Secret Symbol slot by Realtime Gaming (RTG)

How to play Secret Symbol comes down to one decision made before anything moves: the size of the stake. Every figure in the Secret Symbol paytable is a multiple of it, so changing the stake rescales the whole table at once.

A win in Secret Symbol is a run of matching symbols on one of its 25 lines, counted from the leftmost reel rightwards; a combination that starts anywhere else does not pay. Only the highest win on each line is paid, so two hits on the same line do not add up.

Everything above is stated in full inside Secret Symbol itself — the paytable button opens the list of symbols and the rules for Secret Symbol. The numbers there are quoted against the stake you currently have set, which makes them easier to read than any review.

Under the art, Secret Symbol is a straightforward 5 reels, 3 rows and 25 paylines machine. Wins are read left to right from the first reel, and only the highest combination on each line counts, so a second seal further along the same line adds nothing. The seal is the top symbol, a scroll sits under it, and the card ranks below those are what most Secret Symbol spins return.

There is no conventional wild on the base grid; Secret Symbol does its work through the feature set instead. Top end on Secret Symbol is 5,000× the line bet, and nothing on the base grid gets close to it — the number assumes Secret Symbol lines up.

Everything else on the grid is ordinary; Secret Symbol is not: a covered symbol turns over as the same symbol across the whole grid. Practically, that means a session on Secret Symbol divides into two very different modes, and judging the game on the base spins alone gives you half the picture.

There are three things worth waiting for in Secret Symbol, starting with Secret Symbol. None of them fire often; all of them change the shape of a Secret Symbol session when they do.

Secret Symbol (a covered symbol turns over as the same symbol across the whole grid). Secret Symbol does not fire often on Secret Symbol, and the game is built on the assumption that you are waiting for it.

Free Games — up to twenty spins with the covered symbols still turning. Everything else Secret Symbol does on the base grid is a preamble to Free Games.

Cipher Bonus: you break the cipher for a multiplier. On Secret Symbol this is the difference between a flat session and one you remember, so it is worth knowing what Cipher Bonus looks like before it arrives.

Taken together the set is what separates Secret Symbol from the rest of its shelf. The base grid is common enough across the catalogue; Secret Symbol is not, and it is the reason the game has its own page here.

The stake on Secret Symbol is 25 lines times whatever you set per line. Playing fewer than 25 is possible but rarely sensible on Secret Symbol — it lowers the cost and the hit rate in the same step. That is also why 5,000× the line bet is written as a multiple rather than an amount — the Secret Symbol ceiling moves with the stake.

Secret Symbol runs high volatility — the game concentrates its return into a small number of spins, which means most of them give back nothing. There is no such thing as the RTP of Secret Symbol. RTG supplies a configurable return and each operator picks a setting, which makes cross-site comparisons of this number meaningless — check the info panel inside Secret Symbol rather than a table on someone else's site.

One practical note on staking Secret Symbol: changing the bet between spins changes nothing but the price, and no state carries across — each Secret Symbol spin is settled on its own. Autoplay on Secret Symbol stops on a feature trigger, which is the setting worth using: the base grid runs at speed and you still catch Secret Symbol.

On Secret Symbol the stake wants to be small relative to the balance: the game can go a long way without paying, and the only protection against that is spin count. Whatever balance you bring to Secret Symbol, decide in advance what leaves with you; the limit tools sit in the account area.

Bonus play on Secret Symbol is straightforward: slots clear wagering at 100%, and the detail is on the bonus page. Secret Symbol keeps the loop simple: set the stake, let it run, and watch for Secret Symbol.

One thing not to do with Secret Symbol is chase Secret Symbol by raising the stake after a dry run: its trigger frequency does not change with bet size, only the cost of waiting does. If Secret Symbol stops being comfortable, the responsible gaming page lists the limits, the cooling-off options and the outside organisations we work with.

Secret Symbol suits a player who wants a game that can do very little for a long time and then do a great deal at once. If it lands well, It’s a Mystery! is the next one to try — same corner of the catalogue, different rhythm.

Put Secret Symbol beside It’s a Mystery! and the shared parts fall away quickly. Start with Secret Symbol if you are prepared to sit through the quiet. Full specifications for Secret Symbol — the 5 reels, 3 rows and 25 paylines, volatility, the top end (5,000× the line bet), the feature list and the release year — are in the table at the top of this page.

It’s a Mystery!