12 Skulls of the Dead Demo & Slot Review (Microgaming)

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Slot review: 12 Skulls of the Dead

12 Skulls of the Dead feels like a Día de los Muertos festival in reel form: skulls, color, life beyond the grave. The style is festive and bold, and the mechanics aim to support that energy. But theme and presentation alone don’t guarantee fun. Some spins feel flat; when bonus features trigger, things can heat up. It’s a slot with strong moments, but also stretches where it leans heavily on luck and timing.

Slot overview: 12 Skulls of the Dead

This slot runs on a 5‑reel, 3‑row layout with 20 fixed paylines in the base game. In the Free Spins mode, the paylines expand up to 48, offering more ways to score. You can’t change the number of paylines, they’re fixed per mode. Wins count left to right, and only the highest on a given payline is paid. Bets are calculated as “number of coins x coin size,” and the total bet is divided over the paylines. Wild symbols substitute for most regular symbols (but not Epic Strike™, Free Spin, Extra Spin, or Collect symbols). Wilds also have a collector role in the base game that can randomly trigger the Epic Strike™ Bonus. The Epic Strike™ symbol is a special scatter: 3 or more anywhere pays out from 1x up to 3,000x your total bet. Wilds collected in the base game may also trigger an Epic Strike™ prize randomly, either a cash reward or Free Spins.

Slot features: 12 Skulls of the Dead

Wild Collection + Epic Strike Bonus: Wild symbols not only substitute but also accumulate. In the base game, when enough wilds are collected, the Epic Strike™ Bonus may trigger. In this bonus, you get a random prize or Free Spins. Bonus values range from 5x up to 3,000x your total bet.
Epic Strike™ Scatter Payout: Independent of wild collection, just landing 3+ Epic Strike™ scatters in the base game pays a cash prize between 1x and 3,000x your bet. Wild cannot substitute for these scatters.
Rising Rewards™ Multiplier: During the base game only, landing Free Spin symbols on reels 2 and 3 increases a multiplier meter by +1, maxing at x10. That multiplier is then applied to any line wins during Free Spins. It doesn’t grow further in Free Spins but may reset randomly to x2-x4 afterward.
Free Spins with Collect Symbols and Reel Expansion: 3 Free Spin symbols (on reels 2-4) start Free Spins. During this mode, Collect symbols appear; by collecting enough you advance through 8 Bonus Levels. With each level up, one extra row (reel height) is added (i.e. the grid grows), and remaining Free Spins reset to 3. Each level has a fixed cash prize (from 4x up to 3,000x your bet). Once the highest level is reached or Free Spins are exhausted, you receive the prize for your current level. Extra Spin symbols on reel 5 can grant +1 spin during Free Spins.
Bonus Buy Options: If you don’t want to wait, you can directly buy into Free Spins. Options include:
- Basic Free Spins buy (starts with 1x multiplier) for 50x bet
- Super Bonus Free Spins (starts with x10 multiplier) for 150x bet. In a Bonus Buy, the Rising Rewards multiplier, if already accrued, continues into the Free Spins round.

Our verdict: 12 Skulls of the Dead

12 Skulls of the Dead offers more layers than many conventional Microgaming slots. Between wild accumulation, Epic Strike scatter prizes, the Rising Rewards multiplier, free spins with progression, and bonus buy flexibility, there's depth here for players who like feature-rich gameplay.

But it isn’t perfect. Many spins will be quiet, until features align. The bonus thresholds are high, and volatility is high as well, meaning dry spells are inevitable. The multipliers in Free Spins are helpful but not game‑breaking given how often you need to trigger the bonus. The bonus buy options are appealing, but part of the fun is chasing those features rather than buying them outright.

Our rating 6.5/10