CQ9 Gaming Xmas Slot Review & Free Play

Xmas: Follow Santa Claus Through Three Snowy Stages for Multiplied Free Spins

Xmas by CQ9 Gaming takes you into a snowy Christmas village where Santa Claus, reindeer, gifts, and festive decorations cover the screen. With a three-stage progression system, expanding grids, and free spins carrying multipliers up to 5x, this grid looked promising enough for me to spend more than 200 spins inside it.

Unlike most traditional slots, this game is built around three separate stages. You begin on a 4x4 grid, progress to a 5x5 grid, and eventually reach a 6x6 grid by collecting 15 special symbols. Each stage increases the cluster requirement, while special symbols and shields help unlock the next level.

As for me, I was landing wins every 3 to 4 spins, with average returns sitting between 2x and 2.80x my bet. The cascading mechanics with cluster payouts kept me going, as winning symbols disappeared and new ones dropped into place. 

In Round 1, you need at least 4 connected symbols to form a win. Round 2 raises that requirement to 5 connected symbols, while Round 3 requires 6 connected symbols. Collecting and clearing 15 special symbols allows you to move forward through the stages. 

There is also a bonus round available in this game, which is quite surprising for this setup. Whenever the star Symbol appears, it awards 10 free spins alongside a random multiplier between 1x and 5x your bet. Every win during the feature is multiplied by that value, and the progression system remains active during the free spins.

Unfortunately, despite spending 200+ spins in the game, I never managed to trigger the Free Spins feature even once. Since free spins cannot be retriggered and there is no Bonus Buy option available, I was left entirely at the mercy of luck.

Xmas did introduce an interesting concept with its expanding grid progression. However, the feature frequency felt far too restrictive during my session. Had the bonus round appeared even once, my opinion of the game could have been different.

As it stands, Xmas’s Santa was more generous with decorations than rewards. If you're looking for better payout potential, a few better options are waiting below.