Aloha! Cluster Pays pokie review

Escape to the tropical archipelago island of Hawaii with Net Entertainment’s Aloha! Cluster Pays, and have the Tiki Gods guide your way. Featuring 6 reels and 5 rows, this unique format can make or break whether this online pokie game is worth your real money wagers, so we take a look at whether it is worth ours.

Where to play Aloha! Cluster Pays online

How to play Aloha! Cluster Pays

Aloha! Cluster Pays is a bright Hawaiian themed pokie featuring 6 reels and 5 rows.

While the 6 reels are quite unique, it is the Cluster Pays format which transforms this pokie – all paylines are scrapped and payouts are scored by spinning clusters of the same symbol (symbols need to be vertically or horizontally adjacent to each other).

In order to win you need a cluster of at least nine of the same symbols, but to help you out there are Stacked symbols which are considered to be two symbols in one.

Coin sizes: 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00
Maximum coins per spin: 100
Maximum coins per line: 10
Minimum bet per spin: $0.20
Maximum bet per spin: $200
Scatter: Yes (the ‘Free Spins’ symbol)
Wild: Yes (also known as the Substitution symbol which is the wooden box featuring the ‘?’ on the front)
Bonus features: Yes (All Ways Pay, Sticky Win Re-Spins)
Free spins: Yes (up to 12)
Jackpot: 10,000 coins
RTP: 96.4%

The soundtrack is quite apt – traditional Hawaiian music – but there’s the mechanical pokies sound effect which overrides every time you spin, so if you aren’t a fan simply mute the sound by clicking the speaker icon in the bottom left of the screen.

Aloha! Cluster Pays symbols

NetEnt are renowned for their graphics and they don’t disappoint here with their appropriate use of all things Hawaiian.

The payout of each symbol is dependant on the cluster size, but the lower paying symbols including the flower, the shell, the coconut, and the pineapple, all pay the same with the minimum payout of five coins for a 9x symbol cluster and a maximum of 2000 coins for a 30x cluster – which is quite rare.

The higher paying symbols include the Tiki God symbols which are also Stacked. The green and the blue symbols pay a minimum of 20 coins for a 9x cluster and a maximum of 5000 coins for a 30x cluster. The red Tiki head is the best paying symbol with a 9x cluster paying 30 coins and a 30x cluster paying 10,000 coins (the maximum payout for this pokie).

Wild: For this title, NetEnt refer to the Wild symbol as the Substitution symbol, which is the wooden box with a ‘?’ on it. When it appears on a spin it will transform into the adjacent symbol to create the highest possible paying cluster. The Wild doesn’t substitute for the Scatter symbol, however.
Scatter: The Scatter is the ‘Free Spins’ symbol on the stamp and three or more will trigger the Free Spins feature. These can appear fully or partially on the reels and count, as the symbol takes up two rows.

Aloha! Cluster Pays bonus features

The Aloha! Cluster Pays pokie features an array of bonus features including the format itself, which we mentioned above. While there’s no paylines, trying to score nine symbols in one spin is quite a task so don’t expect huge payouts when it comes to this format. However, other features to look out for include Sticky Win Re-Spins and Free Spins.

Sticky Win Re-spins

Your best chance at getting a huge cluster (more than the minimum of nine symbols) is by activating the Sticky Win Re-Spins feature.

This feature randomly activates on a cluster win and this cluster will be held for a Re-Spin to give you a chance at creating a bigger cluster. It will remain for as long as you continue to add symbols to the cluster.

Get the maximum 30 symbol cluster with the Red Tiki God symbol and you will receive the maximum payout.

Free Spins

Spin at least three Scatters to activate the free spins, with the symbols only needing to be partially showing on a reel as they are two symbols high (though two fully showing Scatters don’t count as four symbols).

The more Scatters you spin, the more free spins you will earn as follows;

Three Scatters – nine free spins
Four Scatters – 10 free spins
Five Scatters – 11 free spins
Six Scatters – 12 free spins

Unfortunately, the chance of spinning more than three Scatters is quite low, however the Symbol Drop feature is added where low paying symbols are removed as you spin and more Stacked Tiki God symbols are added. If there’s no win on the last free spin, you are also awarded an additional free spin until you do win.

Verdict on Aloha! Cluster Pays pokies

Unfortunately, we are on the fence when it comes to whether or not this pokie is worth our money.

Scoring a cluster bigger than nine symbols is difficult in itself, let alone scoring up to 30 which is how you can win the non-progressive jackpot of 10,000 coins. We went quite a few consecutive spins without even scoring a little win with the low paying clusters, which was quite disappointing. However, when scoring the Tiki Head symbol clusters with a Sticky Win Re-Spin we were satisfied with the payouts.

The free spins are a welcome addition and seem to be easily triggered, and though we only scored nine, the Symbol Drop feature and a free spin awarded if no win is scored on the last spin definitely gives the pokie extra points in our books.

Overall, this pokie won’t be for everyone but we recommend giving it a go to see if it is for you.

Where to play Aloha! Cluster Pays

For those new to online casino gaming and after a generous welcome bonus we recommend heading to GdayCasino.com. Players can opt in for an unlimited matched deposit bonus when they sign up and use this on Aloha! Cluster Pays, by NetEnt.

NetEnt have also added Aloha! Cluster Pays to their Touch line, meaning the pokie has been optimised for Apple, Android, Windows, and other smartphones and tablets.

More NetEnt slots games

There are many more Net Ent games, other than Aloha! Cluster Pays that are worth checking out. These online slots can be played at the best Net Ent Casinos.

Tap our links to our recommended online casinos, including SlotsMillion.com and Guts.com, for their mobile catalogues and you will find the title among the array of mobile casino games available.