| Provider | Microgaming |
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Magic Charms is a five-reel slot from Microgaming built around a fairytale frog prince story. The setup is 243 ways to win rather than fixed paylines, which means any matching combination of adjacent symbols pays out regardless of position on the reel. The game was released in 2015 and remains available at Microgaming-powered casinos today.
Theme and Design
The backdrop is a moonlit enchanted forest with oversized toadstools and fairy-tale atmosphere. Symbol artwork leans into the frog-prince story - you get the Frog Prince himself, a Princess, a Magic Wand, a pot of gold, a sparkling engagement ring and a red rose as the premium symbols. Lower-value positions are filled by the standard 9-to-Ace card suits, which feel a little out of place against the hand-illustrated fairytale art but are a Microgaming staple from this era.
The graphics show their age by modern slot standards. Animations are modest and the sound design is basic. What Magic Charms does have going for it is a clean, readable layout and a genuinely interesting set of bonus mechanics built around the central characters.
Betting and RTP
Bets run from £0.25 to £50 per spin. The coin value range is 0.01 to 0.20 with up to 10 coins per line. RTP is 95.99%, which sits comfortably above the industry average and is one of the stronger numbers in the Microgaming back catalogue for this period. Volatility is medium - you will see regular smaller wins from the 243 ways format, with bigger swings coming from the bonus features.
The maximum win from a single spin sits at 600x your total stake from the ring symbol. The treasure chest bonus can also add meaningful value on top of base-game wins.
Wild Symbols
Magic Charms uses three distinct wild symbols, each with its own reel placement and behaviour.
The Frog Prince appears only on reel 2. On its own it substitutes for any standard symbol to help complete wins. Its real function, though, is as one half of the free spins trigger.
The Princess appears only on reel 4, mirroring the Frog Prince. Same substitution role, same function as a free spins trigger when paired with the Frog Prince on the same spin.
The Stacked Magic Wand Wild sits on reel 3. When it lands and forms part of a winning combination, that win is doubled. It can appear stacked to fill the entire reel, which makes reel 3 wild for the full combination - a strong moment when it coincides with premium symbols on the surrounding reels.
None of the three wilds substitute for the two bonus symbols (treasure chest and key), which have their own separate trigger logic.
Free Spins Feature
Land the Frog Prince on reel 2 and the Princess on reel 4 on the same spin and you trigger the free spins round. Both characters expand to become stacked wilds covering their entire reels, and you receive three free spins with those expanded wilds locked in place.
Three free spins is a short run, but having two fully wild reels for the duration creates a dense win structure. Any line that passes through reels 2 or 4 has a wild guaranteed, which covers a large proportion of the 243 ways. The Frog Prince also transforms into a full prince visual during the round - a nice touch that ties into the fairytale theme. The free spins cannot be retriggered.
The trigger itself requires both specific characters on specific reels simultaneously, which means it does not fire frequently. Sessions can go a long time between triggers. That frequency gap is the main criticism players level at Magic Charms - the feature is good when it arrives, but the wait can be expensive.
Treasure Chest Bonus
There is a second bonus mechanic that runs independently of the free spins. The treasure chest symbol appears only on reel 1, and the key symbol appears only on reel 5. When both land on the same spin, the key unlocks the chest and a fixed cash prize is revealed on top of any wins from that spin. The bonus prize is set at 4x your total bet. It is not a jackpot or progressive, just a consistent additional payout that gives the outer reels extra weight in any given spin.
Gamble Feature
After any base-game win you can choose to gamble the amount. The mechanic is the classic Microgaming card-guessing format: predict the colour of the next card to double your win, or predict the suit to quadruple it. The odds reflect the risk - colour is 50/50, suit is one in four. There is no cap on how many times you can gamble a win, which means it is theoretically possible to run a small win up to a larger sum, though the reverse is just as likely. Most players skip the gamble feature; it is there for those who want it.
Verdict
Magic Charms delivers a compact bonus set around a clear fairytale concept. The three-wild system is well thought out - each wild has a specific reel, a specific role and a specific pay mechanic, and they interact with each other in the free spins trigger in a way that feels intentional rather than bolted on. The 95.99% RTP and £0.25 minimum make it accessible, and the 243 ways format keeps base-game action ticking over.
The limitations are the dated visuals and the low trigger frequency for the free spins. If the Frog Prince and Princess could land on any reel rather than their fixed positions, the feature would fire more often and the game would feel less stop-start. As it stands, Magic Charms is a solid older Microgaming release that rewards patient play and suits those who enjoy fairytale themes with a clear mechanic rather than a cluttered bonus menu.
Where to Play Magic Charms
These online casinos carry Microgaming games including Magic Charms. Read our Donbet review or browse all casino reviews.
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