Many 90-Ball bingo games seem to pay little attention to themes and special features, so coming across Playtech’s Potion Shop Bingo today was something of a treat, an elixir if you will! As you’ll quickly notice from the screenshots below, the developer has obviously put a lot more time and effort into customising their software for Potion Shop, and whilst it doesn’t make a massive difference to much of how the game plays, it is still a welcome change of pace. The RTP remains typical of most online bingo games at between 80% and 87%, whilst the prize fund seems to float somewhere in the region of 250x the cost of a single ticket. The progressive jackpot currently stands at over £400, which is really significant for a game that can cost as little as 5p to play.
Talking about that jackpot, this is a community progressive jackpot which means that half of the pot is divided equally amongst all players who participate in the winning round, which helps to keep things exciting even when you aren’t having much luck filling up your own tickets. The jackpot is claimed frequently, too – as often as every couple of days, apparently – so you really do stand a great chance of winning just by participating in a few rounds of Potion Shop each day. The game includes a couple of other unique features, too – the Stir the Cauldron bonus returns a small number of your ticket buy-ins slowly over time, win or lose, whilst a ‘Magical Jackpot Shop’ mini-game is available to keep you entertained in between rounds.
No Deposit Needed
Our Score
*10 Free Spins No Deposit: First 10 spins: Players who have successfully verified their mobile phone number and completed age verification will be credited 10 free spins on Squealin’ Riches 20p per spin, no maximum win. Subsequent 30 spins: First deposit only. Min deposit & spend £10. Max 30 spins on Fishin Frenzy Megaways at 10p per spin. Spins credited upon spend of £10. Full T&Cs apply. 18+ Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org.
£5 Deposit
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*Up to £120 Bonus: New customers only. Deposit and stake £10 on bingo to qualify within 7 days of initial deposit. Some prizes have wagering requirements and expiry dates. Country restrictions apply. See full t&cs for more detail. 18+ Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. #AD
£10 Deposit
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First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 2,500 Free Bingo Tickets (on 250 on Street Party valid for 21 days & 2,250 For Kaching valid for 24 days) & 25 Pending Free Spins (on a game of our choice). Promo code: BINGO25. Free Spins are valid for 7 days & will be available once £5 of deposit funds have been wagered. FS winnings are capped at £2.50. All winnings are credited to your real money balance. We reserve the right to deny promotional offers based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions & full T&Cs apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
200% Bonus
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First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 200% Bingo Bonus up to £20 & 50 Free Spins (on Starburst). 10 Free Spins will be credited per day, across 5 days. Promo code: BONUS200. Any Bingo Bonus winnings, if applicable, must be wagered 4x before withdrawal. Any Free Spins winnings, if applicable, will be credited as bonus funds. FS winnings must be wagered 99x before withdrawal. Free Spins are valid for 7 days. Games Bonus win cap: £100 + original bonus amount. Wagering contribution varies by game. We reserve the right to deny bonuses based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions apply. Valid until 31.12.2023 View Full T&Cs.
£10 Deposit
Our Score
First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 100% Bingo Bonus up to £10 & 50 Free Spins (on Starburst). 10 Free Spins will be credited per day, across 5 days. Promo code: FREE50. Any Bingo Bonus winnings, if applicable, must be wagered 4x before withdrawal. Any Free Spins winnings, if applicable, will be credited as bonus funds. FS winnings must be wagered 99x before withdrawal. Free Spins are valid for 7 days. Games Bonus win cap: £100 + original bonus amount. Wagering contribution varies by game. We reserve the right to deny bonuses based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
£10 Deposit
Our Score
First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 2,500 Free Bingo Tickets (on 250 on Street Party valid for 21 days & 2,250 For Kaching valid for 24 days) & 25 Pending Free Spins (on a game of our choice). Promo code: BINGO25. Free Spins are valid for 7 days & will be available once £5 of deposit funds have been wagered. FS winnings are capped at £2.50. All winnings are credited to your real money balance. We reserve the right to deny promotional offers based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions & full T&Cs apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! As the title indicates, this is a witching-themed bingo game, but unlike most other 90-Ball games, a great deal of effort has been made here to transform the software into something suitably magical. Everything from the borders to the tickets and rules pages has been given a fresh coat of paint for Potion Shop, resulting in a much more interesting game than, say, Best Odds Bingo. The level of effort and customisation is even up to the standards of a typical speed bingo game such as Mystic Meg Bingo, which is especially rare in the 90-Ball format.
Speaking of those tickets, whilst the layout is essentially no different to other 90-Ball bingo cards, the scroll-like appearance that has been applied to them does at least make things look much more interesting. Personally, I prefer to switch the view to simplified mode, which will only show you the handful of numbers outstanding before you hit the next prize. As you would expect for a 90-Ball game, each round offers three prizes for the first player to complete one line, two lines, and the full house, with the total prize pool divided roughly 15%/25%/60%, respectively.
The size of the prize pool can vary dramatically throughout the day and also strongly depends on the ticket price of each round. This can vary between 5p and 20p and often fluctuate between rounds as the number of participating players and tickets purchased changes.
Before we start, have you read our overview of the 90-Ball bingo format? If not, be sure to give that a quick read before you play Potion Shop, as it answers many of the most frequently asked questions regarding this type of game. With that out of the way, it’s time to purchase your tickets – you can just go for one if you like, but it’s probably worth grabbing a few more, considering that they are often priced as low as just 5p each. The maximum number of tickets you can buy for a round will change as the price goes up and down, but somewhere between 36 and 70 tickets per round seems to be about average.
One extra feature of Potion Shop worth mentioning is the customised bingo cards – you’ll notice these changing colour as you get closer to winning a prize, providing a handy overview for those who have bought a large number of cards.
Finally, the time has come to talk about the additional bells and whistles that Playtech has added to the gameplay of Potion Shop! The first item on the list – the Magical Jackpot Shop – isn’t technically part of the main game, but it’s worthy of a mention here all the same.
In the bottom-right corner of the screen, you’ll find a miniature slot machine styled after the main bingo game. Named ‘Magical Jackpot Shop’, this is a four-reel game with a jackpot of up to £1,000 up for grabs; if you’re bored between rounds, then I’d certainly recommend giving this little wonder a few spins!
The majority of online bingo games offer a progressive jackpot of some kind. In the case of Potion Shop, the prize available here is a split community jackpot which means that half of the payout is awarded to the winning player, with the other half divided equally amongst the other ticketholders.
To win the jackpot, you’ll need to complete one of your bingo cards in 38 calls or less. Whilst most games I observed seemed to go on for 50 calls or more, this jackpot is claimed every couple of days or so on average, meaning that it can’t be quite as tough as my experience would suggest!
The final special feature is dubbed Stir the Cauldron and will appear on the screen once the main game has wrapped up. You need to purchase at least six tickets to participate in this aspect of the game, so I’d recommend grabbing at least that many for each round you are going to play.
The final number called determines the amount of potion each player can collect as part of this feature – the higher, the better – but there’s also a degree of luck involved in deciding whether the witch will brew up a ‘bad batch’ or a ‘master potion’!
As 90-Ball bingo goes, Potion Shop is undoubtedly one of the better titles I have come across recently. The mini-slot is a great addition – I found myself continuing to play this for some time after each round had finished – and the jackpot is substantial, given the price of the tickets. Recommended!
Article by Chris Howlett
Chris has over 11 years of experience playing and writing about bingo and online slots.