Cuba Libre

The glamorous and gritty vision of Cuba made famous in 1996’s The Buena Vista Social Club takes center stage in Capecod Gaming’s Cuba Libre. Magnificent vintage cars, old-school music, and three separate bonus features make this trip to the beach enjoyable as well as lucrative.

Theme

In addition to being the name of this game, Cuba Libre also describes a symbol cocktail of rum, coke, and lime juice. Players will easily be able to imagine themselves enjoying both senses of the term in this slot – the reels are framed by palm trees and set before an inviting, sunny beach. Gaming symbols include an elegant woman in a floral hat, a glorious, vintage car, cigars, cocktails, bags of coffee, maracas, limes, bananas, and pineapples. The Cuban flag acts as wild, a symbol bearing the game’s title acts as scatter, while a large question mark gives players double or triple win multipliers. As is only appropriate, Afro-Cuban rhythms and celebratory trumpet calls punctuate gameplay.

Betting Options and Functions

Any great vacation requires well-made plans, and this slot is no different. There are 15 fixed paylines, each paying from left to right, with bet per line variable from 0.01–1.00. This yields an overall per-spin bet range of 0.15–15.00 times the betting currency. Auto spins are available for up to 1,000 spins at a time, though players should use caution before stepping away from the game, as there are no protections in place for loss limits. Payable information and detailed game rules are available on separate screens. The overall theoretical return to player ratio is slightly above the industry average of 95.50%.

Features

Capecod Gaming includes several bonus games to make this title more enjoyable, all triggered by the appearance of three scatter symbols on the reels. The Freespin bonus consists of five free spins, during which time the middle reel will remain taken up entirely by an expanded wild symbol, increasing wins in both size and frequency. The Special bonus awards five free spins on a miniature set of reels, with only the Cuba Libre symbol on them: each one that appears will pay an amount equal to the current bet. Finally, the Libre bonus takes place on a separate set of reels, where letters and multipliers appear. Each multiplier adds a win bonus equal to the current bet multiplied by that factor; letters are worth nothing by themselves, but if players can collect the necessary letters to spell ‘libre,’ a 100x payout is awarded. There are five chances to win before the game reverts to base play.

Our Take

Dreams of sunny, boozy, Cuban vacations are within reach thanks to Capecod Gaming’s playful, skillful approach to slot design. Though this title has much to recommend it, though, there’s nothing here to set Cuba Libre apart from the larger competition. Players will likely enjoy their time in the sand, but may not wish to stay for long.