New Betsoft Online Casino Slot Game: The Hive

What The Buzz Is About

The graphics catch players’ eyes immediately. The Hive boasts of bright spring colors, highlighted by orange and yellow letters, and bees spreading their magic.

A ukulele gives a fresh sound to the background music, reminiscent of a Hawaiian location or an exotic green field. The sound can be a bit much after a few minutes, though, so the sound button is on the bottom left for your convenience.

Originality jumps out at the player from the moment she or he first clicks on the game. The 19 honeycombs create a 3-4-5-4-3 grid to form the shape of a larger honeycomb. The bees come to life with every spin and feature, keeping players interested and intrigued.

Betsoft Marketing Manager Erik Kohler noted the game’s uniqueness. “We are excited to deliver a game that is not a ‘typical’ slot but something different, something that challenges players and pushes out skillset. We can’t wait to see if the customers love it as much as we do.”

Just released late last week, The Hive is already attracting a lot of Australian casino players.

The Hive Options and Payouts

There are 30 paylines on this uniquely-composed hexagonal grid. The Hive boasts of a 96.97% theoretical RTP (return to player) and offers a maximum possible win of 378x the player’s bet.

Players can bet as low as $0.10 per spin, and the options then increase to $0.60, $1.20, $3, $6, $10.50, $14.20, $22.50, $35, $62.10, and then maxes out at $90 per spin.

With the bet at $0.10 and looking at five symbols on a payline, these are the payouts:

• Queen bee = $1.00
• Ladybug = $0.50
• Red, purple, or white flower = $0.08 each
• Letters A or K = $0.05 each
• Letters Q or J = $0.03 each

We should note that payouts can happen both ways along cells that align horizontally or diagonally. The highest win per line pays, but coinciding wins on different paylines add together for the win.

The Hive Features and Gameplay

There are three main bees in The Hive.

First is the Queen bee, who summons a swarm of other bees around the hive and improves the chances of a win. She is easy to spot, carrying a wand, wearing a crown and red cape, and glistening in the sun. She is a rarity, so when she does appear, look for good things to happen. The Queen bee is worth the wait.

Drone bees work to fill the Honey Meter, which ultimately triggers free spins. They are a bit smaller and carry blue buckets of honey. If they are next to a winning payline, they dump honey into the meter.

The worker bees do the heavy lifting, as they can surround the hive and give the player a stacking multiplier that increases with the number of bees working. These little bees carry hammers and wear green hats. They are the most likely to appear but do need to be on the payline to use their multiplying powers.

Bees can appear randomly at any spin, and they will just as randomly fly away when their work is done. They move clockwise around the hive with each consecutive spin.

Speaking of those free spins, the drone bees fill the Honey Meter by one level at a time. When filled, it triggers the bonus round of five free spins. That may not sound like many spins, but a special feature makes it worthwhile. Honey Burst Spreading Wilds appear on the grid. One, two, or three can appear and then spread from their initial position to adjacent cells after every spin. They continue to spread until the bonus round ends.

Regular wilds can appear during regular gameplay, but they do not spread like those in the free spins.

Keep in mind that changing the bet level will restart the honey meter and send the bees away temporarily. The best time to change the betting amount is immediately after a bonus round when the honey jar is empty.

Where to Play The Hive

Betsoft offers the chance to play a demo version of the game to see how it works. Simply click this link to play, experiment with the settings, and see how the bees work around the hive with no money required.

The Hive is featured at King Johnnie Casino. Players can also find The Hive at Woo Casino, Casino Chan, and Playamo Casino.