3 Roaring Bells

3 Roaring Bells Review

There isn't much room on the reels in 3 Roaring Bells: Hold and Win. Playson uses a 3x3 layout with just five paylines. Most of the symbols are fruits, from cherries and lemons to grapes and watermelons. Then there are the red 777s. These act as Wilds, replacing any of the fruit symbols, but they can't replace Bells. Three of them on a payline give you 50x the bet. Watermelons come next, paying 30x for three matching symbols.

The game has a 95.36% RTP, high volatility and a maximum win of 10,000x your bet. I wouldn't expect too much variety from the regular spins, given the small 3x3 grid. Most of the interesting stuff happens when the Bells get involved.

3 Roaring Bells Slot - Reels Screen

You'll notice three coloured Bells sitting above the reels. Each one has a different job in the Hold and Win bonus:

• Green (Double): Marks four positions where Bell values are doubled.
• Blue (Extra): Gives you another Bonus Game after the first one finishes.
• Red (Expand): Adds two rows, turning the bonus grid into a 3x5 layout.

You don't necessarily get all three features at once. The combination of Special Bells determines what you start with, and there's a chance to activate more features during the bonus itself. I find that more interesting than having the same Hold and Win round every time.

The bonus starts with three respins, which reset whenever a new symbol lands. There's also a Collect Symbol that appears only on the middle reel and gathers the values of the Bells. Four fixed jackpots are available, ranging from the 15x Mini to the 1,000x Grand.

If you want more chances to reach the bonus, Extra Bet costs 1.5x the usual stake and doubles the triggering probability. Alternatively, the Buy Bonus option lets you pay 75x for a bonus with at least one active feature or 200x for the Super Bonus with all three.

What interests me most about 3 Roaring Bells isn't the fruit theme or the five paylines. It's the possibility of combining Double, Extra and Expand in the same bonus. There's quite a difference between playing with one feature and having all three active, especially when the grid grows and the doubled positions come into play.

3 Roaring Bells Features

There's quite a bit more to 3 Roaring Bells than the three reels suggest. Most of it happens in the Hold and Win bonus, where the coloured Bells can change the size of the grid, double prizes or give you another round. You can even end up with all three features running together.

Hold and Win Bonus

You need a Bell on each of the three reels to get into Hold and Win. The bonus starts with three respins. Any new Bell stays on the grid, and your respin counter goes back to three.

Each Bell has a prize value attached to it. You keep collecting them until there are no respins left, unless you manage to fill the entire grid first.

The interesting part is that you don't always play the same version of Hold and Win. Depending on which Special Bells are activated, you might have doubled prizes, extra rows or another bonus waiting for you.

Double Feature

The green Bell activates Double, marking four positions on the bonus grid. Any Bell Symbol that lands in one of those positions has its value doubled. If Expand is active as well, Double covers six positions instead of four. That's two more places where you could pick up an increased prize. I like that Double doesn't simply multiply everything on the screen. The positions matter, so a valuable Bell landing on one of the marked spots can make a big difference.

Expand Feature

The red Bell changes the size of the Hold and Win grid. Instead of the usual 3x3 layout, you get five rows and three reels, giving you 15 positions to fill. That's six additional spaces for Bell Symbols, which also means more room for cash prizes and jackpot symbols. Expand can work alongside Double and Extra, so the larger grid isn't necessarily the only improvement you'll receive during the bonus.

Extra Feature

The blue Bell is particularly interesting because it awards another Bonus Game after the current one finishes. You play through the first round as usual, collecting Bell values until the respins run out or the grid fills. Then you get a second round. Extra can also appear alongside the other Special Bells. This is one of the combinations I'd be most interested in getting, especially with Expand already active.

Collect Symbols

Collect Symbols appear only on the middle reel during Hold and Win. They gather the values shown on the Bell Symbols, adding another way to increase the bonus payout.

They're worth watching when you've already collected several Bells with decent values. A Collect Symbol can make those accumulated prizes more useful without needing to fill every remaining position.

Fixed Jackpots

There are four fixed jackpots in 3 Roaring Bells, all expressed as multiples of your bet:

• Mini - 15x
• Minor - 30x
• Major - 100x
• Grand - 1,000x

The Grand is the biggest individual jackpot, although the total bonus payout can go considerably higher.

3 Roaring Bells Slot - Bonus Game

Extra Bet

Extra Bet is available if you want a better chance of reaching Hold and Win through regular spins.

It costs 1.5x your normal stake and doubles the probability of triggering the bonus. That doesn't mean you'll get a bonus every few spins, of course. You're simply paying more for an increased chance.

Buy Bonus

There are two ways to purchase the Hold and Win feature directly:

• Bonus Game – 75x the bet: Starts Hold and Win with at least one of the three Special Bell features active.
• Super Bonus Game – 200x the bet: Starts Hold and Win with Double, Expand and Extra all activated.

The difference between these two options is fairly substantial. With the 75x purchase, you don't know exactly which combination of features you'll get. The 200x option removes that uncertainty, although it costs considerably more.

The bonus has a 10,000x win limit. Even if you reach that amount before the last respin, the game carries on. You just won't receive anything above 10,000x.

Theme & Graphics

Playson has gone for a traditional fruit machine look in 3 Roaring Bells. The three reels sit against a dark purple background, with gold details around the frame. Cherries, lemons, strawberries and watermelons give the game plenty of colour, along with the red 777 Wilds.

The Bells are the main attraction visually. Green, blue and red ones represent the three special features, so it's easy to tell which bonus you're getting. I quite like the contrast between the old-fashioned fruit symbols and the more elaborate Hold and Win screen. There's nothing particularly unusual about the theme, but the colourful Bells give it a bit more personality.

3 Roaring Bells Free Play

You can try the 3 Roaring Bells demo on this page, with virtual credits and access to the game's features. The regular spins are pretty straightforward, so I'd spend more time exploring the Hold and Win bonus and seeing how the different Bells work together.

One thing worth trying in 3 Roaring Bells free play is the difference between the two bonus purchases. The 75x option gives you at least one special feature, while the 200x Super Bonus starts with all three. You can also experiment with Extra Bet and see how the larger 3x5 grid changes the bonus when Expand is active.

Pros And Cons Of 3 Roaring Bells Slot

The three Special Bells give this game more variety than you might expect from a 3x3 fruit slot. I particularly like the option to expand the bonus grid, although the regular spins are much simpler.

Our Verdict

I wasn't expecting quite so many bonus variations from a slot with just three reels. The regular game is about as traditional as it gets, with fruit symbols, 777 Wilds and five paylines. It's the kind of setup we've seen plenty of times before, and I don't think the base game alone would keep me interested for very long.

The Hold and Win bonus is another matter. I like how Playson has given each coloured Bell a specific job, rather than simply adding more cash symbols or multipliers. Expand would probably be my favourite of the three. Going from nine positions to fifteen gives you more space to collect prizes, and it becomes even more interesting when Double is active as well. Six marked positions instead of four is a nice improvement.

Extra is worth mentioning, too. Getting another bonus round after the first one finishes sounds appealing, particularly when you've already had a decent run. And since additional Special Bells can appear during the bonus, you aren't necessarily stuck with the features you started with.

I'm a little less enthusiastic about the regular spins. There's not much to watch beyond the fruit combinations and the occasional Bell trigger. The 95.36% RTP is also something I'd take into account, especially with the game's high volatility.

As for the paid options, I'd be more inclined to experiment with Extra Bet than jump straight into the 200x Super Bonus purchase. Paying 1.5x the normal stake for twice the bonus trigger chance seems more reasonable to me. The 75x purchase is another option, although you're leaving the selection of Special Bells to the game.

Overall, I think 3 Roaring Bells works best for someone who enjoys Hold and Win slots but doesn't necessarily want five or six reels. The small grid makes the regular gameplay easy to follow, while the three Special Bells give the bonus enough variety to make it worth exploring.