What is the RTP of Sunshine Reef?

Sunshine Reef has an RTP of 93.5%. This is slightly below the modern Microgaming average but was typical for slots released in 2015.

Does Sunshine Reef have free spins?

No, Sunshine Reef does not have a free spins feature. The only bonus round is the pick-and-win treasure chest game, triggered by landing 3 or more treasure chest symbols on an active payline.

What does the wild symbol do in Sunshine Reef?

The blue dolphin is the wild symbol and substitutes for all other symbols on the reels, including the treasure chest bonus symbol. This means it can help trigger the bonus round as well as completing standard winning combinations.

What is the maximum payout in the Sunshine Reef bonus round?

The pick-and-win bonus round offers a maximum payout of 250x your line bet from a single pick. The bonus can also re-trigger, adding up to two further pick rounds and stacking the total prize further.

How does the gamble feature work in Sunshine Reef?

After any winning spin, you can choose to gamble the win. Two oysters appear on screen and you pick one, hoping to find the pearl inside. A correct guess doubles your win. A wrong guess loses the entire amount. The probability is 50/50 each time.

Who makes Sunshine Reef and when was it released?

Sunshine Reef was developed by Microgaming and released in December 2015. Microgaming has a large catalogue of ocean and underwater-themed slots.

What are the bet limits in Sunshine Reef?

Sunshine Reef uses adjustable coin sizes from £0.01 to £10.00 per coin. With all 9 paylines active, the total bet range runs from £0.09 to £90 per spin.

Sunshine Reef Slot Review - RTP, Bonus & Features

Provider	Microgaming

Sunshine Reef is a 5-reel, 9-payline video slot from Microgaming, released in December 2015. The theme is an underwater coral reef, rendered in bright cartoon graphics with transparent reels that give the impression of looking into a fish tank. A shipwreck sits in the background, which ties directly into the bonus mechanic. Coin sizes run from £0.01 to £10.00, giving a total bet range of £0.09 to £90 per spin across all 9 lines.

Graphics and Theme

The art style is deliberately cartoonish: vivid colours, chunky symbols, and animated sea creatures filling the 5x3 grid. Symbols include seahorses, pufferfish, starfish, octopi, oysters, sea anemones, and a turtle. There are no playing card symbols anywhere on the reels, which keeps the underwater theme consistent all the way down to the lowest-value positions. The transparent reel effect sits cleanly over the coral reef backdrop and makes the game visually less cluttered than most slots of its era.

The shipwreck visible in the background is not just decoration - it sets the scene for the treasure chest bonus. A sunken wreck, scattered treasure, dolphins circling - the visual premise holds together in a way that oceanic slots often fail to achieve. Microgaming connected the background art to the actual game mechanic, rather than dropping an unrelated bonus into a themed wrapper.

If you play Dolphin Reef or Dolphin Quest, you will recognise the Microgaming approach to oceanic themes: bright, clean, non-threatening. Sunshine Reef sits in the same family. For something with more depth from the same developer, Emperor of the Sea and Sovereign of the Seven Seas are worth a look.

Paylines and Betting

Nine paylines run across the 5x3 grid and you control how many are active. Reducing active paylines cuts your stake but also reduces the likelihood of landing the bonus, since the treasure chests need to appear on an active payline to trigger the pick round. With all 9 lines active, the coin size range of £0.01 to £10.00 per coin produces a total bet range of £0.09 (minimum, 1 coin per line) up to £90 per spin.

Winning combinations in Sunshine Reef pay from both directions - left-to-right and right-to-left. This both-ways mechanic means combinations do not have to start from reel 1 to count, which effectively doubles the number of winning paths on each payline without increasing the stated line count. On a 9-line game, this is a meaningful difference: standard left-only wins would see the reels go quiet more often. The both-ways system keeps the base game paying more regularly and makes the lower-stake configurations more viable.

Wild Symbol

The blue dolphin is the wild symbol and substitutes for every other symbol on the reels - including the treasure chest bonus symbol. Most slots block wilds from replacing scatter or bonus symbols, leaving them useful only for standard line wins. Here, the dolphin fills in for the treasure chest, which means it actively contributes to bonus trigger frequency. Land two treasure chests and a dolphin on an active payline and the bonus fires as if three chests had appeared naturally.

The top base game payout is 5,000 coins for five of the highest-value symbol across a payline. With the both-ways mechanic active, the dolphin wild has more opportunities to complete those high-value combinations from either direction. On 9 paylines with both-ways wins, you will notice the difference in how often winning combinations form compared to a standard left-to-right setup.

Bonus Round

Three or more treasure chests on an active payline triggers the pick bonus. The main reels disappear and three treasure chests appear on screen. You pick one to reveal a cash prize. The maximum payout from a single pick is 250x your line bet. Some selections also reveal a "pick again" result, extending the round by one or two additional picks and stacking the prize total further.

The bonus can re-trigger during the pick round, adding up to two further rounds on top of the original. That stacking potential is easy to miss in a short summary, but it means a single bonus trigger can chain into multiple pick sequences. There are no free spins in Sunshine Reef - the pick bonus is the only bonus feature. The 250x multiplier applies to your line bet rather than your total bet, so the size of your active coin stake determines how much the bonus is worth at maximum.

Gamble Feature

After any winning combination, you have the option to enter the gamble round rather than taking the win. Instead of the standard red/black card flip, Microgaming used the game's own theme: two oysters appear on screen and you choose the one you think contains a pearl. A correct guess doubles your win. A wrong guess loses the entire amount.

There is no cap on how many times you can gamble a win upward in sequence, but the total is at risk each time. A £5 win gambled twice successfully becomes £20, but a wrong pick at any stage wipes it back to zero. The probability is 50/50 each time. Treat the gamble feature as optional entertainment rather than a strategy, particularly on wins above a few pounds where the potential loss starts to sting.

RTP and Volatility

The RTP is 93.5%, which sits below the 94-96% range typical of modern releases. For a slot from 2015, that figure was not unusual - the industry standard has moved upward since then. Volatility is medium, meaning the balance between bonus frequency and individual payout size is moderate. You will not sit through extremely long dry spells, but substantial payouts are tied to hitting the bonus with a decent coin stake rather than arriving in the base game.

Sunshine Reef is a clean, uncomplicated slot that executes its mechanics well. The dolphin wild substituting for the bonus symbol is the standout design choice - it makes the bonus feel more reachable than a flat 3-of-9 requirement would suggest. The both-ways payline system and the re-triggerable pick round add real value without complicating the interface. See where it sits among other Microgaming slots, or check the casino reviews to find a site that carries it.