’s Pearl.

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Reviewed by Paul Stone
Published: May 2021

How Dolphin Reef’s five respins work

The twenty-line rules published by Danske Spil give the feature a specific trigger: a dolphin on reel two and another on reel four in the same result. Those two reels become full wilds and remain held while reels one, three and five respin five times. Any win on the triggering spin is paid as well.

This is not a second chance automatically awarded after a losing spin. The dolphin positions start the feature, whether or not the triggering result also pays. A single dolphin on reel two does not qualify, and two dolphin pictures do not count unless the required reels are covered.

During the feature, the expanded dolphins can also substitute for treasure-chest scatters. Each held reel counts once towards that scatter combination, despite filling three positions. The six visible wild positions therefore do not count as six separate chests. Eurobet’s rule page describes the same counting rule for its expanded wilds.

Line bets and total bets

A payline award uses the amount staked on that line; a scatter award uses the total stake. For example, twenty active lines at 5p each cost £1 for the spin. A hypothetical 100x line award would pay £5, whereas 100x the total stake would be £100. Neither number by itself describes the maximum possible return from a complete bonus.

Check the line selector alongside the total-bet display. Different Dolphin Reef releases need not use the same line count or stake range, and the mobile layout pictured below differs from the twenty-line operator version described here. The rules in the loaded game take precedence over a figure copied from another release.

A trigger result and its five respins

First check reel two, then reel four. The documented feature needs a dolphin on both in the same result. A dolphin on reel two and one on reel three do not satisfy that positional requirement. An ordinary line prize on the qualifying starting result is paid separately from the five respins that follow.

When the feature begins, the two required reels expand into full wild coverage. The remaining reels, one, three and five, make further results around those held columns. The wild positions create possible substitution, but matching symbols must still qualify on the other reels. Two full wild columns do not declare every visible symbol a paying combination.

For an illustrative award sequence, suppose the triggering result pays £1 and the following five evaluations pay £0, £2, £0, £3 and £1. Those example amounts sum to £7. They demonstrate separate result evaluation and addition, not the expected return of a real Dolphin Reef feature. The respin count is a number of evaluations, rather than five guaranteed cash awards.

Two held reels are two scatter contributions

The special scatter substitution counts each expanded dolphin reel once. Three visible dolphin positions in a held column are not three independent treasure-chest scatters. If reels two and four provide the two expanded contributions, the scatter combination still needs another qualifying contribution under the loaded rule.

This distinction can be checked without reading the small paytable in the old image. Count the qualifying reels, then apply the named scatter prize rule. Counting all six visible dolphin positions instead would confuse coverage with contribution. The feature uses the same display for line substitution and scatter counting, but those two evaluations have different units.

A single dolphin before the feature is also not evidence of a guaranteed next-spin transformation. That is a different rule, used by titles such as Icy Wilds when an eligible stack is completed. Dolphin Reef’s documented pair must occupy the specified reels together. Keeping the trigger distinct explains why a non-paying spin alone does not award these respins.

A comparison guide to the four aquatic alternatives

Dolphin Gold is the closer comparison for a dolphin-triggered bonus, but it counts blue symbols and adds golden wild stacks during its free games. Dolphin Cash is the closer comparison for movement: its original wild travels left rather than staying on reels two and four. Their detailed profiles below keep those different dolphins and their roles separate.

Wacky Waters adds a stage before the free games, collecting conditions through Albert’s underwater journey. Mermaid’s Pearl offers several different bonus symbols, including a race and a picking game. Choose those comparisons for a broader bonus structure, rather than expecting the same short five-respin feature. The underwater artwork provides the visual connection; the cause of the next result provides the mechanical difference.

Why the pictured release needs its own check

The retained Dolphin Reef image is a mobile-style five-by-three board with numbered line markers and a treasure chest in the lower-right position. Markers around the image include numbers beyond twenty. It therefore should not be used as evidence that every Dolphin Reef release has exactly the documented twenty-line setup.

The written pair-of-dolphins rules come from the cited operator version. When opening another offered game, match the full title, visible line setting and help before applying those figures. The old balance and bet fields identify one captured state. They do not establish a universal stake range, current provider relationship or maximum return.

Following a held reel rather than a general sticky label

A reel held for five results is a specific duration. A wild moving after each paid spin has another duration and can bring a fresh cost into the sequence. A wild retained throughout a free-game round has yet another stopping condition. These differences explain why the common word “sticky” cannot settle the comparison.

Locate what ends the named feature. Dolphin Reef has its five-respin count; Dolphin Cash’s travelling wild leaves the grid; Wacky Waters first collects the later bonus conditions. The detailed profiles supply those individual rules. A longer animation or more visible wilds does not establish a higher return, and an unused counter is not money owed by the game.

Games like Dolphin Reef

The clearest comparisons are about what the wilds do. Dolphin Gold adds golden wild stacks during free games; Dolphin Cash moves a wild left across successive spins. Wacky Waters builds a bonus through a separate underwater journey, and Eyecon’s Mermaid’s Pearl divides its features between a race, a clam-picking game and free spins.

Dolphin Gold uses forty paylines and two different dolphin symbols. Blue dolphins start the free games; gold dolphins act as wilds within them. Under the published operator rules, six blue dolphins award three free games. Each additional blue dolphin adds three more, up to twenty-one games for twelve symbols.

The blue symbols appear on reels two, three and four. During free games, gold-dolphin stacks are added to reels two through five. Those gold wilds substitute for ordinary symbols, but cannot stand in for the blue bonus dolphins. Six or more blue dolphins can retrigger the feature.

The distinction from Dolphin Reef is the trigger count and the wild behaviour. Reef holds two particular reels for five respins; Gold counts a larger group of blue symbols and adds wild stacks to its bonus reels. The shared dolphin artwork does not make the bonuses interchangeable. For another dolphin-themed title, see Dolphin’s Island.

Wacky Waters has fifteen fixed paylines and several separate features. Eurobet’s game guide explains that Albert the puffer fish starts Puffin’ Up from the middle of reel three, adding up to six extra wilds at random positions. This changes individual positions rather than holding two complete reels.

Three or more Cash Crab scatters open a picking bonus. Anchor symbols on reels one, three and five instead start Albert’s Underwater Bonus. Choose a route for Albert to collect free games, wilds and multiplier increases; air bubbles let his journey continue. The collected items then apply to the free games that follow.

Choose this comparison for the extra stage between the reels and the free-spin round. Dolphin Reef’s feature starts directly from its pair of dolphins, while Wacky Waters first builds the conditions for its bonus. Aquarium and Golden Fishtank offer further underwater themes.

Dolphin Cash uses a moving dolphin wild. Its original game-help screens show the wild arriving on reel five, then moving one position left on each following spin until it leaves the grid. That is different from Dolphin Reef’s two stationary wild reels. A moving wild does not itself mean that the next base-game spin is free.

Three or more coin scatters award twelve free games with tripled wins. That round cannot be retriggered. Wild positions already present in the main game are saved until the bonus ends, rather than carried into the free games. Moon bonus symbols on reels one and five open a separate coin-collecting dolphin jump.

Where XtraWin is offered, it adds 50% to the stake and creates an extra shifting wild beside a dolphin arriving on reel five. It is a paid setting, not a free enhancement. Compare the total cost before using it. The aquatic setting also connects Dolphin Cash with Mermaids Millions and Dolphin Gold Stellar Jackpots, although those are separate titles.

Eyecon’s Mermaid’s Pearl has twenty-five paylines and three different bonus symbols. In its original help screens, three, four or five mermaids award fifteen, twenty or twenty-five free games. Black-pearl clams on reels two and four increase the free-game multiplier by one, up to 10x. These free games cannot be retriggered.

Seahorses and ordinary clams have separate jobs. Three or more seahorses start a race whose prize depends on the selected seahorse’s finishing position. Three, four or five clam scatters give one, two or three picks in each row of the clam bonus: the upper row provides cash values and the lower row multipliers.

This is a comparison for someone who wants several different bonus rounds within an aquatic setting. Reef’s central feature is a short sequence with two held reels; Mermaid’s Pearl separates its race, picking round and growing free-game multiplier. Check that the version is Eyecon’s, since other games share the name. Dolphin Treasure is another sea-themed title to compare.

If you enjoy Dolphin Reef, try these

Dolphins, seahorses, starfish and treasure chests give the image its underwater identity. The displayed line markers and compact five-column layout identify the pictured release more specifically than a generic aquatic label. Compare the help attached to that release with the documented operator rules before transferring line-count or stake figures.

More Aquatic themed slots to try

Dolphin Gold, Golden Fishtank and Wacky Waters continue the aquatic theme. The cards also include Aztec Gems, which has an ancient-civilisation setting rather than an underwater one. A shared place in the catalogue should not be taken to mean that all four use the same theme or bonus.

Dolphin Reef versions and provider information

Dolphin Reef appears in the NextGen catalogue on SlotsLike, while the demo panel on this page identifies its provider as Playtech. Use the loaded game’s title and help screen to identify the release you are viewing, rather than assuming that every listing has identical settings.

The published RTP figures also differ: Danske Spil’s twenty-line guide gives 93.458%, while Eurobet’s version gives 95.01%. These are theoretical long-run figures for those configurations, not predictions for a session. A different line count or provider label is a reason to check the rules again before comparing payout numbers.

The NextGen catalogue below includes The Codfather, Justice League, Merlins Millions and Irish Eyes 2. You can also browse Great Wild Elk, Doctor Love On Vacation and Merlins Money Burst. These links broaden the studio comparison; the four illustrated profiles above explain the closer aquatic and bonus-feature connections.

Dolphin Reef facts and figures

The table distinguishes the documented twenty-line rules from the retained mobile illustration and other releases. Historical catalogue ranks do not establish the current offered version.

Dolphin Reef screenshot: mobile layout. Check the loaded game for its line count and rules.

Other bonus features to compare

Dolphin Reef’s five respins require dolphins on the specified reels. The free-spin and retry categories below offer broader comparisons, but a bonus awarded after a losing spin is a different trigger from Dolphin Reef’s.

Other slots with Free Spins

Our Recommended slots with Free Spins are Madder Scientist, Dolphin Treasure, Bork The Berzerker Hack N Slash Edition and Drone Wars.

A different trigger: respins after a losing result

Buccaneer Blast and Diamond Hill appear in the no-win-respin category. Keep that category separate from Dolphin Reef: its trigger is the pair of dolphins, and the starting spin can also pay. Read each game’s own conditions before treating its retry feature as equivalent.

Dolphin Reef slot sites FAQs

Dolphin Reef Pros and Cons

The feature’s strength is a specific pair of held reels and a short respin sequence. The limitations concern trigger positions, separate scatter counting and differing editions behind similar Dolphin Reef artwork.

Pros

• Two held wild reels give the respin feature a clear visual focus
• Features a respin feature for extra chances after a spin
• Separate line and scatter awards provide two ways to evaluate the result
• Five respins hold reels two and four while the other reels continue

Cons

• The undersea and dolphin theme won’t be for everyone
• No progressive jackpot on offer
• Line counts and payout settings differ between releases
• The cited operator RTP figures are below 96%