🔥Hot Blox slot (High 5 Games). Read review

Hot Blox slot review

High 5 Games has really put on their creative hats lately, and Hot Blox is the third oddball title in a row from this developer. Dividing the reel set up into 9 distinct mini slots is certainly not something we’ve seen before, but it can be a bit frustrating that you cannot win without merging at least 3 “bloxes” with the same matching symbol.

The good news is that you only need 3 fully merged bloxes anywhere in the 3x3 grid to win, and the multiplier action can be quite lucrative once more than one fully charged “blox” is involved. We had a really hard time triggering the bonus round in this game, and the game itself is somewhat of an acquired taste. Once you get into it however, you’ll probably enjoy it for a while, but the rather brutal math model might scare off players before they’ve completed their “adjustment period”.

A screen of the Hot Blox playing space

Hot Blox slot Features

The very unique setup of this game comes with 9 distinct mini slots that look like blocks or boxes. Each box has 2 reels and 2 rows, giving you 4 symbol positions per box. If you land the same symbol on all 4 reel positions in any given box, the symbols merge together to form a 2x2 mega symbol that fills the whole box (or “blox” if you will). This is called the Symbol Fusion feature.

Only 2x2 mega symbols can form winning combinations on the larger 3x3 grid, and you need at least 3 matching 2x2 mega symbols anywhere to win. Each box in the 3x3 grid comes with a meter that’s being filled for every non-winning spin. The meter in winning boxes that are not fully charged will be reset, and you need 18 non-winning spins to fill a meter.

If at least one winning box has a full meter, you will benefit from a multiplier boost. The size of the multiplier depends on how many fully charged boxes that are part of the winning combo. Here is an overview of how it works:

• 1 charged box - gives you a 2x multiplier boost
• 2 charged boxes - gives you a 3x multiplier boost
• 3 charged boxes - gives you a 5x multiplier boost
• 4 charged boxes - gives you a 7x multiplier boost
• 5 charged boxes - gives you a 10x multiplier boost
• 6 charged boxes - gives you a 20x multiplier boost
• 7 charged boxes - gives you a 30x multiplier boost
• 8 charged boxes - gives you a 50x multiplier boost
• 9 charged boxes - gives you a 100x multiplier boost

If any of the 9 boxes were not part of a winning combo for 20 consecutive spins, that box will be fully charged for the 4 next spins. This can happen to multiple boxes at the same time, and the same can happen randomly to boxes that were not part of a winning combo for 15 consecutive spins. All of this, including charges, are reset if you change your bet level.

You trigger the free spins bonus round by filling at least 3 boxes with the 2x2 diamond scatter. You get 10 free spins that cannot be retriggered, and at the start of each spin you will benefit from a random number of fully charged boxes. This increases your chances of getting a multiplier boost that can lead to bigger wins.

The 200 Spins Hot Blox slot Experience

Well, we can certainly vouch for the high volatility of Hot Blox, as we kept on playing and playing but we never got to the bonus round. Our 200 spins highlights video will still give you a good idea how this game works however, and the free games round is not all that different from the base game anyway.

Review Summary

Hot Blox is certainly a game that sticks out from the herd, and the 9 “mini slots” being charged per losing spin is a clever enough idea. High 5 Games has shown before that they are not afraid to deviate from the tried and tested video slot format, and this game adds another oddball to their collection. How successful it will be remains to be seen, as unusual games like this will many times have a limited shelf-life.

We are usually fans of high risk/reward games, and the 10,031x potential is certainly solid enough. The problem is that the base game is not really captivating enough once the novelty has worn off. In addition, it can take ages to trigger the bonus round here, which can be frustrating. The core concept is certainly interesting and innovative, which we applaud, but we consider this a diamond in the rough for now.

Pros

• Innovative 9 blox concept
• Multiplier boosts up to 100x
• Bonus round with randomly charged multiplier bloxes
• High volatility and 10,031x max win potential

Cons

• Hard to trigger the bonus round
• Might be too unusual for mainstream appeal

If you appreciate Hot Blox slot you should also try:

Cosmic Heart - is another example of how daring High 5 Games can be. It comes with a horizontal Prize Line that can hand out 6 different features, and this includes both a bonus game and free spins. You can land payouts hovering above 10,000x here too, and the volatility is high also in this game.

Win Escalator - is a simple and easy-going Red Tiger game, and it comes with dropping wilds in the base game. The wilds give you extra spins in the bonus round, and a special arrow symbol can land to expand the reel set with up to 5 extra rows.

Mega Flip - is a quirky and unusual game from Relax Gaming, and it plays out on a 2-2-3-3-4-4 grid that will flip during the bonus round. Each winning spin gives you a respin with an increasing multiplier, and you can win up to 5,493x your stake in this highly volatile disco/arcade title.