Quick Stats
| Provider | iSoftBet |
| Game Type | Video Slot / Pokie |
| RTP | 96.4% (RTP ranges apply — check your casino) |
| Volatility | High |
| Reels / Rows | 5 × 3 |
| Paylines | 10 Fixed |
| Min Bet | $0.10 per spin |
| Max Bet | $10.00 per spin |
| Max Win | 5,000x coin value (5 Red Beetles on a payline) |
| Features | Purple Beetle Wild/Scatter, Beetle Bonus Free Spins with Expanding Symbol (retriggerable) |
| Theme | Fantasy, Jewels, Nature |
| Release Date | March 2017 |
| Platform | Desktop & Mobile |
What Is Beetle Jewels?
Beetle Jewels puts you in a moonlit forest where the reels are transparent frames set against glowing trees and fireflies. The symbols are jewel-encrusted beetles in four distinct colours, each carrying a gem on its back, alongside standard card royals. Everything is rendered with a level of care that makes the game feel more polished than most 2017-era pokies — the beetles’ wings animate on wins, the background has depth and movement, and the soundtrack is genuinely atmospheric rather than generic background noise.
Mechanically it’s lean. There are no wilds separate from the scatter, no pick bonus, no multiplier features, and no jackpot. The entire game builds toward the Beetle Bonus free spins round, where a randomly selected expanding symbol does the heavy lifting. Who is this for? Players who want a straightforward high-volatility pokie with beautiful presentation and a clean free spins mechanic. Who should skip it? Anyone who wants complex layered features, frequent base-game wins, or a large max bet ceiling.
RTP and Volatility
The RTP is 96.4% on this version of the game — right above the industry benchmark. In long-run terms, the game returns $96.40 per $100 wagered across millions of spins. Worth noting: iSoftBet operates RTP ranges on a number of their titles, and some casinos run Beetle Jewels at lower RTP variants (as low as 95.5% has been cited). Check the game info panel at your casino before playing.
The volatility is high. Despite what the previous listing said, every major independent review source — AskGamblers, SlotCatalog, slots.info, and others — classifies this as a high-variance game. With only 10 paylines and a payout structure concentrated in the top beetle symbols and the free spins round, base-game sessions run cold regularly. One reviewer noted they went hundreds of spins without triggering free spins in a test session. At $0.10 minimum, a $20 budget gives you 200 spins — budget for a real variance run, not a guaranteed feature.
Betting Range
The bet is structured as coin value × 10 paylines. Coin value runs from $0.01 to $1.00, giving a total bet range of $0.10 to $10.00 per spin. The page header shows 0.01/1.00, which is the coin value selector — the actual dollar amount you spend per spin is the figure above. At $10 maximum stake, a 5,000x win on the Red Beetle equates to $50,000, though that’s expressed as coin-value multiples rather than stake multiples in iSoftBet’s published figures.
Autoplay is available for up to 1,000 spins with configurable stop conditions.
How to Play Beetle Jewels — Step by Step
- Open the paytable via the info button before your first real-money spin — pay close attention to the expanding symbol rules in the free spins section, as the trigger conditions differ between beetle symbols and card symbols.
- Set your coin value using the Coin Value selector. Your total bet per spin = coin value × 10. Confirm the dollar figure before spinning.
- Press Spin or set up Autoplay. All 10 paylines are active on every spin — you can’t reduce them.
- Wins pay left to right on paylines for regular symbols. The Purple Beetle pays from anywhere on the reels in any position when acting as scatter.
- Watch for three or more Purple Beetles landing anywhere on the grid — this triggers the Beetle Bonus free spins regardless of payline position.
- During free spins, note which symbol appears above the middle reel — that’s your expanding special symbol for the round. Landing enough of that symbol on the reels causes it to expand and cover full reels for additional wins.
Try this: Run a 20-spin session at $0.10 per spin to get a feel for how often the Purple Beetle appears before committing to a higher coin value. The free spins trigger frequency is one of this game’s key variables.
Symbols and Paytable
There are nine paying symbols: four beetle symbols, the Purple Beetle Wild/Scatter, and five card royals.
The Red Beetle is the top-paying regular symbol at 5,000x coin value for five of a kind on a payline. The Blue Beetle pays 2,000x for five of a kind. The Green Beetle and Purple Beetle each pay up to 750x and 2,000x respectively for five on a line — the Purple Beetle’s payline value is separate from its Wild/Scatter role. Card royals A and K pay 150x for five of a kind; Q, J, and 10 pay 100x.
The Purple Beetle is the game’s only special symbol. As a Wild it substitutes for all regular symbols. As a Scatter it pays directly regardless of position (20x for 3, 200x for 4, 2,000x for 5 total bet) and triggers the free spins round when three or more land anywhere on the grid.
Bonus Features
Beetle Bonus — Free Spins with Expanding Symbol
Landing three, four, or five Purple Beetle scatters anywhere on the reels triggers 10 free spins regardless of how many scatters land — the scatter count doesn’t change the number of spins awarded, but the scatter itself pays a direct prize (20x/200x/2,000x total bet for 3/4/5) before the round begins.
At the start of the free spins round, one symbol is randomly selected and displayed above the middle reel. This becomes the expanding special symbol for the entire round. On each spin, if enough of that symbol land on the reels — at least two on separate reels for a beetle symbol, or at least three on separate reels for a card royal — the special symbol expands to cover full reels wherever it appears. Those expanded positions all count toward wins, even without forming standard left-to-right payline combinations. The Wild (Purple Beetle) does not substitute for the special symbol to trigger the expansion — you need the symbol itself to land.
The free spins can retrigger: land three or more Purple Beetle scatters during the bonus and you earn another 10 free spins. The expanding symbol selection carries over into the retrigger. There is no documented cap on retriggering.
Is Beetle Jewels Worth Playing?
Pros:
- Visuals and soundtrack are genuinely exceptional for a 2017-era slot — the enchanted forest theme is one of the more immersive in iSoftBet’s catalogue
- 96.4% RTP is solid, sitting just above benchmark for players on the standard version
- Free spins expanding symbol mechanic is clean and effective — a good board position with the right symbol covering multiple reels produces strong wins
- Retriggerable free spins with no documented cap give the feature real depth on a lucky run
- $0.10 minimum bet makes the high-volatility structure accessible without requiring a large bankroll
Cons:
- High volatility with only 10 paylines means the base game runs very cold between free spins triggers — patience is required
- $10 max bet is low compared to most modern high-variance pokies, limiting high-stakes upside
- RTP ranges mean you may not be playing the 96.4% version depending on your casino
- No secondary features — no pick bonus, no wilds beyond the Purple Beetle, no multipliers in the base game
- The expanding symbol is randomly assigned, so some free spins rounds will be significantly weaker than others depending on which symbol is chosen
Beetle Jewels is a strong choice if you want a visually polished high-volatility pokie with a simple, honest feature set. The Book of Dead-style expanding symbol mechanic in the free spins is genuinely rewarding when the right symbol lands. The $10 max bet cap and limited base-game action are the honest constraints — go in knowing the variance is high, play at a coin value your budget can sustain, and let the free spins do the work.
Responsible Gambling
Beetle Jewels uses a certified random number generator (RNG). All spin outcomes, scatter positions, and expanding symbol selections are fully random and cannot be predicted or influenced. The 96.4% RTP applies across millions of spins — your individual session will vary. Set a session budget before playing and stick to it. If gambling stops being fun or starts affecting daily life, contact a responsible gambling support service in your region.