Play Crown Gems

Some slots arrive with bonus meters, expanding grids and enough side mechanics to require a decent memory. Crown Gems goes the other way. Barcrest keeps things to 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 paylines, with cards, coloured gemstones and a crown doing all the work. There are no bonus rounds or special symbol tricks hiding behind the reels. We get a straightforward classic setup, which feels almost rebellious by modern standards. 

Big gemstones are very much the point here. The reels use a dark blue backdrop with polished red, blue and green stones sitting above the usual card symbols, while the crown takes the top position on the paytable. 

Barcrest keeps the presentation deliberately close to older casino machines. There aren't elaborate characters wandering across the screen or cinematic sequences waiting between spins. Instead, bright colours, shiny gems and simple reel animations create most of the visual interest. 

The soundtrack follows the same approach, with familiar slot effects taking priority over anything atmospheric. Crown Gems certainly looks older than many current online slots, but we think the uncluttered design still has some appeal. Nothing distracts from the reels, mainly because there isn't much available to do the distracting. 

Card symbols make up the lower half of the paytable, followed by three coloured gemstones and the crown. The values below show potential payouts for 3, 4 and 5 matching symbols. 

• Wild: Crown Gems doesn't use a Wild symbol, so winning combinations must be formed entirely from matching regular symbols. 
• Scatter: There is no Scatter symbol in the game and no Scatter based bonus round. 
• Bonus symbols: No separate Bonus symbol appears on the reels. 

No Bonus Round 

Crown Gems doesn't include a separate bonus round. There are no free spins, respins, pick features or collection meters to activate. 

That means every potential payout comes directly from the main reels. For some online casino games, simplicity is simply a starting point before the extra mechanics arrive. Here, simplicity is the whole structure. 

No Wild or Multiplier Mechanics 

There are also no Wild substitutions or multiplier features changing the value of a winning line. Three or more matching symbols need to land naturally across the active paylines. 

We think that makes Crown Gems very easy to understand, though anyone used to busier modern releases may notice the lack of additional activity fairly quickly. 

Crown Gems uses a 5 reel, 3 row layout with 10 paylines. Winning combinations are created by landing at least 3 matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right. 

There are no cascades, expanding symbols or changing reel layouts. The grid stays exactly the same from one spin to the next, and each result is settled before the next round begins. 

That puts almost all of the emphasis on the symbol values themselves. The crown is the standout regular symbol, while the gemstones sit between the royal cards and the top payout. It's an old school structure in the most literal sense, with no secondary mechanic waiting to rearrange the rules halfway through. 

For comparable games, we'd look towards other straightforward slots where familiar symbols and simple line wins do most of the work. 

• Joker's Jewels Wild: We get another classic leaning setup with bright symbols and uncomplicated reel action, although the Wild mechanic adds a little more variety. 
• Super 7s: Traditional casino imagery and simple paylines make this another good match for anyone interested in stripped back slot mechanics. 
• RWB Gems: Gemstones again take centre stage, making the theme an obvious connection even though the newer feature set gives that game more going on. 

We think Crown Gems makes more sense once we stop expecting something dramatic to happen after every few spins. There’s no bonus round waiting for us around the corner, and no special symbol is about to transform the grid. What we see is what we get, a simple 5 reels, 10 paylines and a very shiny crown. 

The rules are obvious almost immediately, the symbols are easy to read and there is very little between the spin and the result. On the other hand, players who enjoy feature progression or bonus rounds may find the pace rather bare. 

For us, Crown Gems works best as a reminder of how uncomplicated slot design used to be. The jewels still look the part, even if the feature list could fit comfortably on a postage stamp.