High 5 Games Slots: Da Vinci Diamonds Creators & UK Exit

High 5 Games has one of the strangest arcs in slots: the New York studio that quietly built some of the most famous games ever — Da Vinci Diamonds and Golden Goddess were H5G creations distributed under IGT’s brand — then surrendered its UK licences in September 2023, pivoted hard into social and sweepstakes casino, and in February 2025 lost the first-ever class-action jury verdict against a social casino: roughly $24.9 million in Washington State. The real-money catalogue survives in pockets, but this is now a story page as much as a studio review. Our verdict: 4/10. This covers the best High 5 slots ranked, the true authorship of the IGT classics, and the legal record told straight.

Where to Play High 5 Games Slots

High 5 Games at a glance

The essentials — the prolific New York studio that left real-money Britain behind.

✓ Facts checked against the UKGC public register (accounts 41105 and 39609), US court records for the Washington class action, and high5games.com’s own game data — 12 July 2026

UK Availability: Read This First

High 5 Games walked away from direct UK supply on 5 September 2023, when both its UKGC entities surrendered their licences — the software licence it had held since 2015 and the Gibraltar arm’s remote casino licence dating to 2014 (it briefly ran its own real-money High 5 Casino site for UK players). The register records the surrenders plainly. What remains for UK players is indirect: the famous H5G-developed titles that ship under IGT’s brand — Da Vinci Diamonds, Golden Goddess, Pixies of the Forest — stay lawfully in UK lobbies under IGT’s own licensing, because on those games the studio of record is IGT. H5G’s own-brand catalogue, though, is no longer supplied to British casinos; demos are the legitimate way to revisit it.

The best High 5 own-brand slots: 8 that defined it

Eight releases from the studio’s own label — the games that carried the H5G name rather than IGT’s. Several are 2009-2013 land-based conversions, and hard published specs are patchier than for modern studios; where a figure isn’t verifiable we say so rather than invent one.

1. Secrets of the Forest (2009)

The studio’s own-brand masterpiece — a fairy-glade slot across 99 connected lines at 94.9% published RTP, medium volatility, and the game that made Tumbling Reels famous under H5G’s own name. Land-based first, online ever since, and still lovely.

2. Moon Warriors (2013)

A 720-ways warrior epic at 94.9% published RTP, medium volatility, with up to 96 initial free spins — a genuinely unusual free-spins economy. Released November 2013, and among the best showcases of the Super Stacks mechanic.

3. Green Machine Deluxe (2016)

A cash-grid oddity at 95% published RTP, low volatility — the Racking Up Riches bonus (pictured) fills a grid with cash values rather than spinning conventional reels, an ancestor of today’s prize-reveal formats. A land-based cult favourite that translated online intact.

4. Dangerous Beauty (2011)

The Split Symbols showcase — symbols carrying two icons at once, letting six-of-a-kind wins land on five reels — published around 96% RTP, medium-high volatility. One of the clearest examples of an H5G-original mechanic the industry later echoed.

5. Triple Double Da Vinci Diamonds (2017)

H5G reclaiming its most famous creation under its own label — the Da Vinci format with Tumbling Reels and a Spin-crease system unlocking RTP tiers from 90.0% up to 97.1%, medium volatility, 10,000x ceiling. Released December 2017.

6. Valkyrie Queen (2013)

A Norse 243-ways companion piece to Moon Warriors, released the same month (November 2013) with the same Super Stacks engine — published specs beyond that were never released, and we won’t invent them.

7. Shadow of the Panther (2011)

Split Symbols and Super Stacks together at 96% published RTP — a jungle-noir theme that became one of the brand’s most recognisable land-based exports.

8. The Charleston (2010)

A 1920s flapper slot on up to 160 lines at 94.9% published RTP with stacked wilds and free spins — period charm from the studio’s early own-brand era.

The IGT Classics High 5 Actually Built

This is the part most players never learn: several of the most famous “IGT slots” ever were created by High 5 Games under a development deal, with IGT as the distributing brand and studio of record. Da Vinci Diamonds (2008, 94.94% published RTP) — the game that made Tumbling Reels a genre — Golden Goddess (2011, 94.75%, the Super Stacks debut) and Pixies of the Forest (2012, 94.9%) all came from H5G’s New York studios. At UK casinos those games remain available under IGT’s licensing, correctly branded as IGT titles — but the credit for their design belongs here. It’s arguably the studio’s greatest legacy, and the reason its influence outlasts its own-brand availability.

High 5 Games vs its rivals

The honest comparison: as a games company, 1995-2017 H5G belongs in distinguished company — few studios anywhere invented three mechanics the industry still uses. As a 2026 proposition for UK players, it’s a museum with a courtroom attached; Design Works Gaming shows what the same US-veteran profile looks like with an active UK licence.

Signature mechanics & technology

Three mechanics anchor the studio’s claim to history. Tumbling Reels — winning symbols vanish and new ones fall in — debuted in Da Vinci Diamonds in 2008, years before “cascades” became the industry default. Super Stacks — whole reels filled with one pre-selected symbol — arrived via Golden Goddess. Split Symbols — two icons on one position, enabling nine-of-a-kind wins — powered Dangerous Beauty and Shadow of the Panther. All three are listed among H5G’s trademarks. The later Spin-crease system (unlockable RTP tiers, as in Triple Double Da Vinci Diamonds) was a genuinely early experiment in player-visible maths selection.

High 5 slots RTP: what the numbers actually say

The catalogue’s published figures cluster between 94.5% and 96% with low-to-medium volatility — time-on-device maths from the land-based tradition, not modern bonanza-chasing. Two honest caveats: many titles are 2009-2013 land-based conversions whose full online spec sheets were never published (max wins especially — the dashes in our table are genuine gaps, not laziness); and Triple Double Da Vinci Diamonds’ 90.0–97.1% Spin-crease range means its effective RTP depends on unlocked tiers, an unusual structure worth understanding before playing.

The Washington Verdict, Told Straight

No current review of High 5 Games can skip this. In Larsen v. PTT, LLC (Western District of Washington), a class action argued that High 5 Casino and High 5 Vegas — the studio’s social/sweepstakes products — constituted illegal gambling under Washington law. The court granted summary judgment on liability in June 2024, and on 7 February 2025 a jury awarded roughly $24.9 million ($17.7m actual damages plus $7.1m enhanced) — the first class-action jury verdict against a social casino anywhere. The aftermath reshaped the company: on 18 February 2025 it pulled its sweepstakes offering from six US states, closed affected accounts in March, and High 5 Casino has since become unavailable in Washington and a growing list of others. This concerns the social/sweeps business, not the RNG fairness of its slot catalogue — but it’s the dominant fact about the company today, and it weighs on our score.

A short history of High 5 Games

The company behind High 5 Games

High 5 Games is the life’s work of Anthony Singer, who founded it in New York in 1995 after running a consulting firm whose clients included the United Nations and Bank of New York, with Susan Stein as co-founder and long-time co-CEO. (Some sources describe founding “brothers” — that doesn’t verify; Singer and Stein are the documented principals.) Headquartered today in Mahwah, New Jersey, the company remains private and remains prolific — just aimed at social and sweepstakes audiences rather than the regulated real-money markets where it made its name.

Licensing & fairness: the honest picture

The register tells the story cleanly: High 5 Games, LLC held a UKGC Remote Gambling Software licence from March 2015 and a Game Host licence from 2019; High 5 Games (Gibraltar) Ltd held a Remote Casino operating licence from November 2014. All were surrendered on 5 September 2023 — a market exit, not an enforcement action; the UK register shows no regulatory actions against either entity. Today’s licences are US state and tribal (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut and others). The RNG catalogue’s fairness was never the issue; the Washington case concerned whether the social-casino model itself was lawful gambling. For UK players the practical summary is simple: the own-brand games have left the building, the IGT-branded classics remain, and nothing about the surrender affects their regulation.

Which High 5 slot should you play?

Our verdict on High 5 Games

All Slot Providers score: 4/10 — a genuinely historic games company whose inventions still shape slots, scored today: no UK supply since 2023, a landmark adverse jury verdict in 2025, and a business now pointed away from regulated real-money play entirely.

High 5 Games suits slot historians — and anyone who wants to know who really built Da Vinci Diamonds. For the living equivalent, see Design Works Gaming (US veteran, active UK licence) or IGT, where the famous catalogue still spins.

Every featured High 5 slot, ranked

Release dates from high5games.com’s own games data; RTPs from published listings, checked 12 July 2026. Dashes mark figures never verifiably published — we don’t invent them. IGT-branded rows credit development authorship; studio of record at casinos is IGT.

How this page was researched

Primary sources: the UK Gambling Commission public register (High 5 Games, LLC account 41105 and High 5 Games (Gibraltar) Ltd account 39609, both checked 12 July 2026); US federal court records and verified reporting on Larsen v. PTT, LLC (classaction.org, the plaintiff firm’s announcements and trade press); high5games.com’s own games data and licence-jurisdiction footer; independent listings for game specs. Spotted an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it with a note.

High 5 Games FAQs

Did High 5 Games really make Da Vinci Diamonds?

Yes — it was developed by High 5 Games and distributed under IGT’s brand through their long-running development deal, along with Golden Goddess and Pixies of the Forest. At casinos the studio of record is IGT; the design credit is H5G’s.

Can I play High 5 Games slots in the UK?

The own-brand catalogue, no — both UK entities surrendered their UKGC licences on 5 September 2023. The H5G-developed classics branded as IGT titles remain available under IGT’s licensing, and demos cover the rest.

What was the High 5 Games lawsuit?

Larsen v. PTT, LLC — a Washington State class action holding that High 5 Casino and High 5 Vegas were illegal gambling under state law. A jury awarded roughly $24.9 million in February 2025, the first class-action verdict against a social casino. It concerned the social/sweeps model, not the fairness of the RNG slot catalogue.

Who founded High 5 Games?

Anthony Singer, in New York City in 1995, with Susan Stein as co-founder — the two served as co-CEOs. Reports of founding “brothers” don’t verify.

What mechanics did High 5 invent?

Tumbling Reels (Da Vinci Diamonds, 2008), Super Stacks (Golden Goddess) and Split Symbols (Dangerous Beauty) — all among its listed trademarks, all still echoed across the industry.

Was the UK licence surrender a punishment?

No — the register shows no regulatory actions against either entity. It was a voluntary market exit as the company pivoted to social and sweepstakes products.

What is High 5 Casino?

The company’s social/sweepstakes product, launched on Facebook in 2012 and now the core business — and the subject of the Washington verdict and subsequent multi-state withdrawals.

What is High 5’s best slot?

Under its own brand, Secrets of the Forest; counting its IGT-branded work, Da Vinci Diamonds is one of the most influential slots ever made.