Candy Starz (Pragmatic Play) – Review & Demo Play

Candy Stars: Slot Overview

I’m a slots regular, and Candy Stars landed on my list for its simple 5x3 set-up with a top horizontal reel and 576 ways to win. The tumbles keep the pace up, and the sticky wild multiplier on that top row is the hook. It’s high volatility, with variable RTP profiles at 96.47%, 95.02%, or 94.31%, and stakes from 20p to £100. The look leans disco rather than sugar overload, which suits quick sessions on mobile or desktop without clutter.

Candy Stars: Slot Features

Every win triggers a tumble that removes the winning symbols and drops in new ones, so chains can build without fresh spins. It feels like a mini-Megaways loop despite the fixed layout. The key is the top reel, as wilds only land up there and they don’t fall off during a tumbling sequence. That stickiness means a modest starter hit can stretch across multiple cascades, which is where the multipliers start to matter.

Wilds act as substitutes and start at x1 in the base game, rising by +1 after each successful tumble, up to x128. Any line routed through that wild takes the multiplier. In free spins the behaviour changes, as the wild that drops each spin starts at x2 and doubles after each tumble. That shift from incremental to doubling makes the bonus feel punchier, and it’s the quickest way I’ve seen the counter climb towards the cap.

Three diamond scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 award eight free spins, with plus five if you land three more during the round. There’s one guaranteed wild on the top row per free spin, so you’re rarely waiting long for action. Some sites offer a bonus buy for 80x your stake, which isn’t available in the UK, and where offered the top RTP linked to the buy is 96.26%. Either way, the 5,000x win cap keeps sessions measured.

Candy Stars Symbols and Paytable

Low pays are J to A card royals, worth around 1x to 1.5x for five of a kind, while four candy symbols make up the highs, paying roughly 2x to 7.5x for five. Diamonds are scatters, only needed on reels 1, 3, and 5 to trigger the feature. Star wilds sit on the top reel and substitute for pay symbols. They carry the multiplier that grows via tumbles in base play and doubles per tumble in free spins, capped at x128.

Candy Starz Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x7.5
	4	x3
	3	x1
	5	x3
	4	x1.25
	3	x0.5
	5	x2.5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	5	x2
	4	x1
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.75
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.5
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.25
	5	x1.25
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.15
	5	x1
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.15
	Wild
	Scatter

Design in Candy Stars

The presentation mixes sweets with a retro, almost 80s disco backdrop. It’s pared back for a candy slot, which helps visibility on smaller screens. The sound and glow give it a boogie vibe without drowning the reels in frosting, and that restraint fits the fast, tumble-first gameplay. I find it easy on the eye across longer sets, with symbols that read cleanly even when cascades start to rattle through.

Gameplay in Candy Stars

Set stakes, hit spin, and aim to connect left to right on adjacent reels from the first reel, with 576 ways active each spin. The extra horizontal strip above the middle reels is where the wilds land and stick during tumbles, so my eyes are always up there first. When the multiplier sits in a useful column and tumbles keep feeding, the base game can spike nicely without waiting on a feature.

Land three diamonds to launch free spins and let the guaranteed wild per spin go to work. The round plays itself once triggered, so it’s about placement and tumbles. Where permitted you can purchase the feature for 80x the stake, though not in the UK. I keep autoplay modest in this one, as the pace from cascades is brisk enough, and I prefer to tweak stakes based on how the multiplier lanes are behaving.

RTP, Volatility and Max Win in Candy Stars

RTP depends on the version in use, with profiles at 96.47%, 95.02%, or 94.31%. Volatility is high, the studio rates it five out of five, and there’s a 5,000x stake cap on payouts. Bets range from 20p to £100. That maths package points to swingy sessions where droughts happen, but the multiplier system gives momentum when a set-up lands. I pace stakes accordingly and let the tumbles do the heavy lifting rather than chase.

From large-sample testing I’ve seen shared, the hit rate sits near one in 3.33 spins and the bonus falls about one in 217 spins, which aligns with how my balance tends to move. Actual top outs reported around x4,800 show the cap is reachable, though rare, and that ties back to the doubling wilds in the feature. If the grid co-operates, the numbers stack quickly; if not, sessions can run cold.

Candy Stars: Slot Verdict

I came in sceptical about another sweets slot, but the sticky wild multiplier on the top strip makes Candy Stars worth a go. It’s simple, pacey, and the bonus feels lively thanks to the doubling ladder. The RTP ranges are the main caveat, so I check the info panel first. When the wild parks in a good lane and tumbles flow, it can produce eyebrow-raising hits. When it doesn’t, I cut stakes and wait for a better patch.