Holmes & the Stolen Stones slot

Holmes & the Stolen Stones slot at a glance

Holmes & the Stolen Stones is a Victorian detective slot from Yggdrasil, released in September 2015. Its hook is simple: every diamond you spot moves you closer to a jackpot, so the game feels like an ongoing case rather than a string of unrelated spins.

On paper it sits in the middle of the road. A 96.8% return to player is above the figure many slots publish, and medium volatility means wins should arrive more often than on a high-volatility game, though usually smaller. You'll find the full list of our reviews on the mobile slots hub.

How the features work in Holmes & the Stolen Stones

There are three linked features. Each one is described below in plain terms, based only on the developer's published design.

Diamond collection and the five jackpots

Diamonds come in different colours. Collect five diamonds of the same colour and you win the local progressive jackpot attached to that colour. Because there are five colours, there are five separate jackpots, and counters sitting above the reels keep a running tally of how many of each colour you've gathered.

The Warehouse bonus

Land three or more keyhole bonus symbols and Holmes heads into the Warehouse. Here you search crates one at a time. A crate can hold a diamond shard, which feeds your jackpot progress, or a coin prize. The search continues until you open a crate holding a smoke bomb, which ends the round.

10 free spins with tripled wins

The game also includes a round of 10 free spins. During those spins every win is multiplied by three, and extra diamonds are added to the reels, which gives the jackpot counters a better chance to move. The free spins here are a game feature, not a casino promotion.

Feature details above come from the developer's published game description. The exact paytable values and how often features land vary and aren't something any listing can promise, so open the paytable in the game before you play.

Holmes slot jackpots: what the counters really mean

A local progressive jackpot usually builds from play within one casino rather than across a network of sites, so its value can differ from one app to another. The game's own display shows the current amounts wherever you open it.

The counters are useful, but they can also pull you into playing longer than planned. Seeing four of five green diamonds feels like you're nearly there. In reality each spin is independent, and a counter that is almost full doesn't make the next diamond more likely.

Whether counters carry over between sessions isn't stated in the published description, so check the game rules in the help screen of the app you use. For a wider look at how pooled prizes work, see our guide to jackpot slots on mobile.

96.8% RTP and medium volatility on a £20 budget

RTP is a long-run average across millions of spins. A 96.8% RTP means the house edge is 3.2%, so the expected cost of a spin is the stake multiplied by 3.2%. Your own session will swing well above or below that.

The arithmetic is stake × 3.2%. At 50p that's 50p × 0.032 = 1.6p a spin, or £1.60 per 100 spins. These are averages, not predictions, and the house edge means losses are the likely outcome over time.

Volatility describes how bumpy the ride is. Medium volatility suggests a mix of small and mid-sized wins, so a £20 budget at 10p gives you a long session with room for the Warehouse or free spins to turn up. At £1 you get only 20 spins before the budget runs dry if nothing lands, which suits a quick look rather than a jackpot chase.

Playing Holmes & the Stolen Stones on mobile

Yggdrasil's games are generally built in HTML5, so the same slot loads inside a casino app or a phone browser without a separate download. Whether it plays in portrait or landscape isn't stated in the published details, so rotate your phone and see which view keeps the jackpot counters readable.

1. Open a UK-licensed casino app and log in; age and identity checks must be complete before you can play.
2. Search the game lobby for "Holmes" or browse the Yggdrasil section if the app has one.
3. Tap the information or paytable icon and confirm the RTP shown for that version.
4. Set your stake before the first spin and keep it inside the budget you planned.
5. Turn on a reality check or session reminder in your account settings if you haven't already.
6. Close the game when your budget or time limit is reached, whatever the counters show.

Small screens make the counters and the crate grid the parts to watch. If text feels cramped, our guide to landscape vs portrait mode explains the trade-offs, and how to find a game's RTP in an app shows where the figure usually sits.

UK rules for Holmes & the Stolen Stones in casino apps

The version you meet in a British app follows the Gambling Commission's rules, which change how the game feels compared with older videos you may find online.

The Commission's online slots stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) sets out the £5 and £2 caps, and RTS 14 on responsible product design (opens in a new tab) holds the speed and autoplay rules. Our pages on UK slot stake limits and game design rules go through them in more detail.

Three myths about the Holmes slot

• "Four diamonds means the fifth is due." Each spin is random. A nearly full counter doesn't change the odds of the next diamond.
• "The app version pays less." Apps don't have lower RTP by default. Casinos can choose between versions a developer offers, so check the game's help screen for the figure where you play.
• "A betting pattern can beat it." No staking system changes the 3.2% house edge. Raising stakes after losses only speeds up how fast a budget goes.

The Commission's rules on game descriptions and RTP (opens in a new tab) require that game rules and return information are available to players, which is why the help screen is the right place to check. Our answer to whether RTP is lower on casino apps covers the version question fully.

Who the Holmes & the Stolen Stones slot suits

It suits players who like a story and a sense of progress, at modest stakes. If you prefer fast, high-volatility games with huge multipliers, a title like Valley of the Gods from the same studio has a very different feel.

Similar slots to Holmes & the Stolen Stones

If you enjoy the collect-and-progress idea, these games on our site share part of the appeal. Figures come from each game's published specifications.

For a wider list ranked by app rather than game, see the best slot apps in the UK or the high RTP slot apps list.

Where to play Holmes & the Stolen Stones in a UK app

We can't confirm which of our partners lists Holmes & the Stolen Stones, so search the game lobby in the app before signing up. None of the welcome offers below can be used on it directly, because each one is tied to selected slots.

PlayOJO gives new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza with a first deposit of at least £10; spins are worth 10p each and winnings are paid in cash with no wagering. 18+, terms apply.

At Coral, new players who deposit and bet £10 or more on slots get 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each, accepted within 48 hours and valid for 7 days, with no wagering on winnings; some payment types, including PayPal, don't qualify. Ladbrokes gives up to 500 free spins (50 a day for 10 days, 10p each, valid 7 days, no wagering) after a £10 slot spend. 18+, terms apply to both.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.