The Race Slot Review 2024

Get ready for the most important race of your life in Big Time Gaming’s latest adrenaline pumping release, The Race!

Home of the Megaways mechanic, Big Time Gaming are trying out their own recipe once again in a fast-paced, blood-pumping new slot called The Race.

Race your way through an action-packed Heart Bonus round in search of Lives that will keep your heart rate up and the Free Spins round pacing.

Will we win the race and take home a whopping 24,070x? Let’s play on and find out!

The Race Base Game and Features

The Race is a 6 reel slot with up to 117,649 ways to win. Winning combinations are formed when 3 or more of the same symbols (or 2 or more of the highest paying symbol) land from left to right, starting from the left-most reel.

In traditional Megaways fashion, The Race features both Cascading Reels and an additional Sliding Reel. Each time winning combination forms, all winning symbols will be removed from the reels and new symbols will drop down from above.

If a symbol from the additional Sliding Reel is part of a winning combination, it will also be removed from the reel and all remaining symbols will slide to the left, filling all empty positions. New symbols will then fill any empty positions on the right.

The minimum bet available here is £/€0.20 per spin and the maximum bet available is £/€40 per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two. The Race has a theoretical RTP of 96.27% and a max win cap of 24,070x.

In terms of symbols, the highest-paying regular symbol here is the Purple Gem, followed by the Red, Blue and Green Gems. Low-paying symbols are standard Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten and Nine.

Wilds

Wilds appear only on the additional Sliding Reel, substituting for all other symbols except Scatters and Terminator symbols.

During any random spin when a Wild is present on the Sliding Reel, it may duplicate itself onto the reel above it. Once this happens, all symbols on the above reel will be replaced by Wilds.

During Free Spins, each Wild that is added to the reels via duplication will also award a random Multiplier, up to x5.

Win Exchange

Whenever you win 100x your bet or more, you will be given the option to exchange this amount for a Heart Bonus round.

Whenever you win between 25x and 100x your bet, you will be given the option to exchange this amount for a chance to enter the Heart Bonus round via a Gamble Wheel.

Landing the cursor in a Green section means that the Gamble has been successful, but landing the cursor in a Red section means that the Gamble has been unsuccessful and you will walk away empty-handed.

The Race Free Spins

Landing 3 or more Scatters across the reels automatically triggers the Heart Bonus Free Spins round, awarding 3 Respins.

During the first part of the Bonus round, the reels transform into a grid where only Heart symbols can land. Each new Heart symbol that lands will award an extra Life (up to a maximum of 20) and the Respins meter will reset back to 3.

When no new Heart symbols land and the Respins end, the Heart Bonus round will end and the Free Spins round will begin.

Your total number of Lives awarded are carried over to the Free Spins round. During Free Spins, an active Win Multiplier starting at x1 is present. After each reaction, the Win Multiplier will increase by +1.

The Free Spins round will continue as long as there are Lives left above the reel set. Landing a Terminator symbol (Heart with an X) on reel 6 will diminish one of your Lives. Once no Lives are left, the Free Spins round will end.

The Race Bonus Buy

Those outside the UK will benefit from a Bonus Buy option.

Big Time Gaming has granted players access to the Heart Bonus Free Spins round for a total cost of 100x your current bet.

The Race: Our Verdict

If there’s one thing we’ve learned by now, it’s that you should never underestimate Big Time Gaming’s ability to bring something new and exciting to the table.

When we think about Big Time Gaming titles, it’s hard to pinpoint a favourite because of their unique and refreshing features and modifiers they deliver. Most of you would agree that their slots are simple in design yet outstanding in gameplay!

The Race is another of Big Time Gaming’s titles that you should never judge by its cover. Whether Big Time Gaming was going for a gameshow-type design here or not, it’s easy to make that connection from looks alone.

During the base game, you can get a taste of what’s to come in the Free Spins round via the Duplicating Wilds feature, but is it the most exciting feature we’ve come across? Probably not.

When testing the Free Spins round, we found it’s crucial that you land a fair few Heart symbols to build up your total number of Lives, as Terminator symbols appear way too often for our liking. Without a decent amount of Lives, the Free Spins round will end just as quickly as it started.

If the Free Spins round doesn’t get your blood pumping, then maybe the impressive 24,070x will do just that! Is The Race capable of delivering such a figure? Time will tell, but with the right setup, we can’t see why not!