Hat Trick Hero Slot Review
Floodlights glow through a cloudy night sky, a football waits on the centre circle, and the goal frame crowds the left edge of the screen while packed stands rise behind the reels. Hat Trick Hero stages its match night with the glossy, broadcast-style 3D that Betsoft are known for, but the dressing does less work here than in most of their catalogue: this is a slot that hands one symbol the whole job. It runs on a 5×4 grid with 25 fixed paylines, a 96.23% RTP and high volatility, with a 1,000x ceiling tied to a single bonus event.
There’s no scatter, no free spins round and no pick’em game behind the football. Every win of note runs through the one wild and the respin chain it starts, a narrower brief than the likes of Thunder Clash and Golden Dragon Inferno carry. A slot this stripped-back has to make its single idea count, and whether it does is what the reels decide.
The Base Game and Power Shot Wilds
Wins pay left to right across the 25 fixed paylines, with coinciding wins on different lines added together and only the highest combination counting on each line. Payouts reflect your selected bet dynamically. There’s nothing unusual in that structure. The personality comes from the symbols.
The Power Shot is the wild, and it does more work than most. It substitutes for all other symbols, and it pays out the same as the highest paying symbol on the board. One or two Power Shots act as standard wilds; three or more anywhere on the reels trigger the Hat Trick Hero event. That’s the whole engine of the game in a single symbol.
The paying symbols are pure football, and the values below are multiples of the total bet:
- Trophy: 2.5x for three, 10x for four, 37.5x for five
- Golden Ball: 1.5x for three, 6x for four, 20x for five
- Golden Boot: 1.5x for three, 6x for four, 20x for five
- Stopwatch: 1x for three, 3x for four, 8x for five
- Gloves: 1x for three, 2.5x for four, 6x for five
- Jersey: 1x for three, 2x for four, 5x for five
- A: 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 3x for five
- K and Q: 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 2.5x for five
- J and 10: 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 2x for five
The gap between the Trophy at 37.5x and everything below it is steep. Only the Trophy and the two golden premium symbols reach double figures for a five-of-a-kind, so base wins are modest by design and the wild carries most of the attacking threat.
Wins with the Power Shot involved get a quiet boost from that top-symbol payout rule, since a wild line pays as if it were the best symbol on the reels. With the Trophy sitting at 37.5x for five, a line of wilds is worth the same. It keeps the base game honest between events.
The Hat Trick Hero Event
Three or more simultaneous Power Shot symbols set the event in motion. First, any wins from the triggering spin are calculated and added to the payline wins. Only then do the free respins begin, and the round builds from there.
During each respin, every Power Shot symbol moves one reel to the left from where it stands. Another free respin follows, and the symbols keep shifting left, respinning each time they move, until all of them have exited the reels. Wins are calculated after every single respin, so a long event can string together payout after payout without costing a thing.
The distance a Power Shot has to travel sets how long the round runs. A symbol landing on reel five needs four shifts to leave the grid, while one on reel two is gone after a single respin. A five-reel grid means the triggering positions decide, before a single respin plays out, roughly how much work the event will do.
When one Power Shot remains on the leftmost reel, that triggers the last respin. And here’s the extension rule: if another Power Shot lands during that final respin, the event keeps going until every last symbol has left the reels. New arrivals can chain the round onward indefinitely, in theory at least.
Every respin during the event is free. There’s no fixed spin count, because the round simply runs its course, however long that takes. A well-fed event that keeps catching late Power Shots can stretch well past the length its trigger suggested, and every extra respin is another scored win added to the total.
The Score Meter and the 1,000x Payout
Each departing Power Shot does two jobs: it banks whatever line wins its respin produced, and it raises the Score Meter by one level. The meter has 15 levels in total, and filling it requires 15 Power Shot symbols from the same Hat Trick Hero round. That’s the game’s maximum win: a payout of 1,000x the bet, awarded after all respins finish and added to any payline wins already collected.
The meter can only be filled once per event. Once it’s full, it resets after the respins conclude and can be filled again in the next event, so the chase starts fresh every round.
Fifteen symbols from a single event is a demanding ask, which is precisely why the game carries high volatility. A three-symbol trigger banks three levels and leaves twelve to find, so most rounds finish partway up the ladder. The extension rule is what makes the full climb possible at all: every Power Shot that lands late in the round adds another shift left, another respin, and another chance to climb the meter.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.1/10
Hat Trick Hero plays like a match where nothing happens for long stretches and then everything happens at once. Between events you’re working a steep paytable with a 37.5x top symbol and waiting on Power Shots; once three arrive, the wilds march left and the meter climbs, and the round builds a momentum most respin features can’t match. That march, watched under the floodlights, is the reason somebody picks this game.
The strength is the extension rule. One late Power Shot turns a routine round into a long one, and because every respin banks a win, a good event keeps paying from start to finish. The weakness is everything either side of it: the base game is thin, and 15 symbols in a single round is a demanding target the game does nothing to soften.
This suits players who like one mechanic done properly, and football fans will enjoy the setting more than most. Anyone after varied bonus rounds will find it spare. For the right player, match night here delivers exactly the kind of tense, single-minded session it promises.
Hat Trick Hero FAQs
-
What is the RTP of Hat Trick Hero?
Hat Trick Hero runs at an RTP of 96.23%. -
Is Hat Trick Hero high volatility?
Yes, Hat Trick Hero is a high volatility slot. -
What is the maximum win on Hat Trick Hero?
The maximum win is 1,000x your bet, awarded by filling the Score Meter during the Hat Trick Hero event. -
How many paylines does Hat Trick Hero have?
Hat Trick Hero has 25 fixed paylines, paying left to right. -
What is the grid size of Hat Trick Hero?
Hat Trick Hero plays on a 5×4 grid across five reels and four rows. -
Who makes Hat Trick Hero?
Hat Trick Hero is made by Betsoft. -
How does the Hat Trick Hero event work?
Landing three or more Power Shot symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the event. Each Power Shot then moves one reel to the left on every free respin, with wins calculated after each respin, until all of them have exited the reels. If another Power Shot lands on the last respin, the event is extended. -
How do you fill the Score Meter in Hat Trick Hero?
Every Power Shot that leaves the reels during a Hat Trick Hero event raises the Score Meter by one level. Filling all 15 levels in a single event pays 1,000x your bet. The meter resets after the event ends and can be filled again in the next one. -
When is Hat Trick Hero released?
Hat Trick Hero’s release date is 20 May 2021.
