Halloween Jack Slot Demo & Review

Halloween Jack is a horror/Halloween-themed online slot released by NetEnt in 2018. It’s a five-reel, three-row game with 20 fixed win lines and a maximum win of 3,000 times your bet on a single spin. But the list of goodies doesn’t stop here.

Launched in 2018, this high volatility slot is a collection of all things spooky. It features witches and hell hounds, and Jack O’Lantern himself. Don’t expect any candy, though - this trick-or-treating can only bring you wins.

Halloween Jack Slot Demo

To play the free demo game, try the Halloween Jack demo here. When you’re ready to play the real money game version, boost your bankroll with these top Halloween casino bonuses.

If you’re familiar with NetEnt slots, navigating the game’s interface will be easy. For newcomers, here’s a quick guide:

1. The black bar at the bottom houses key functions: settings, volume, autoplay, help, and displays for your funds, total bet, and latest win. 

2. On the bottom left, you'll find the game info button, showing rules, paytable, and bonus features.

3. The total bet display shows your bet in coins.

4. Set the bet level (the number of coins per win line) between 1 and 10

5. In the middle is the Spin button. The Autoplay button is on the left and the Max Bet button on the right

6. The coin value setting allows for 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, or 0.50 per coin.

7. There’s a display showing your total coins (which depends on the coin value you set)

Halloween Jack Slot Symbols

This online Halloween slot has a horror-theme, so its symbols are suitably scary. They’re a good fit for its spooky backdrop.

Low-Paying Symbols

The low-paying symbols in the Halloween Jack slot machine are the standard ones borrowed from playing cards but they are styled (with creepy hands all over the place) to give you the creeps. The wins are displayed in coins.

High-Paying Symbols

The high-paying symbols are also a perfect fit for the game’s creepy tone. They are dark and sometimes bloody.

Special Symbols

There are quite a few special symbols in the game, some of them in the base game, others in the free spins only:

• The Wild symbol - a jack-o’-lantern - can land on any reel. When it appears, it starts its journey to the left filled with re-spins. The Wild symbol moves one spot to the left with each respin, forming winning combinations, until it disappears on the left edge of the play area.

• The Scatter symbol - a treasure chest - triggers the game’s Free Spins feature

• The Lantern symbol only appears during Free Spins, it is collectible,  and has a special role.

My First Moments Playing Halloween Jack Slot

This is one of those rare NetEnt slots that gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s fun to play, while on the other hand, it comes off as dark and creepy. Even the developer calls the game their “most spooky slot ever” - the game certainly earns this title. 

There’s An Official Story…

NetEnt has released an official backstory for the Halloween Jack slot machine about a girl who discovers a cursed jewellery box and unleashes a great evil. Somehow, the story fails to come through, though. 

Spooky Visuals

The game is dark and spooky, the textbook case of a well-designed horror slot. The symbols on the reels are creepy, a great fit for its horror theme. The entire game has an atmosphere fit for a classic Universal horror film - you almost expect monsters like Dracula and the Swamp Thing to jump at you. The cemetery in the background and the occasional thunderbolt only add to the overall atmosphere.

Patience Wins

Maybe the Halloween Jack slot machine would’ve worked better as a low-volatility game. The fact that it only hits every so often takes a lot of entertainment value out of the game. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it hasn’t become more popular. 

Halloween Jack Slot Bonus Features

There are two major bonus features in the Halloween Jack slot machine - and you’ll encounter one of them pretty often.

Walking Wild respins

Whenever a Wild symbol lands on the screen, it triggers re-spins. The number of spins depends on where exactly it lands on the screen. The symbol starts moving to the left, one position with each spin. As long as it’s on the screen, you get free spins, plus one right after it disappears. If there are two Wild symbols on the screen, the respins continue until both of them are gone. 

Free Spins

Three or more Scatter symbols on the screen free the spirits trapped in the chest, and reward you with 10 free spins. During the bonus game, the Wild symbols act just like in the base game, triggering respins whenever they land on the screen. But there’s more.

Each Lantern symbol that lands on the screen during the free spins is collected on the right. When you collect 3 of them, you get a reward - a Hell Hound Wild symbol that walks toward the left. And it’s stacked to cover two rows. Three more Lanterns invite Halloween Jack to the party - another Wild that’s stacked to cover three rows. And three more will summon none other than the Grim Reaper himself, also acting as a Walking Wild. 

Whichever Wild symbol lands on the screen, starts “walking” - this means lots of respins, and lots of wins. 

Some Technical Considerations

The Halloween Jack slot machine is beautifully crafted, as you might expect from a NetEnt game. Even if it’s six years old, its visuals don’t feel outdated - it is crisp, responsive, and 100% mobile-friendly. Its RTP is 96.28%, around the industry standard. Its volatility is high. It doesn’t hit too often, and most payouts are smaller than your total bet. Still, the Walking Wilds feature redeems the base game.

Halloween Jack Slot Strategy & Tips

The game relies exclusively on luck, so nothing you do will influence the outcome of any spin. It has high volatility, so it won’t hit too often, and even then, the payouts won’t be high. Its only redeeming quality is the Walking Wilds feature that boosts the payouts. 

To make the most of the Halloween Jack slot machine, make sure you:

• Manage your money wisely. Don’t spend more on it than you are comfortable losing.

• Be patient: you may need a lot of spins before you trigger the Free Spins.

• Don’t be absorbed in the game. While you may feel tempted to continue playing for a long time because “it’s due to hit”, there’s no guarantee it will. Make sure you keep your sessions short and take frequent breaks.

Should You Play Halloween Jack Slot?

If you are looking for a spooky slot machine to play for fun in the Halloween season, you might give the Halloween Jack slot a try - but honestly, it’s not much fun to play casually. There’s something about it - a combination of the dark atmosphere and the lack of frequent payouts that make it less captivating than its competitors. 

If you have the patience (and bankroll) to wait for the Free Spins feature to hit, though, dive right in. The game’s bonus feature is generous enough to be worth waiting for.