Jump right into the holiday spirit with Sneaky Santa, the latest release from Realtime Gaming’s in-house studio Spinlogic Gaming. A “penny slot machine” with a low minimum bet and a decent hit frequency, this Christmas slot machine is fun to play - and not just during the holiday season. While you can’t expect life-changing wins from it, it does have some features worth exploring.
Our Thoughts on Sneaky Santa
For a slot machine released in 2023, Sneaky Santa looks like one from the early 2010s. But in general, graphics seem to be RTG/Spinlogic’s weak points. The 3D animations are decent, though, and the game does have a nice festive atmosphere.
The game’s shortcomings are more than made up for by its features. It comes with an interesting bonus bet concept and a “Buy feature” function. This, along with the free spins that retrigger quite often make it a good choice for casual players, especially around the holidays. Just make sure you choose the expanding symbol wisely.
Overall, we’re happy with the way Sneaky Santa looks and feels. Its dated visuals pull our rating down just a bit. All things considered, it is a decent Christmas-themed slot machine.
Sneaky Santa Slot Demo
- Bonus bet
- Buy feature
- Medium-low volatility
- Free spins can be retriggered
- Cheerful Christmas atmosphere
- Slightly dated graphics
- No jackpot
- Big wins are relatively rare
How To Play Sneaky Santa Slot
Follow these steps to play Sneaky Santa at one of South Africa’s real money casinos:
Sneaky Santa has a simple interface, familiar to fans of RTG slots:
Game information, with the pay table and the T&C on the left
The balance display
The bet amount display
The speed button
The buttons to set your bet, plus the Spin button
The “Max bet” button
The Autoplay button
The latest win display
1. Set your bet amount
First of all, set your bet amount using the (-) and (+) buttons on either side of the Spin button:
Press (-) to decrease
Press (+) to increase
The total bet is calculated by the formula (coin value) x (number of active lines). There are 25 fixed win lines. You can’t set the coin value, only the total bet amount - but the winnings are calculated based on the coin value, not the total bet value.
This means that:
For a total bet of R0.25 the coin value is R0.01
For a total bet of R125 the coin value is R5 and so on
The bet amount setting is not very granular, so the bet amount jumps a lot with each push of a button:
Increments of R0.25 between R0.25 and R2.5
From R2.5 it jumps to R6.25, R12.5, and R25
From R25 it jumps to R62.5, then to R125
2. Set the speed
Push the button on the right of the bet amount display to switch between normal (⚡) and fast (⚡⚡) speeds.
3. Play
Press the “Spin” button in the middle of the screen to spin the reels. Alternatively, you can press “Space” on your keyboard to play. Note that this has to be turned on from the game’s Settings.
Sneaky Santa Slot Bonus Features
What Sneaky Santa lacks in visuals, it makes up for with simple and self-explanatory bonus features.
Wild Scatter symbol
The only special symbol in the Sneaky Santa online slot is the “Letter to Santa” symbol that acts both as a Wild and a Scatter. It has the lowest payout associated with it, but it will stand in for any other symbol, and trigger the Free Spins feature as well.
Morphing symbols
This is one of the best features of the Sneaky Santa game. Whenever enough Morphing symbols land on the reels to trigger a win, they expand to cover the entire reel. These symbols pay in any position, not just from left to right.
There can only be one active Morphing symbol at a time. The one you select at the beginning of the Free Spins overrides the one selected in Bonus Bet mode.
Bonus bet
The “Bonus bet” feature will apply a 10x multiplier to your bet amount. This means that the minimum bet grows from 0.25 rands to 2.5 rands, and the maximum bet grows to R1250.
In return, you get one Morphing symbol in the base game.
Free spins
At least three Wild Scatter symbols landing on the screen at the same time trigger 12 free spins. Even if there are more of them, the number of free spins remains the same
The free spins can be retriggered indefinitely during the bonus game by three or more Wild Scatter symbols landing on the screen. At the beginning of the spins, you’ll get to choose a Morphing symbol.
Sneaky Santa Slot Symbols & Payouts
As you might expect, all the high-paying symbols in Sneaky Santa are Christmas-related. The low-paying ones, in turn, are pretty standard, borrowed from playing cards:
Low-paying symbols
For the low-paying symbols to pay, you’ll need at least three of them on a win line, calculated from left to right.
Symbol | Minimum payout | Maximum payout |
10 | 5x the coin value | 100x the coin value |
J | 5x the coin value | 120x the coin value |
Q | 5x the coin value | 130x the coin value |
K | 5x the coin value | 150x the coin value |
A | 10x the coin value | 200x the coin value |
This means that if you play with the minimum bet (R0.01 per coin, R0.25 in total), the minimum payout for three A symbols will be R0.10 (10 x R0.01), and the maximum will be R2 (200 x R0.01)
High-paying symbols
The same formula applies to high-paying symbols. The only difference is that here, for these symbols you only need two of them to pay out:
Symbol | Minimum payout | Maximum payout |
Angel | 5x the coin value | 700x the coin value |
Gingerbread man | 5x the coin value | 800x the coin value |
Elf | 5x the coin value | 1500x the coin value |
Nutcracker | 5x the coin value | 2000x the coin value |
Special symbol
The only special symbol in the game is the Wild Scatter (a letter to Santa). Aside from acting as a Wild symbol and triggering the free spins, the symbol also pays winnings, as follows:
1x the coin value for 3 symbols
10x the coin value for 4 symbols
50x the coin value for 5 symbols
Sneaky Santa Slot RTP & Volatility
The developer didn’t publish the official RTP and volatility for the game. The volatility of the Sneaky Santa slot machine is medium to high.
Sneaky Santa Slot on Mobile
The Sneaky Santa slot looks just as crisp and sleek on smartphones as it does on computers. Its mobile user interface is easy to use and navigate both in portrait and landscape mode, making it a great game to play at South Africa’s best casinos on mobile. There’s only one unusual thing about it: in landscape mode, the Spin button is on the left instead of the usual right, and it can’t be switched.
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FAQs
Does the Sneaky Santa Slot have a jackpot?
No, the Sneaky Santa video slot machine doesn’t have a jackpot.
Can I play Sneaky Santa Slot without depositing real money?
Yes, you can. Head over to your favourite South African online casino and play it in “Demo” mode.
Can I play Sneaky Santa Slot on my phone?
Yes, the Sneaky Santa slot machine is completely mobile-friendly.
Are there any tricks to win Sneaky Santa Slot?
There are two things we would recommend: play with the “Bonus bet” enabled and always choose high-paying Morphing symbols.
Can I get free spins at Sneaky Santa Slot?
This depends on the individual casino. Check your favourite casino for its Christmas promotions.
How much can I win if I play the Sneaky Santa slot machine?
The highest amount you can win at the Sneaky Santa slot machine is 50,000 times your bet per line
Rudie Venter is a seasoned online casino games expert with 13 years of industry experience. Holding a degree in psychology, he combines academic insight with practical knowledge of casino game strategies. Rudie's talent lies in demystifying game mechanics, making them accessible and fun for everyone. On his time off, Rudie loves a good ol’ braai and watching the rugby with a naughty Klippies & Coke (in moderation, of course).
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