Money Heat Slot Machine
This is a vivid, colourful slot which combines the solid game-play that you would expect from Ainsworth with some interesting variations during the bonus round. As you might expect from the title, getting rich like Warren Buffett is the theme – all of the symbols are money related in one way or another. There are stacked wilds, scatter wins and even an extra reel during the free spins feature. This makes 6 of a kind possible, and also adds multipliers. Like many Ainsworth titles, this is a live slot which has been adapted to online play.
Compared to many slots you’ll find online the graphics have a rich, colourful and professional look to them. The background (frame) of flames and blue behind the reels is nothing too out of the ordinary. What I do like is the shading and light-work on the symbols themselves. Those symbols are varied and include a pile of flaming gold bars, casino chips, dice, and a thick wad of $100 bills. There are the standard playing card symbols too. The dollar symbols (wilds) often take up entire reels, which can give you wins over many of the 50 win lines in any one spin.
Audio is very much the standard Ainsworth setup. You’ll get the distinctive clunking noise as the reels stop, and different tunes will play for different sized wins. One very bright tune like an old style dance anthem is triggered when you hit wins using the wild symbols.
The big wins in this slot come from the free spins round . There is a special golden dollar symbol for this game, which triggers a 6th reel that can significantly boost your wins.
Setup and Play for Money Heat
Like all Ainsworth slots you are able to adjust the number of lines played – though only in pre-selected increments. Money Heat has a maximum of 50 lines. You can choose 40, 25, 10 or 1 if you wish. The minimum bet is 2c, so this is a $1 per spin slot at maximum lines. The biggest bet is 20c per line, making $10 the biggest spin. The standard ‘gamble after win’ and auto-play option are available.
Regular symbols are headed up by the gold bars. These are worth 1000 coins for 5 of a kind. Dice come next (400 for 5) with chips, and dollars are worth 200. The last unique regular symbol is the king playing card, which gets you 150 coins for 5. The standard Ainsworth playing card symbols make up the smaller wins.
There are two more symbols during the standard game. These are the dollar symbol and the Money Heat coin. The dollar is wild, and will often appear stacked; making up multiple wins (especially when you have 50 lines in play). The coin is the scatter, paying 50x your total bet for 5 on the reels. This also triggers the free spin bonus game with 3+.
Money Heat Free Spins Round
What starts off looking like a pretty standard free spins bonus game has some stand-out features. These are triggered by a new symbol which appears on the middle reel. This is a ‘gold dollar’. This symbol is a combination of two things that are always good to see on the reels. These are wilds and multipliers. When you get a winning combination with this symbol, the multiplier will be 2x, 3x or 5x (assigned at random). This can significantly boost your winnings – and does make up for the smaller regular-game wins somewhat.
In addition to this a 6th reel appears, this has a pattern symbol (this is neutral, not making up any wins) and also gives you the chance to hit more scatters. This means you can get 6 of a kind of the Money Heat coin, which carries a pay-out of 250x your total bet.
Finally, you can retrigger this feature during play for 5 additional spins with 3+ scatters.
Money Heat – Conclusion
I have to admit I enjoy the occasional simple game with big win potential, and quite enjoyed this live to online cross-over from Ainsworth. The care and attention in the production (graphics in particular) is boosted by the solid game-play. The extra reel and golden dollar symbol during the free spins round is the icing on the cake for me. I get that smaller bankroll players often prefer the 25c and 50c games, so the $1 minimum might cause some people to play elsewhere. I think it is worth it, and the bigger wins that result are very welcome. One to recommend – check out Money Heat for yourself soon.
