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Avatar UX releases 3 Merry Penguins on 1 Dec 2026. We add the demo as soon as it is out.
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- RTP
- 95.77%
- Volatility
- Medium-High
- Max win
- 10,000x
- Grid
- 5x3 (5 x 6 with Extra Rows)
Avatar UXReleases 1 Dec 2026UPCOMING
3 Merry Penguins Demo & review
A 5x3, 25-line Christmas slot where Bonus symbols fill three pots, and each pot adds respins, rows or Boosters to a Hold & Win round.
Written by Hampus GravePublished 10 Nov 2026Updated 11 Nov 2026
7.2/10
For bonus buyers, yes, and for anyone waiting on a natural bonus, no. Three pots add respins, a 5x6 board and Boosters to Hold & Win, and Bonus Premium guarantees all of them. The natural route is the weak link: Avatar UX publishes no symbol count for it, and our 100 Ante-off spins never got there.
Who it suits
Play this if…
- You pay for features and want the full round: Bonus Premium guarantees all three modes
- Bigger boards are your favourite part of Hold & Win: Extra Rows doubles the rows and opens 30 positions
- You play for the draw as much as the prize: each pot changes what the round can do
Skip this if…
- You are a bonus chaser on a natural trigger: no count is published for what starts the round
- Line wins are why you play: ours were small change next to any bonus
- RTP comes first for you: the casino chooses, and the lowest listed version is well below the top one
Casinos we recommend
3 Merry Penguins is not out yet. These are the casinos we recommend, with YEET as our #1 pick. How we test casinos
- Our #1 pick
YEET
FluxPlays score 9.5
10% weekly lossback
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18+ · T&Cs apply · Offer checked 11 Nov 2026
SafeCasino
FluxPlays score 7.5
Skrill withdrawal paid out in 18 hours in our test
400% up to €4,000 + 1,200 free spins
- 40x wagering
- min deposit €10
- 30 days
400% welcome package up to 4,000 over four deposits, each 100% up to 1,000 plus 300 free spins. 40x wagering on bonus and free spin winnings. Minimum 10 to activate, 200 for the full 300 spins. 30 day validity. Free spins run on Pragmatic Play games.
18+ · T&Cs apply · Offer checked 7 Oct 2026
Betlabel
FluxPlays score 7.0
E-wallet payout inside 24 hours in our test
200% up to €1,500 + 150 free spins
- 35x wagering
- min deposit €10
- 7 days
200% welcome package up to 1,500 plus 150 free spins over four deposits: 100% up to 300 + 30 FS, 50% up to 350 + 35 FS, 25% up to 400 + 40 FS, 25% up to 450 + 45 FS. 35x wagering, 7 day window. Minimum 10 first deposit, 15 thereafter. Crypto deposits are not bonus eligible.
18+ · T&Cs apply · Offer checked 7 Oct 2026
These are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you sign up through them. It never changes our scores. Affiliate disclosure
3 Merry Penguins: Full Review
The 100x Bonus in 3 Merry Penguins dealt us only one of its three modes and stopped with 16 of 30 positions locked, paying $89.00. Avatar UX releases this 25-line Hold & Win slot in December 2026, and we played the pre-release demo from the Try Demo button on its game page. Which modes you are dealt decides the size of the round, so it suits players who enjoy the draw as much as the respins.
3 Merry Penguins game information
- Provider
- Avatar UX
- Release date
- 1 December 2026
- Grid
- 5 x 3 (5 x 6 with Extra Rows) (reels x rows)
- How it pays
- 25 paylines
- RTP
- 95.77% base (rules) (casinos may also run 93.98% and 90.31% (Avatar UX's versions))
- Volatility
- Medium-High
- Max win
- 10,000x the bet
- Bet range
- $0.10 to $300
- Buys and modes
- 2 buys, 1 paid mode, see the table
How 3 Merry Penguins works
Three modes decide the size of every bonus: Extra Spins, Extra Rows and Boosters, named in the bar above the reels. Underneath is a 5x3 game on 25 lines, paying runs of a symbol on neighbouring reels, starting at reel 1. We did not open the paytable during this test, so this page gives no symbol values.
How the features connect:
- Bonus symbols land on the reels and feed three pots above them. Avatar UX says a pot can open on any spin where one lands.
- Each opened pot adds a mode to the Hold & Win round.
- The round itself triggers at random. Neither the game's rules page nor Avatar UX's page gives a symbol count.
- The Bonus and Bonus Premium buys skip the wait, and the Ante raises the odds of a natural trigger.
Hold & Win carries the game, and the line wins are what you play between rounds.
The base game with the three modes named above the reels. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
How Hold & Win and its three modes work
The round starts on 3 respins, which the intro screen calls Free Spins, and every Coin, Booster or jackpot that locks resets them. Coins are worth 1x to 50x, and filling the whole grid doubles the bonus total.
| Mode | What it changes | Seen in our test |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Spins | Starts the round on 4 respins instead of 3 | Natural round and Bonus Premium |
| Extra Rows | Grows the board from 5x3 to 5x6, 30 positions | Bonus and Bonus Premium |
| Boosters | Add +0.5x to +10x to Coin values on a reel, a row or the whole board | Bonus Premium only, not followed hit by hit |
Three fixed jackpots sit beside the reels. Minor pays 100x and Major 500x. Grand, at 5,000x, is the top prize. Avatar UX's page labels them Mini, Minor and Major at the same values and calls Extra Spins Extra Life, and we use the demo's names.
Extra Rows is what gave our bought round its 30 positions, and we caught it with 16 of them filled and the Full Board counter reading 16 of 30. The doubling for a full grid stayed out of reach.
The Extra Rows board from the 100x Bonus, with the Full Board counter at 16 of 30. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
The final amount of the 100x Bonus. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
Bonus, Bonus Premium and Ante: prices and what you get
The Bonus card promises up to three modes and Bonus Premium promises all three, so the extra 150x buys the removal of the draw. The Ante is charged on every spin and doubles the chance of a Bonus. Whether the buys and Ante are offered depends on jurisdiction.
Buys and paid modes
Prices at a $1 bet, with our test result
Bonus
$100
Bonus buy · RTP 96.30%
Hold & Win with up to 3 modes
Our testOne round: $89 back ($100 in)
Bonus Premium
$250
Bonus buy · RTP 96.36%
Hold & Win with Extra Spins, Extra Rows and Boosters
Our testOne round: $283.50 back ($250 in)
Ante
$1.50 a spin
Paid mode, per spin · RTP 95.93%
2x chance of Bonus on every spin
Our test20 spins: $54.30 back ($30 in)
| Option | Price at $1 | Official RTP | What you get | Our test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BonusBonus buy | $100 | 96.30% | Hold & Win with up to 3 modes | One round: $89 back$100 in |
| Bonus PremiumBonus buy | $250 | 96.36% | Hold & Win with Extra Spins, Extra Rows and Boosters | One round: $283.50 back$250 in |
| AntePaid mode, per spin | $1.50 a spin | 95.93% | 2x chance of Bonus on every spin | 20 spins: $54.30 back$30 in |
For us Bonus Premium is the one to pick. Both buys carry a little more RTP than the base game, and Premium a little more than Bonus, so the only real cost of the guarantee is the size of the stake.
The buy menu at a 1.00 bet. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
RTP, volatility and max win
The base game is 95.77% in the game's rules. Avatar UX also lists 93.98% and 90.31% versions, so the casino's choice matters. Avatar UX describes the variance as High Medium, and the rules give no label. The 10,000x ceiling appears on the intro screen and the game page, and neither says whether the round ends there.
Our 3 Merry Penguins demo test
FluxPlays demo test
10 November 2026, demo running 95.77% base, 96.30% Bonus, 96.36% Bonus Premium, 95.93% Ante (the game's rules) RTP
Base game spins
100
at $1 per spin
Staked
$100
Paid back
$74.10
74.1% of stake, -$25.90
Winning spins
29 of 100
29% of spins paid something
Biggest win
$11 (11x)
a base-game win; no bonus in the 100 base spins
Free spins triggered
0
natural triggers in the session
Played on Avatar UX's pre-release demo, opened from the Try Demo button on its game page, on 10 November 2026, ahead of the 1 December 2026 release, in euro demo credits read as dollars, from a 10,000.00 balance at a 1.00 bet. The 100 base spins ran on Auto Spin with the Ante off, then each buy was played once and the Ante for 20 spins. Every round was logged from the game server and matched the balance on screen: 9,974.10 after the base spins, 10,020.90 at the end. Build number not read. Re-check on release day.
The only natural bonus of the session came on the fifth Ante spin: 4 Free Spins with Extra Spins on, worth $32.00. The 100 spins with the Ante off never reached one, and the best of what they returned was an $11.00 win.
The final amount of the natural bonus on Ante spin 5. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
The two buys show what the draw means. Bonus Premium opened on 4 Free Spins with all three modes running and paid $283.50 for its $250.00 price, the only bonus we played with every mode active.
The final amount of the 250x Bonus Premium. FluxPlays demo test, 10 November 2026.
One bonus of each type shows how the modes look, and it cannot show what they return. No jackpot appeared on the boards we captured, so that part rests on Avatar UX's page and the demo's labels.
Where 3 Merry Penguins earns its price
Not in the base game, but in the buy menu, yes. Modes are the appeal, and the buy that guarantees them carries the best RTP on offer, so the page is a better case for buying than for waiting.
Barn Beats is Avatar UX's closest relative, with the same Bonus and Premium split. Pick Barn Beats for cheaper buys, at 60x and 200x, and Collectors working across two boards. Pick this one if a 5x6 board and Boosters interest you more than Collectors.
In the demo, try Bonus Premium once before anything else, since it is the only way to see all three modes together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you trigger the bonus in 3 Merry Penguins?+
Bonus symbols feed three pots, and the Hold & Win round then triggers at random. Neither the game's rules page nor Avatar UX's page gives a symbol count, so the only certain routes are the two buys. It landed naturally once in our session, on the fifth spin with the Ante switched on.
Can you buy the bonus in 3 Merry Penguins, and what does it cost?+
Yes, Bonus costs 100x the bet and Bonus Premium costs 250x. Bonus deals up to three modes, while Premium guarantees Extra Spins, Extra Rows and Boosters together. Whether either is offered depends on jurisdiction. The Ante is the cheaper paid option, at 1.5x the bet, and doubles the chance of a Bonus.
What is the max win in 3 Merry Penguins?+
The max win is 10,000x the bet, shown on the intro screen and Avatar UX's page. The largest fixed prize is the Grand at 5,000x, and filling the grid doubles the bonus total, so the top end needs a full board and big values together. The game does not say whether the round stops at the cap.
What do the three modes do in 3 Merry Penguins?+
They change the shape of the Hold & Win round. Extra Spins starts it on 4 respins instead of 3, Extra Rows grows the board to 5x6 with 30 positions, and Boosters raise Coin values on a reel, a row or the whole board. Our 100x Bonus dealt Extra Rows alone.
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