ChilliPop Slot Machine
Discover a world of wild piñatas and crazy peppers with our review of ChilliPop online slot from BetSoft. Players can take a trip south with this Mexican-themed slot as they hit the mule trail and bag themselves a lot of coins.
BetSoft don't really do dull online slots, so can we expect a lot of slick animation and sumptuous graphics? Let's slap on a sombrero and head to the dusty villages of Tijuana to find out. Piñatas at the ready!
Hit Big Cluster Wins in This 5-Reel Slot
BetSoft have been producing great online casino games since 1999. Over the years, the British slot developer has built up a reputation for slick 3D graphics and amazing gameplay.
Of course, you don't get cool bonus features and amazing animation without a little volatility along the way. The new ChilliPop video slot actually holds back the animation somewhat. There are no expensive intro sequences and animated wins on the reels. Instead, we just get an authentic Mexican style backdrop and some fun chili characters in the reel positions.
The free ChilliPop slot machine is played on a set of 3x5 reels. Coins can be adjusted from 0.01 up to 1.00. There is a set betting amount worth 50 coins per spin.
There are no paylines in the classic sense in ChilliPop. Instead, our ChilliPop slot review showed that the game pays in 'Cluster Wins'. All you need to do is match at least three identical symbols horizontally or vertically on the reels. All clusters will then explode, allowing the symbols above to drop into their place. If you love volatility and excitement, this is probably the online slot for you.
Find the Wild Pinatas for Added Bonus Wins
Leading slot developer BetSoft know how to make their games exciting. You don't really get an ordinary video slot when it comes to BetSoft, and the ChilliPop video slot is no different.
Cluster wins are paid out when you match identical symbols next to one another on the reels. There is a host of crazy vegetables and chili characters to hit.
The spring onion, tomato, and pepper all pay 2 coins per symbol when you hit a cluster of them. The red pepper pays 5 coins per symbol and the orange symbol 6 coins. The red onion pays 7 coins, but the yellow and orange chilis pay the best. Hit a cluster of these and you will earn 12 coins per symbol.
Some of those payouts might seem a little low. But the aim of ChilliPop is to utilize the cascading reels function. After any cluster lands during a spin, the winning symbols vanish to reveal the symbols sitting above. This can lead to another win for the player. In our experience with this review of ChilliPop slot, we found that we got one to two consecutive wins at most.
While cluster wins are good, you really need the wild symbols to help improve your real cash prizes. The piñata is a classic part of Mexican culture. These cardboard toys containing candy are a familiar sight at children's parties in Mexico and across the world.
The piñata is the wild symbol in this slot. It will substitute for all regular symbols other than the scatters. If a wild piñata forms one of your clusters, it will multiply your win by the number of piñata wilds +1. You will also earn a special bonus win if you land lots of piñatas in one go. It's possible to hit a jackpot worth 1000x your total stake this way.
Trigger Free Spins or Buy Your Bonus
Before a base game spin, you will have the option to buy 10 free spins. The price is displayed in the Buy Feature box. This means you won't have to activate the bonus game in the usual way.
If you want a chance to trigger the bonus in a more conventional fashion, you will need to find the mule scatters. Three or more mules will activate the free spins. The more scatters you hit in a cluster, the more spins you earn. Three scatters get you five free spins, while four scatters earn you six free spins. If you cover the 15 reel positions in scatters you will win 26 free spins.
During the free spins game, any further mules you manage to land will add to the 'Mule Trail'. As you collect more mules, your game area will expand. So, the more mules you collect, the more money you can win.
Go Explosive With a NetEnt 3D Slot
No ChilliPop review would be complete without a look at some other Mexican-themed slots. In fact, there seems to be a raft of games out now with cheery chilis as their central characters.
NoLimit City's fun Kitchen Drama BBQ Frenzy slot features a walking wild symbol that shifts from one reel to another following every spin. Players can also trigger multiple wilds during the free spins feature.
While we're going Mexican in our ChilliPop online slot review, let's take a trip to the City of the Dead in Thunderkick's awesome Esqueleto Explosivo game. Based on the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, Esqueleto Explosivo uses a funky cascading reels feature.
The symbols are all colored skulls that topple off the screen during a spin. Winning combinations explode and are replaced by symbols sitting above. Every consecutive winning spin earns you a multiplier that increases from 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, and 32x.
The coolest part of Esqueleto Explosivo is perhaps the explosive wild symbol. When this appears it will blow up, taking the eight closest symbols with it.
Smack the Pinata and Earn the Candy
Let's finish our ChilliPop online slot review with some advice: this is a volatile game to play. But, like most cascading reels gambling slots, ChilliPop rewards players who persevere with their bankrolls.
While playing the game, we realized that a lot of your big wins come from hitting a wild piñata, or clusters of them. These can attach themselves to regular symbols and improve your payouts.
Players always expect something special from great new online slots. There's enough action and volatility to keep most players happy in ChilliPop. Give it a play for free and see if this game will get you hot under the collar.
