Hole in the Wall Slot Machine
I’m only vaguely familiar with the TV gameshow on which this slot is based – though if anything spinning the reels has left me intrigued to find out more. This is a 5 reel video slot with several unique animations and game features. There is a bonus round in which you’ll try to fit your avatar through a hole in a wall, and an interesting respin feature on the reels too. What I liked best about this game is the way the in-reel animations are handled, with shrinking and then expanding symbols, plus straps appearing on symbols in the winning combinations.
The look of this game feels deliberately blocky, with white avatars and playing card symbols at different angles contributing to a slightly crazy overall feel. When you hit the red spin button, the symbols all shrink a little, go dark and then expand to regular size once they have stopped spinning. A lively action tune also plays while the reels are spinning. Avatars are either the red or blue teams, which comes straight from the gameshow. These are in different poses, for example on a space hopper or carrying a giant banana. When you get a win straps appear around many of the playing card symbols.
Animations take on a whole new level in the bonus round, where the hole-in-the-wall gameplay is reproduced to give you a multiplier on your bonus.
Setup and Play for Hole in the Wall
Behind the crazy avatars and size-changing symbols is a 20 line setup. The default coins are in British Pounds, amounts range from 20p per spin (assuming 20 lines) through to an eye-watering £400 per spin. Auto spin is an option, though only for up to 15 spins each time, as on other Fremantle slots this is very fast.
There is one prize which is considerably bigger than the others in this slot. If you are lucky enough to line up 5 of the wild symbols then you win 10,000 coins, with 1000 coins for 4 and 100 coins for 3. Wilds also substitute for most of the other symbols, the exceptions being the replay symbol and the bonus one.
By contrast, the next biggest win is just 1000 coins (this is for 5 of the clear symbols). The red and blue team logos are each worth 500 coins for 5 and the avatars 200 for a full house. The arrow and the playing card symbols play a supporting role for this game – making up the smaller wins.
There are two scatter symbols. Both the ‘replay’ and ‘hole in the wall bonus’ symbol pay out with 3+ anywhere on the reels. 3 of the replay symbols give you a respin; you will also win a scatter prize which is based on your total stake – not your line bet. This is 1x total stake for 3 of a kind, 3x total stake for 4 and 25x your total stake for all 5.
Hole in the Wall Slot – Bonus Features
I enjoyed this break out bonus, which has two parts. First of all you’ll need to select one of the bonus symbols on the reels, these turn into ‘walls’ when you hit 3 or more. This determines your main prize, which you can multiply in the second part. You will also get a scatter win of up to 100 times your total stake when you start with all 5 bonus symbols.
After you pick, you’ll see some avatars which will run across the screen. One becomes your contestant and faces a wall with a hole in it. The controls are simple, with a left and right arrow to move your avatar. This will either go through the hole, giving you a multiplier, or will crash into it and fail. In a nice touch from the original TV show, a side-on replay happens when your total prizes are calculated. You get 3 attempts per game.
Hole in the Wall Slot by Fremantle – Conclusion
There are some unique quirks on this slot which I think make it worth a look. The animations are interesting with the shrinking symbols and straps something new. I like the respin, though this is just a single free spin and could probably do with adding a couple more on top. Breaking out to the bonus game is definitely the highlight. You get to participate in the gameshow and there is the chance of a good sized win if you do manage to get through all 3 holes. An entertaining and upbeat slot and one to put on your shortlist to check out for yourself.
