Fire in the Hole

Overview Fire in the Hole slot

Fire in the Hole is the latest slot from Nolimit City who appear to be unstoppable now and have decided to create a slot that is themed on mining. Whilst this is a popular and rather cliched theme the developers have gone their own way with this slot rather than just copy what others have done. Basically, they have torn up everything and the gaming team have been let loose to create something fresh and new.

You will be forgiven for thinking this is just like other slots from reading the description however when it comes down to playing you will see that this is a no-nonsense styled game that can rocket sky high at any time much like a firework would or the dwarf like character that appears at key times throughout the game.

Theme & Symbols

The location appears more subdued than one would expect from games by Nolimit City as there are no dark and eerie sets to create the mood. Instead, there is a heavy soundtrack that plods along and creates an ambience which is further enhances by the illuminations from the lanterns and the old mine shaft which is help up thanks to the timber supports whilst showing a few clues to how intense things can be when Fire in the Hole fires. It is easy to visualize the macho dwarves as they smash up the rocks to unveil the treasures.

When it comes to the symbols that are used in this slot there are the usual playing card symbols starting from 9 through to the King with no mention or sight of the Ace. There are then the premium symbols which are represented by pickaxes, rope, boots, a satchel bag, and a lantern. Landing 6 of the same premium symbol will reward you with a prize between 1.75x to 7.5x your stake.

Fire in the Hole Game Play

The slot plays out over 6-reels, 3-rows, and offers players 486 ways to win. The first thing you will notice is that you can only see half of the game grid as there are 3 dormant rows with empty positions which are locating below the active gaming area.

When it comes to placing your bet, the range starts from 20p per spin to a maximum of £50 per spin and this slot throws around some huge numbers. The volatility is rated by the developers as 10/10 and rather than saying the slot is high, they have opted to give this slot an extreme rating, in other words the highest of the high. There is a variable return to player which is something you should check before proceeding however it appears to be just above 96%. Probably the best statistic must be the hit rate that is stated as 1 in 4 and the huge potential that is on offer.

Features

When it comes to the features this is the first slot to offer the new xBomb feature and sees this slot offering the complete package which includes the Collapsing Mine, Wild Mining, Lucky Wagon Spins, and a feature buy, therefore certainly packed with opportunities.

The first feature is the Collapsing Mine that could be described as an elaborate cascade feature. Every spin begins with three active rows and when the collapse occurs an extra row is activated, and this can be up to 6 reels in total. The collapse happens when winning combinations are landed, when an xBomb Wild explodes, or by the Wild Mining feature. The winning symbols are removed prior to the next collapse which sees the new symbols fall to fill the spaces and possibly activate more wins. When you have all six rows active there is a massive 46,656 ways to win in play.

The xBomb wild symbols can substitute for all the symbols apart from the scatter to create winning combinations. When the xBomb wilds explode they remove the regular adjacent pay symbols and a win multiplier of 1x for the next collapse. xBomb Wilds explode where there is a win even when it is not part of it, and the xBombs also activate when there is no win provided the Wild Mining is not active and in play.

The Wild Mining becomes active when there are 3, 4, or 5, of the same symbol in a horizontal line but there is no win. The activating symbols are removed and 1, 2, or 3 wilds respectively, are added to the middle part of your screen then a new collapse starts.

The highlight of the features is the Lucky Wagon Spins bonus. This bonus plays out on a new grid with the number of rows being the same as the number of scatters that have landed and activated the bonus therefore 3, 4, or 5, scatters would provide you with 2, 3, or 4, starting rows. The round starts with 3 spins which reset back to the three when you land a coin symbol on your screen. You will see that on the top of your game screen there are 6 carriages that hold different prizes and modifiers that appear on every spin. When you land a coin, whatever is displayed is awarded and this can be one of the following:

• A coin with a value of 1x up to 100x
• Multiplier that is applied to all the coins sitting below
• Dynamite symbols which can add to the coin value, unlock positions that are blocked on a row and activate the chests that are on the bottom row
• Bag symbols that collect all the coins on the next reel and deposit them on your activating coin
• Chest symbols where you collect all values showing on your reels and clear the positions that are occupied in the reel area apart from the dwarf symbol
• Dwarf symbols which collect all the values on the reel and add them to the activating coin and this continues on the following spin

When you have the collect chests active on the bottom row, they collect all the coins above them on every spin. There is a lot to get your head around, but this is just a glorified hold-and-win feature with plenty of modifiers. If you find that you want to get straight to the bonus you can use the feature buy and there are three costs that allow you to do this. These are 60x, 157x and 500x your bet. For this the slot provides you with 3, 4, or 5 bonus symbols, and this increases the return to player to 96.07%, 96.2% or 96.96% respectively.

Conclusion

Nolimit City have started the year with a bang and have kept their foot to the floor with their latest slot. Whilst the slot is extremely volatile it offers massive potential with regards to winnings, and this has helped to keep this developer’s reputation as a heavyweight studio in terms of slot releases.

I cannot see anything that there is not to like about this slot particularly as there is a great following for mining themed slots right now. I enjoyed testing the slot and must reiterate that this is a hugely volatile slot that does offer huge pay outs, but you must be prepared to work for them.