Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Slot Review
Sit in the hot seat and spin the reels of Big Time Gaming’s first-ever branded slot, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire!
When you really think about it, asking someone if they want to be a millionaire seems like a rather silly question, unless, of course, you’re already a millionaire and another 1 million would seem like change against your other millions (imagine having that much expendable cash).
Big Time Gaming takes inspiration from the British television show, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, which first aired in 1998 with host Chris Tarrant. This game puts your logic to the test as you take to the hot seat in hopes of becoming the newest millionaire.
Players will need to be clued up on all things ‘slots’ as each round in Hot Seat Free Spins gets harder as it goes along. Fear not, however, as the game utilises 3 Lifelines as seen in the programme – will you rely on a loyal friend or a bunch of strangers in the audience for the answer? The choice is yours.
With a fixed RTP of 96.24% and a high volatility score, will you walk away 50,000x your bet better off or risk it all in a gamble for more? Let’s find out.
Base Game & Features
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire is the latest high volatility release from Big Time Gaming, consisting of 6 reels, an extra Sliding Reel, and up to 117,649 ways to win. Wins occur when 2-6 identical symbols fall on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
A regular occurrence in each BTG release is having the Purple icon as the highest-paying symbol. In this game, the Purple Diamond is the highest-paying symbol, followed by red, blue, and green Gems.
Alternatively, all low-paying symbols fall to A, K, Q, J, 10, & 9 card suits. All of the aforementioned symbols award a fixed payout between 0.1x and 50x your bet, where applicable.
Furthermore, Wild symbols appear on the extra Sliding Reel only, substituting for all symbols except Scatters. Each winning combination is removed from the reels and replaced with new symbols via an Avalanche Feature.
The Avalanche feature continues until no further winning combinations are produced in that spin. Finally, winning symbols from the extra Sliding Reel are removed at this time, causing all remaining symbols to slide to the leftmost position until filled.
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Free Spins
Triggering the Free Spins mode is done so by landing 3 or more Scatters in the base game, awarding 8 Free Spins. Each additional Scatter after the 3rd guarantees to move you up the Gamble Prize Ladder.
During Free Spins, a special Global Multiplier, starting at x1, is applied to the current feature. Each time a winning combination hits, the current multiplier increases by +x1. In addition, Scatter symbols can appear on the extra Sliding Reel, awarding further spins if enough land in a single spin.
At the end of Free Spins, the total win amount is credited to your total balance, returning you to the base game.
Free Spins Gamble
After the Free Spins mode triggers, players will enter a Free Spins Gamble, where up to 50 Free Spins can be won.
The gamble prize ladder has 12 individual rungs, each equipped with between 8 and 50 Free Spins. The starting rung is determined by the number of triggering Scatters, as follows:
- 3 Scatters: Begins on rung 1
- 4 Scatters: Begins on rung 2, and so on.
Please note that rungs 2 & 7 are classified as ‘safety net rungs’, meaning that when these positions are reached, you are guaranteed a minimum of 10 and 20 Free Spins, respectively.
Alternatively, you can choose to leave the gamble mode with your current Free Spins by clicking the Walk Away option. However, gambling your current Free Spins will result in a choice between answer A, B, C, or D, followed by the Final Answer button.
A correct answer will award the next available Free Spins, but a wrong answer will return you to the base game, empty-handed (unless you’re located on rungs 2 or 7).
Lifelines
During the Free Spins Gamble, up to 3 Lifelines are available, which award the following outcomes:
- 50/50: Removes up to 2 incorrect answers
- Phone a Friend: Reveals the most likely answer and its chance of being correct
- Ask the Audience: Reveals the chance of being correct for each answer
Our Honest Verdict
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire is unlike anything in Big Time Gaming’s catalogue of slots at this time. The game’s main focus is on the Free Spins Gamble mode, which will bring mixed emotions for loyal BTG fans.
Although BTG are the licenced owner of the popular Megaways mechanic, leasing it out to other software developers has caused a flood of Megaways slots to appear on the iGaming market.
While the concept of 117,649 ways to win is very enticing, the overall feel of the Megaways mechanic has slightly lost its shine. If you’ve embraced the Mexican markets of Extra Chilli, you’ll notice the strong similarities between both games.
Another interesting decision made by BTG was to dissolve the Bonus Buy option in this release. We’re unsure as to their reasoning behind this, but it more than likely has something to do with the Free Spins Gamble mode.
After testing it ourselves, we can sense many players being left rather irritated by the Free Spins Gamble mode. It’s certainly a risky affair, especially the first gamble, with only 2 safety areas available throughout the entire feature (and they’re spaced quite far apart).
Is the high risk worth the maximum reward of 50 Free Spins? Maybe, maybe not, but it would have been a lot more interesting had you been able to enhance the Global Multiplier.
Although the title suggests making players millionaires, the best you can hope for is a 50,000x max win potential. We’re certainly not turning our noses up at this figure, but it’s very misleading when considering the name of this slot.
All in all, Big Time Gaming has done well to expand its current portfolio of Megaways titles, but it has zero redeeming qualities in the base game, and the Free Spins Gamble is not everyone’s cup of tea.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
