Witchcraft Academy is a 5-reel, 4-row slot with 20 paylines, released by NetEnt in June 2018. It runs at 96.38% RTP with a volatility rating of 5.6 out of 10 - medium territory. Hit frequency is 19%, the maximum payout reaches 1000x your total stake, and bets range from 0.20 to 200 per spin. The extra row compared to most NetEnt games gives the grid more real estate, and the bonus structure is built around a two-stage system where an interactive Elements Bonus feeds into a Free Spins round with features you unlock during the first stage.
The magic school theme draws obvious parallels, but the game mechanics are where Witchcraft Academy distinguishes itself. The Elements Bonus is essentially a mini-game that determines the shape of your Free Spins - what multipliers you carry in, whether overlay Wilds are active, and how many extra spins you start with. It creates a direct connection between player choice and bonus outcome that most scatter-triggered Free Spins rounds lack entirely.
Wild Symbols
Wilds appear on reels 1, 2, 4 and 5 in both the main game and Free Spins. They substitute for all symbols except Scatters and always resolve to the highest possible winning combination on a bet line. The deliberate absence of Wilds from reel 3 is a design choice that prevents them from single-handedly bridging wins across the full five reels - you need actual paying symbols to fill that centre column.
The reel 3 gap means Wilds are most effective when they appear alongside strong natural symbol runs. A Wild on reel 1 or 2 extends wins from the left, while a Wild on reel 4 or 5 catches symbols running from the right side of the grid. The 4-row layout means each reel has four positions, so landing multiple Wilds on a single spin is more realistic than it would be on a 3-row grid.
Elements Bonus
Three or more Scatter symbols in the main game trigger the Elements Bonus - a self-contained mini-game played on its own 5-column, 4-row grid. This grid contains three types of symbols: Coin Wins, Armour Guards and Scatters representing Free Spins features.
You choose between two characters - Efora the Witch or Earthan the Wizard. Your choice determines the visual flavour of the Element Shots (Owl for Efora, Dragon for Earthan), though both function identically. The number of Element Shots you receive matches the number of Scatter symbols that triggered the bonus, so landing four or five Scatters gives you more shots to work with.
Each Element Shot targets a random column and contains one to four Elements. Each Element hits and clears the closest symbol in that column, working downward. When an Element hits a Coin Win symbol, you receive a random payout between 10x and 200x the bet level. When it hits an Armour Guard, the guard explodes and hits all adjacent symbols horizontally and vertically - a chain reaction that can clear multiple symbols from a single shot. The maximum coin win across the entire Elements Bonus is 20,000 coins.
The Scatter symbols sit exclusively on row 4 of the bonus grid, arranged left to right as: Overlay Wild Reel 1, +5 Free Spins, x2 Multiplier, +5 Free Spins, and Overlay Wild Reel 5. When an Element hits one of these Scatters, that Free Spins feature unlocks. Each feature can only be unlocked once. If your shots clear three or more of these Scatters, the Elements Bonus transitions directly into Free Spins with whatever features you managed to unlock.
Free Spins
Free Spins activate when three or more Scatter symbols are hit during the Elements Bonus. You receive a base of 5 Free Spins, played with whichever features you unlocked in the preceding stage. The unlockable features are substantial - a x2 multiplier on all wins, overlay Wilds covering the entirety of reel 1 or reel 5, and batches of additional spins.
During the Free Spins round itself, Bonus Spin symbols can appear on the reels to award further spins. Two Bonus Spin symbols add 5 spins, three add 10, four add 15 and five add 20. This retrigger mechanic means a well-stocked Free Spins round - one where you unlocked the x2 multiplier and overlay Wilds during Elements Bonus - can extend into a lengthy session with significant earning potential.
The interplay between the two stages is the core of the game. A strong Elements Bonus that unlocks multiple features turns the subsequent Free Spins into something substantially more powerful than the base 5 spins would suggest. Conversely, a weak Elements Bonus with only three Scatters cleared and no coin wins feeds into a modest Free Spins session. The variance within the bonus structure is high even though the overall game volatility rates at medium.
RTP, Volatility and Session Character
The 96.38% RTP sits comfortably in the standard range for NetEnt slots. Medium volatility at 5.6 out of 10 combined with a 19% hit frequency means the base game has longer gaps between wins compared to NetEnt's lower-variance titles. Roughly one in five spins pays out, which is below average for the catalogue but typical for the medium bracket.
The 1000x maximum win is the highest among NetEnt's lower-profile 2018 releases and reflects the potential of a fully-loaded Free Spins session. Getting there requires a strong Elements Bonus that unlocks the x2 multiplier alongside overlay Wilds, followed by Bonus Spin retriggers during the feature. That sequence is uncommon but not astronomical.
Witchcraft Academy's defining characteristic is the two-stage bonus. The Elements Bonus adds a layer of anticipation that pure scatter-trigger games do not have - you are not just waiting for Free Spins to start, you are actively watching your shots determine how powerful those Free Spins will be. Within NetEnt's catalogue, it occupies a similar mechanical space to games like Hansel and Gretel, where bonus pre-rounds shape the main feature. The 5x4 grid and the character selection give it personality, and the maths sit in a comfortable middle ground between the gentle low-variance butterfly slots and the higher-stakes megaways releases.
