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6 August 2024 
PiggyPop Slot Review 2021
PiggyPop from Yggdrasil Gaming partner Avatar UX introduces their 8th PopWins slot in the series, and this time we’re going ‘hog wild’ for all of the vast riches within the fabled piggy bank!
Avatar UX first introduced us to the series with PopRocks in April 2020, and a little over a year later we already have sequels like WildPops, CherryPop, BountyPop, TikiPop, HippoPop and PapayaPop. Some enjoyed more success than others. The likes of CherryPop and BountyPop stand out as firm favourites among fans, and some sort of faded into irrelevance with tweaks to the formula which failed to impress.
Win potential has always varied massively between PopWins Slots as well. Some claimed downright unrealistic figures, and some like PiggyPop offers up something that seems a little more attainable with its 10,690x win capabilities.
The question is, has the PopWins series gone too far now? We’ve thoroughly enjoyed these slots, but we’ve been on the other end of the scale too with our fair share of brutal gambles. The only non PopWins title in Avatar UX’s portfolio happens to be Lilith’s Inferno…Is it time for Avatar UX to put the series to bed and set off in search of new mechanics? or does the PopWins Series still have a lot to offer?
I suppose we’ll let PiggyPop be the decider. Let’s break the Piggy Bank in this PiggyPop Slot Review to see if these greedy piggies have some cash stowed away for us.
PiggyPop Slot Theme
AvatarUX has certainly tried to paint these greedy pigs in a sophisticated light in PiggyPop. These pigs have gotten used to the finer things in life, and they’re not about to live a frugal lifestyle any time soon.
Smooth Jazz music plays in the background, which further compliments the upmarket theme and the chic pigs. PiggyPop is certainly fresh when compared to others in the series, but it’s not so different that you wouldn’t recognise it as a PopWins slot.
We’ve certainly been around the bend when it comes to the design of these games. What could Avatar UX possibly come up with next? If they decide to continue into a ninth instalment that is. In our eyes, BountyPop is still the most interesting to date in terms of design, but who doesn’t love pirates? They’d certainly win in a popularity contest against pigs anyway.
Although different in terms of characters, PiggyPop does have the same sort of Jazz feel that PapayaPop has, so it’s not an entirely original PopWins slot in the audio sense.
Overall, PiggyPop probably won’t wow you in the visual aspects unless you have a certain affinity for rich hogs.
PiggyPop Betting and Symbols
Betting options are as extensive as you’d expect in PiggyPop, with options that range from £/€0.20 per spin to £/€100 per spin. There are plenty of different options in between the two, and the incremental increases between them are good meaning plenty of choice for all.
If you’re outside of the UK, then you may want to pay special attention to your chosen stake if you intend to bonus buy because some options aren’t available for people who like to bet higher, more on that below.
In terms of symbols, the Golden Pig is the highest paying symbol in PiggyPop. Following on from the Golden Pig is the Green Pig, Blue Pig and Pink Pig, and they look utterly delighted with their high social status if we do say so ourselves.
Medium paying symbols are the Ring, the Cocktail, and the Perfume. Low paying symbols are simply Ace, King and Queen. There’s no Wild Symbol in PiggyPop, but it’s certainly not a dealbreaker when it comes to these types of slots.
PiggyPop: The Base Game and Features
PiggyPop is a 6 reel slot with up to 524,288 ways to win. To form a win, you’ll need at least 3 of any symbol to connect on adjacent reels from left to right, or right to left.
The ‘Pay both ways’ mechanic is an important part of all of the PopWins slots…In fact, it’s vital.
The aim of the game here is to expand the reels as much as possible with the PopWins Feature, and in this particular slot, expanding the reels is your ticket into the Free Spins too.
In the Base Game, the highest reel height for each reel is 6 symbols high. Each time you get a win, the winning symbols will disappear before being replaced by 2 symbols, increasing the reel height. This repeats as long as there are more wins.
It’s always an exciting part of any PopWins slot when you start expanding the reels, but it can also turn into some of the most tilting gambling experiences. There’s nothing worse than being one reel away, and if you don’t get there, then the reels will reset back to their standard 8192 ways on the next spin.
PiggyPop Free Spins
To land Free Spins in PiggyPop, you’ll need to get each reel to its maximum height of 6 in the base game.
Free Spins will start at 4, 5 or 6 symbols tall, and they can now increase up to 8 symbols tall. In the Base Game, you’d be reset to 5 symbols high on each losing spin, but here the reels will reset down to the shortest reel height. As an example, if you’ve bagged a couple of wins and you’ve got all of the reels to 7 symbols high, then this is the minimum height for the reels on each new spin going forward.
Each PopWins game likes to do things a little bit different, and PiggyPop is certainly no exception.
Unlimited Free Spins
There’s no set number of spins in PiggyPop because it works on a lives system instead.
You’re awarded 3 spins, and every time you get a win it’ll reset back to 3. If you have 3 consecutive losing spins, then the bonus will conclude. This way of doing things is a little bit like marmite. Some prefer a set number of spins, and some don’t mind the system used here.
We can certainly see the appeal of this one in the later stages of the bonus where the reels are higher and it’s easier to connect wins
Free Spins Multiplier
Free Spins starts with a x1 multiplier. This Multiplier will increase by 1 for every single new spin, and it won’t reset between spins either.
Lots of consecutive wins mean bigger reel heights, which means easier wins and more multipliers. This shines in the later stages if you can manage to get there. A line of symbols all the way across the screen can materialise into massive hits just by applying the multiplier to it.
Free Spins Golden Pigs
In Free Spins, the highest paying Golden Pig symbols hold a multiplier determined by how many pigs are visible on the reels.
Once you unlock all of the reels to their maximum height, then the Golden Pigs multiplier is +x2 instead. Basically, count the number of pigs on screen and double it and that’s the multiplier.
You’ll desperately want lots of these on-screen, and paired with the multiplier it can be huge.
Gamble Wheel
Hello darkness my old friend, the ferocious gamble wheel is back.
We’ve all seen how this can play out, but for those who don’t, here’s how it works.
Before Free Spins commences, you’ll have the option to gamble your Free Spins for better ways to win. If you lose, you’re taken back to the Base Game, and if you win, you can gamble one more time for even better ways.
- Starting Reel Height is 4
- Win the First Gamble to increase it to 5 high
- Win the Second Gamble to increase it to 6 high.
Be careful with this, especially if you can’t bonus buy. These slots can be hard enough to bonus as it is, so it’ll be an infuriating experience to lose all of your spins when you finally do.
Bonus Buy
Players outside of the UK can utilise a bonus buy feature for 100x your chosen stake.
From here, you can choose to jump straight into Free Spins, or Gamble.
There’s also a third option too, but only for certain stakes. Anything below £/€2 per spin may utilise a Buy Bonus Max Feature, which allows you to jump straight in with the best set-up at the cost of 400x your stake. This is a first for the PopWins series, and it will undoubtedly alleviate some of that pain felt by the losing gamble, but it is expensive.
PiggyPop: Our Verdict
PiggyPop is another great showing from Avatar UX, but is it worth playing PiggyPop over the others in the series? Yes and no.
If you can bonus buy, it may certainly be worth it if you’re looking to go all the way with the new Buy Bonus Max Feature, but if you can’t, or you don’t like to bonus buy, then PiggyPop doesn’t offer up anything entirely new.
We won’t critique it too heavily on the lower win potential when compared to its brothers and sisters, because we haven’t seen any of its brother and sister slots reach their maximum potential yet. PopRocks for example was supposedly capable of a massive 72,188x, but did it ever come to fruition? In simulations it may have, but not in the real world.
PiggyPop does a few things differently here and there, but for the most part, it’s just plucked aspects from others in the series. Considering it’s the 8th PopWins slot, we imagine it’s hard to keep it fresh, new and exciting at this point.
We’re not saying PiggyPop is bad, it’s actually pretty decent. However, it doesn’t exactly improve on the series, so it just kind of feels like we’re getting the same, or a similar game, with a fresh theme.
We love PopWins as much as anyone else, but we’d also love to see Avatar UX create something brand new.
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