Fire in the Hole Slot Review
Fire in the Hole is a slot game that has been getting a lot of attention both for its sumptuous graphics and for its unusual gameplay features. What, exactly, is it that separates this slot game from so many others in the market? Well, once you have read our Fire in the Hole review, you will know exactly what the answer to that question is…
Play Fire In The Hole at the Best Casinos
Select your country and see all the best casinos and bonuses available to you
- %highlight%
Theme
Fire in the Hole is themed around mines. More specifically, the game is themed around the fantasy mines of dwarfs. Fire in the Hole casino players will be plunged into a subterranean world, where little bearded men trundle around in mine carts in search of gold and treasure. As you would expect, the symbols are largely themed around treasure and mining equipment, although the dwarf characters will appear only in the bonus round. The game is very atmospheric, with well-designed visuals and an appropriate score; but like many of the best slots casino games, it also manages to integrate its theme into its mechanics. The bonus round includes mine carts trundling along the top of the screen depositing treasures, while the base game makes heavy use of explosives and their potential for interacting with the playing field. Fire in the Hole is a game that will please both fantasy fans and those looking for an unusual twist on standard slot game mechanics.
How to Play Fire in the Hole
Fire in the Hole’s default layout consists of six reels and three tightly-cramped rows, although as you might expect from a game themed around mining, it is possible to dig deeper: there are three dormant rows visible along the bottom. This is called the Collapsing Mine feature and will be discussed in more detail below. At the start of the game, you will have 486 ways to win; if you succeed in expanding into the dormant rows, then this number will be increased, and onscreen figures will update you as to your progress. if you have opened all six rows, then you will have a total of 46,656 ways to win.
The game screen contains the following features, besides the reels:
- Current Bet
- Latest Wins
- Sound Options (speaker)
- General Options (three dots)
- Bonus Buy Feature (star)
- Autospin Options
Symbols and Bonus Features
Next, our Fire in the Hole slot review shall talk you through the different symbols and special features that can be found in the game. The symbol system turns out to be fairly straightforward and not drastically different from what you would expect from the most played slots casino games; where Fire in the Hole really stands out from many of its rival games is in its set of gameplay features. Make no mistake, the creators have truly dug into the theme of mining to come up with inspiration for a slot game with a difference.
Playing Card Symbols
Like many of the most played slots casino games, Fire in the Hole bases its lowest-value symbols around playing cards. It is a little unusual, however, is offering five of these symbols: they are 8, 10, J, Q and K.
Mining Symbols
More valuable than the playing card symbols, although still functioning as standard line-them-up-and-win symbols, are the mining icons. The most valuable of these is the lantern; this is followed in descending order by the bag, the boots, the rope and the pickaxe.
Wild Symbol
The wild symbol in this game is an explosive plunger. It can substitute for any symbol except for the scatter, and as you might expect from the design, will explode when activated. The explosion will take away all paying symbols that are adjacent and increase your win multiplier by x1 ready for the mine’s next collapse.
Scatter Symbol
The scatter symbol is a gold nugget with a big “S” on it. If you land enough, you will enter the Lucky Wagon Spins feature, which is discussed later on in our Fire in the Hole slot review.
Collapsing Mine Feature
The Collapsing Mine feature is what causes the additional three rows to activate during a spin. There are a few different ways of triggering this feature: by landing a winning combination; by exploding a wild symbol; or by activating the Wild Mining feature (described below).
Wild Mining Feature
If you land three, four or five matching symbols in a horizontal row without scoring a winning combination, you will trigger the Wild Mining feature. This removes the symbols in question and inserts wild symbols; depending on how long the row was, you will receive between one and three wilds. The remaining chunks of the active area, aside from wilds and scatters, will explode and trigger a collapse.
Lucky Wagon Spins
Finally, our Fire in the Hole slot review comes to the Lucky Wagon Spins feature, which is a unique concept that separates Fire in the Hole from many of the best slots casino games online. This is a complete bonus round separate from the base game, complete with its own grid. You can activate the feature either by triggering scatter symbols or by using the bonus buy feature to purchase your way into the round. Once there, you will be taken to a grid of two, three or four starting rows, depending on either how many scatters you landed or how much you spent on bonus buy. This round has its own set of symbols, which descend from a row of minecarts running along the top of the screen. the most basic are coins and multipliers, each with its value clearly marked. Dynamite symbols will enhance the playing field by opening up new row positions and increasing the value of coins. A bag symbol will gather together the coins in a given reel and turn them into a single coin with the combined value; chest symbols have a similar effect, but also clear occupied positions. Finally, there is the dwarf symbol, an animated character that acts in the same manner as the bag but will remain for the course of the round. Landing your dwarf symbol is your key to winning big in the Lucky Wagon Spins round.
Odds and Payouts
Depending on whether or not you are lucky enough to blast open the hidden rows, the pay lines in the Fire in the Hole casino game will range from 486 to an enormous 46,656. The maximum win, meanwhile, is 60,000x your bet. This is a number that turns up more than once in the game: the multiplier features also have a maximum of 60,000x.
RTP and Volatility
If you prefer your slot games’ RTPs to be in the middle ground, then our Fire in the Hole slot review can report that you may like this game as its base RTP is solidly middle-of-the-road 96.06%. If you also prefer a game’s volatility to be at the medium level, however, then Fire in the Hole will not be the title for you. This is very much a high volatility game, and a single well-placed explosive can throw the playing field into complete disarray.
Who Made the Game?
Fire in the Hole is the work of Nolimit City, one of the more prolific and well-regarded providers in the contemporary online casino landscape. If you spend any time at all playing online slots, then you will very likely have come across other titles from this provider. Some of the better-known Nolimit City slots include…
- Tombstone
- Evil Goblins
- Book of Shadows
- Bonus Bunnies
- Milky Ways
- Gaelic Gold
- Manhattan Goes Wild
- Tomb of Nefertiti
- Kitchen Drama BBQ Frenzy
- Coins of Fortune
- Mayan Magic Wildfire
- The Creepy Carnival
- Immortal Fruits
Can Fire in the Hole be Played on Mobile?
Our Fire in the Hole slot review can confirm that the game actually translates very well to the small screen. Its very theme is based around brightly-coloured objects glistening in the darkness, so you should have no trouble distinguishing each symbol from one another at a reduced resolution.
Fire in the Hole Slot Review : Our Take
Fire in the Hole is a worthy addition to the line-up of Nolimit City slots. While its aesthetic is well-designed and will truly transport you to a land of fantasy, the real selling point is the set of bonus features. Nolimit City went all-out in making this a unique slot that unites aesthetic and gameplay around the theme of mining, and the Lucky Wagon Spins feature is just as important a part of the experience as the base game. The one drawback we found in our Fire in the Hole slot review that is likely to put off players is the extremely high volatility of the game: the sheer amount of bonus symbols and elaborate features mean that a lot will be left to chance, even by the standards of a slot game.