Once Again Upon a Time

Basic Specs & Math: Is the Risk Worth It?

If you are looking for a casual stroll through an enchanted forest, you might want to check your bankroll management first. Once Again Upon a Time operates on a high volatility model. What does this mean in plain English? It means you will likely endure long streaks of dead spins or minor payouts—barely covering your bet—before the game suddenly decides to dump a massive pot of gold in your lap.

• Grid: 5 Reels, 4 Rows
• Paylines: 25 fixed lines
• Max Win: 12,285x
• Volatility: High

While Betsoft hasn't officially plastered the Hit Frequency on the loading screen, my sessions suggest a hit rate hovering around 20-22%. That’s roughly one win every 5 spins. It feels tight. You need patience here. If you enjoy the mechanics of Money Train 3, you'll understand the rhythm: silence, silence, silence, explosion.

How do Stacked Mystery Symbols change the base game?

The base game can be a bit of a grind, I won't lie. However, the Stacked Mystery Symbols keep it from becoming a total snooze-fest. Before every spin, random positions on the reels are replaced with a mystery placeholder. Once the reels stop, all these positions reveal the same symbol.

This reminds me of the mystery stacks in Fire Portals, though here they are more traditional. Statistically, this increases the variance. You either get a screen full of matching symbols (creating multiple 5-of-a-kind wins across the 25 lines) or you get blockers that don't connect with anything. It’s an all-or-nothing mechanic that fits the high volatility profile perfectly.

The Free Spins Feature: Why Removing Royals Matters

This is where the game actually gets interesting. Land 3 Castle Scatter symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4, and you trigger 8 Free Spins.

Now, usually, 8 spins sound stingy. But here’s the kicker: all low-paying royal symbols (J, Q, K, A) are removed from the reels.

Think about the math for a second. In a standard slot, maybe 40-50% of the reel strips are clogged with low-value junk. By removing them, the density of high-paying symbols (Princess, Knight, Goblin) and Bonus symbols skyrockets.

• The Result: Every winning combination you hit is guaranteed to be a “premium” win, a mechanic that feels far more rewarding than the standard free spins found in older titles like Book of Dead.
• The Trap: You can still have dead spins. Removing low symbols doesn't guarantee a win; it just guarantees that if you win, it pays well.

Hold & Win Feature: The Quest for the Grand Prize

The core engine of this slot is the Hold & Win bonus. You need 6 or more scattered Bonus (Gold Coin) symbols to trigger it. Or, 5 Bonus symbols and 1 Boost (Dragon) symbol.

You get 3 respins. Standard stuff? Not quite. The Boost mechanics here are potent. Fans of King of Giza: Mega Cash Collect & Link will recognize the thrill of a collection mechanic, but Betsoft has streamlined it here.

Expert Tip: Don't ignore the Boost symbol in the base game. It acts as an instant collector. If you land a Boost symbol alongside any Bonus symbols, it instantly pays out their values, even if you haven't triggered the full bonus round. This “Instant Win” mechanic saves your balance during cold streaks.

Prize Tiers

The locked Bonus symbols can carry cash values (2.00 – 30.00 on a standard bet) or jackpots:

• Mini: 20x bet
• Minor: 50x bet
• Major: 150x bet
• Mega: 2,000x bet
• Grand (All 15 positions filled): 10,000x bet (plus the values of the coins).

The Grand prize is significantly higher than what you find in similar slots like Lucky Penny 2, making the chase much more intense.

Hidden Synergy: The Power of the Boost Symbol

Most players look at the Hold & Win feature and just hope to fill the screen. But the real secret sauce is the interaction between the Boost Symbol and the Mystery Bonus Symbol.

Here is the synergy I noticed:
When a Mystery Bonus lands during the feature, it transforms into a random prize (Mini, Minor, Major, Mega, or Boost). If it transforms into a Boost, it doesn't just sit there. It increases the value of all other Bonus symbols currently on the screen.

• Scenario: You have 10 coins locked. You land a Mystery symbol. It turns into a Boost. Suddenly, those 10 coins are upgraded. This is the only realistic way to get near that 12,285x cap without hitting the Grand Jackpot. It creates an exponential growth curve for your wins rather than a linear one.

Legend of Symbols: Behind the Icons

To give you a break from the math, let's look at who we are actually playing with. This slot fits squarely into the Medieval slots genre, but the character design is distinct.

Symbol	Lore & Archetype	Significance in Slot
The Shield (Wild)	The protector of the realm. Historically, shields carried the heraldry of the house.	Substitutes for all except specials. It's the glue holding your paylines together.
The Princess	The quintessential damsel, likely based on Rapunzel given the tower imagery.	Top paying symbol. Essential for big hits in the “Royal-free” spins mode.
The Goblin	The greedy antagonist, obsessed with loot.	Mid-tier payer. Often appears in stacks during mystery reveals.

The dragon here isn't just a monster; it's the Boost symbol. This reminds me of the dragon in YoDragon, where the creature is central to the mechanics, not just decoration.

View from the other side: Why Hold & Win might bore you

Let's play devil's advocate. The strongest argument against Once Again Upon a Time is that it relies too heavily on the Hold & Win mechanic.

If you are a veteran player, you have seen this mechanic in hundreds of Hold and Win slots. It’s ubiquitous. The gameplay loop of “land 6 coins, watch 3 respins reset” can feel incredibly repetitive and slow. There is no frantic action, no cascading multipliers like in Sweet Bonanza or the chaotic energy of Sugar Rush. If you crave fast-paced, dynamic mechanics where symbols explode and grids expand, this slot might feel like watching paint dry in a very pretty castle.

However, Betsoft counters this with the Boost feature. By allowing instant collections in the base game, they mitigate the boredom of waiting for the bonus. But the core loop remains the same.

Buying the Bonus

For those who lack patience, the Buy Bonus is available. It costs 65x your stake (Wait, let me correct that. The image shows a cost of 130.00 for a 2.00 bet. That is 65x).

• Price: 65x stake.
• Return: Triggers the Free Spins mode (3 Scatters).
• Verdict: 65x is actually cheaper than the industry standard of 100x (seen in many Pragmatic Play slots). Compared to the expensive buys in slots like Zeus vs Hades Gods of War, this is a bargain. Given that the Free Spins remove low-paying symbols, the volatility of the buy is high, but the entry price is tempting.

Expert Verdict: Should You Spin or Pass?

Once Again Upon a Time is a deceptively strong release from Betsoft. It takes the tired “medieval fantasy” trope and injects it with a math model that commands respect.

The combination of Royal Removal in Free Spins and the Boost mechanic in the Hold & Win round creates a game where the potential for massive wins feels real, not just theoretical. It reminds me a bit of the high-stakes tension in Gold slots, where specific symbols drive all the value.

FAQ