Money Mad Martians Slots
This is a quirky and entertaining slot from Barcrest which feels like it would not be out of place in a live casino. There are unique features, including shifting reels and a bonus game where you choose from asteroids. With a space background the design is a step-up compared to many Barcrest slots. Small things like reels having a space background rather than plain black or white make a big difference to how modern any game will look. A fun aspect of this particular game is to try and work out what the Martians are saying at various points.
The Martian symbols look great, and are certainly a highlight. These are the standard little green men and are sat in a UFO. Other than these there are not too many space symbols around. The Cosmic Cash logo and bonus symbol add to this – though for the most part only the stars in the background strongly hint of the space theme. This does change during the bonus features, and the reel switching random feature uses the cliché of a UFO ‘beam’ too. Sounds are sci-fi, with a thud as each reel lands. The best part of the sounds is when the shuffling reel feature starts, and you’ll hear ‘beam me up scotty’ in a strange and alien voice.
Bonus games include one where you pick from a grid of floating asteroids and another where you choose a planet from a space ship. To trigger these you need to first get 3 bonus symbols, and then choose the one which says ‘bonus’ – the other 2 will have a cash prize instead.
Setup and Play for Money Mad Martians
There are a fixed 10 lines for this game, which you can play for as little as 1c per line. For the high rollers out there, you can also spin for $500 ($50 per line) if you wish. Auto-play lets you select up to 50 spins without the need to click – these will stop after any bonus feature, so you’ll need to start them up again.
Cosmic cash logos are the best paying symbol. 5 of these on a line will win you 250 coins, with 100 coins for just 4. The Martian comes next; this will net you 160 coins for 5 on a line. Playing card symbols make up the most frequent wins, all symbols pay from 3 of a kind and up starting on the left hand reel.
3 of the Bonus symbols gives you a shot at the entertaining Asteroid bonus game. First you need to choose one of the three, two have a multiplier for your total stake for that game and the other one says bonus.
Money Mad Martians Bonus Games
The randomly triggered reel shuffle bonus triggered reasonably often for me, and did result in some useful mid-sized wins. You’ll see some UFOs at the top of the screen, which send beams down onto the reels. What these do is switch the positions of entire reels. This only happens when there is no win on the initial spin. The shuffle finds you at least one win, and sometimes several at once. This is accompanied by the ‘beam me up scotty’ voice for added comedy value.
Getting 3 bonus symbols was a little frustrating for a while. I wanted to see the bonus, and kept on hitting the multipliers for my stake instead. When you do get the bonus you will see a grid of asteroids. Each time you click one you get a multiplier for your spin amount. If you hit a Martian, he will explode the asteroids around him, giving you multiple wins. The game ends when you hit an asteroid with collect underneath it. Another bonus is mentioned on the pay table, this is the planet bonus where you pick a planet to reveal a different prize. There is a graphic which appears to show an exploding planet to go with this – though I did not hit this, even after a long session of play.
Money Mad Martians – Conclusion
This is a very enjoyable slot. While it is not the most interactive of games, the entertaining humour of the Martians, and two feature games did keep me engaged. The random shuffle of the reels is the best part. This is especially welcome when it turns a dead spin into a decent sized win. Having to choose your bonus symbol and getting multipliers most of the time was a little frustrating. The bonus game is worth waiting for; especially those times a Martian helps you to explode some asteroids.
I’ll be returning to this slot at some point for another session – and I recommend that you check this one out for yourself too.
