Sherlock Bones

Sherlock Bones takes the classic detective and reimagines him as a dog with a magnifying glass and a bone fixation, developed by Electric Elephant across a five-reel grid with a ways-to-win structure that ranges from 243 up to 16,807. It's a lighthearted, animal-themed twist on Victorian London that leans on an expanding-wild respin feature as its main draw.

Theme and gameplay feel

Moody skies hang over a 5x3 grid suspended above the tiled rooftops and chimneys of late Victorian London, giving the whole scene a grim, atmospheric edge despite the playful dog-detective premise. Sherlock Bones is joined by his trusted companion Watson, also reimagined in canine form, as the pair chase down their feline nemesis across the reels. A mysterious, Holmes-inspired soundtrack ties the setting together nicely, striking a balance between genuine atmosphere and the game's more tongue-in-cheek animal cast.

The core mechanic is the Rolling Respins feature, triggered by walking Sherlock Bones wild symbols that expand themselves — along with reels and ways to win — whenever they appear. The base game splits cleanly into two modes: standard spins, which benefit from stacked symbols and the base 243 ways to win but can feel comparatively slow, and the respin mode, where the expanding wilds get the chance to open up the grid substantially. Respins don't trigger constantly, but each one that does is guaranteed to pay something. Wins pay left to right for three or more matching symbols among seven regular pay icons, including Kings, Aces, pipes, magnifying glasses, and paw prints at the lower end, with Watson and the villainous cat symbol sitting at the premium tier, each worth 6x to 10x the stake for five of a kind. Symbols can land stacked, opening the door to considerably larger full-screen outcomes.

What the RTP means for you

An RTP of 96.21% is a solid, slightly above-average figure for the current slot market, giving players a fair theoretical long-run return.

Volatility explained

Rated medium volatility (3 out of 5), Sherlock Bones sits in a comfortable middle ground — not as flat as a low-volatility grinder, but without the extreme swings of the highest-variance releases either.

Betting range

Stakes run from 0.20 up to 100 per spin, making the game accessible across a fairly wide range of bankrolls, with no confirmed maximum win multiplier published for this title — worth checking the in-game paytable directly for the current top prize figure.

Verdict

Sherlock Bones' expanding-wild respin mechanic gives an otherwise familiar Victorian detective theme genuine mechanical interest, particularly once the ways-to-win count starts climbing toward its 16,807 ceiling. It's a solid, medium-volatility pick for players who enjoy a slower-building base game punctuated by bigger respin moments — worth a look via the free demo at johnessyslots before playing with real stakes.