The Cinder Clockmaker: a clockwork ways slot to play free

Reels that change every spin

Before you have looked at a single symbol, the drum counter above the reels tells you how many ways are in play this time. The Cinder Clockmaker has 6 reels, and on every spin each one shows between 2 and 7 symbols. Short reels mean few ways; tall ones push the total towards the maximum of 117,649. A win needs the same symbol on neighbouring reels from the left. The most common symbols pay from 4 reels, the more precious ones from 3, and when a symbol appears more than once on a reel, every combination is paid.

The poster is a close-up of the clockmaker himself: weathered face, white beard, a brass loupe strapped over one eye, a gear set with a ruby held up in a gloved hand, the faint outline of a clock face behind him. The game has the same amber light and patina. Symbols go from a copper cog, a hairspring, an oil vial and watchmaker's tweezers up through an hourglass, a little bell, a golden gear and a loupe, to the pocket watch and the ruby.

Cascades and the pendulum

Winning symbols burst into gears, the rest fall and new ones arrive from the top; the cascade goes on as long as wins keep appearing. Every win in a cascade moves the pendulum one notch, and wins are multiplied by its current value: ×1, ×2, ×3 and so on, up to ×10. In the base game it goes back to ×1 at the start of every paid spin.

The golden pendulum is the wild. It appears on reels 2 to 6, replaces every symbol except the key and disappears with the combination it completes.

Winding keys, free spins and Midnight

Three or more winding keys on three different reels start 10, 12, 15 or 18 free spins, depending on how many land. The bonus changes several things at once:

• the pendulum starts at ×3 and never drops back between free spins;
• every symbol pays from 3 reels;
• each golden gear that lands pushes the pendulum one extra notch;
• 3 or more keys add more spins.

The clock also counts your winning cascades, one chime each. On the 12th chime, Midnight strikes and the Grand Carillon multiplies everything won so far in the bonus by 2, 3, 5 or 10. It happens once per bonus at most. The maximum win is 5,000× the bet, and a spin stops as soon as it is reached.

How to use the demo

• Play 200 base spins at a fixed stake, the equivalent of £0.40 for instance. Glance at the ways counter before each result: it explains why some spins feel generous and others thin.
• Note how far the pendulum gets in a long cascade.
• Buy the free spins with virtual credits, for 69.6× the bet. Run the bonus three or four times and count the chimes: some rounds race to Midnight, others stop well short of it.

Turbo speeds up the cascades, and tapping the spin button during a spin skips the animations.

Play free, no download

The Cinder Clockmaker demo runs in your browser with no sign-up and no deposit. The credits are virtual and cannot be withdrawn. If you want to play for real stakes, the same slot runs for real money at the casinos listed below.