The show eventually faded from popularity, and new ones took its place, but none scratch that itch in the same way. Watching players take the hot seat, and use every tool at their disposal to climb higher – it was exhilarating! So when we heard Big Time Gaming translated the experience into slots, we were naturally excited!
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Review
Who Wants to be a Millionaire is a 2018 game themed after the popular TV show. While it lacks the charismatic host, it does offers a massive six reel playing field with variable row heights. Thanks to the Megaways system, there are no fixed paylines. Instead, wins are granted for collecting three identical symbols in adjacent positions from left to right.
Available special features include an extra reel beneath the second, third, fourth and fifth reels. You also have Reactions and free spins with an unlimited win multiplier. Triggering free spins also starts a Hot Seat Free Spins gamble. Particularly attentive gamblers may have already noticed some similarities with Bonanza. There will be a lot more of that as the review progresses.
Who Wants To Be A Millioniare Gameplay
Theme & Symbols
Credit where it’s due, Big Time Gaming absolutely nailed the theme. While its visually reminiscent of the TV show, it also incorporates many of its mechanics into the slot! This being a game of chance, there are no actual questions to answer. So you will resort to guessing, and strategically asking the ‘audience’ for help using Lifelines!
We do recall the graphics being somewhat disappointing. The background image is a fantastic rendition of the familiar studio. The only available animations are the headlights turning on and off randomly. We would have hoped for a little more fanfare beyond the icons highlight and exploding, and a rain of golden coins!
Symbols are not much better, we are afraid. It would not be a Big Time Gaming release without gemstones of various shapes and colors. We are far less ‘cool’ with blatantly reusing icons, and that is exactly what Who Wants to be a Millionaire has done. If you played Bonanza previously, the purple gem will be very familiar to you.
How to Play Who Wants to be a Millionaire
The slot is played on six reels with different row heights on every spin. Each row can hold between two to seven symbols horizontally, depending on how merciful the Megaways are feeling. It can be quite difficult to keep track of how many Ways to Win are available to you as a result. The developer thought ahead, and states the number of available Megaways above the reels after they finish spinning.
Gameplay will be incredibly familiar to long term fans of Big Time Gaming. Who Wants to be a Millionaire plays almost identically to Bonanza, with some extra elements added on top of it. The free spins are still very difficult to hit and dead spins are still a nuisance we do not like. On the positive side, the fantastic maximum win has been enhanced further, and additional bonuses were added.
Players can set their stake like they have a total of 20 active paylines, instead of 117649 ways to win! This is great value for mid-range and casual gamblers, who can bet as low as €0.20 and reap the benefits! And since it has a bigger jackpot than Bonanza, the developers went out of their way to restrict the maximum bet. It is capped at €10, so you cannot get too lucky.
Bonus Features
The core bonuses still remain exactly the same as in Bonanza. They did not make any changes – they simply added on more stuff.
Extra Reel
A bonus reel has been placed beneath the second, third, fourth and fifth reels. It functions like a regular reel, increasing your odds of landing a winning combination. When an icon from the bonus reel contributes to a win, it disappears. Existing ones move to take its place, while new ones land from behind.
Reactions
Experienced online gamblers may recognize these as cascading reels. When you complete a win in this game, those symbols explode and disappear. Existing ones fall to take their place. Meanwhile, brand new icons fall from the top of the reel, and fill up the empty spots. This allows players to chain several wins together while only paying a single spin.
Free Spins
Land three Scatters to win eight free spins. Any Scatters beyond the original three will increase the position from which you start the Hot Seat gamble. During free spins, Scatters will only appear in the bonus reel. Three or four Scatters grant four or eight extra turns.
Unlimited Win Multiplier
This bonus is only available during free spins. Each time a reaction takes place, the multiplier is bumped up to one. Since it does not reset, it keeps climbing higher, and can reach some insane numbers!
Hot Seat Free Spins Gamble
Rather than adding more free spins like in Bonanza, you have to go through a mini-game for them! This recreates the feeling of being in the hot seat of the gameshow, as players have to randomly guess the right answer.
The higher you reach, the more free spins you get. However, losing will knock you down to the last safe tile. The second and seventh tile are safe, so you are guaranteed 10 or 20 free spins if you reach them.
Lifelines
If you are close to getting to a safe spot, or feel like your luck is running out, worry not! Just like in the gameshow, you can use the three lifelines to help you narrow down the right choice.
Just like its predecessor, Who Wants to be a Millionaire kept its cutthroat high volatility. There is no cap as to how high your wins can go, thanks to the unlimited win multiplier and free spins! The RTP for this slot is 96.24%, above the current industry average.
More Games Based On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
In addition to this online slot, there are also other casino games based on Who Wants To Be A Millionare. For example, Playtech has previously released a live game show – Who Want To Be A Millionaire Live. And Playtech has released a roulette variant with the same theme – Who Want To Be A Millionaire Roulette Live.
There is a lot that this game does right. But that is only because it is following Bonanza’s formula to the T, with minor iterations here and there.
The Positives
It truly does recreate the feeling of being in the hot seat. We recommend playing through that bonus at least once!
Your jackpot can reach insane heights thanks to win multipliers and free spins
The Negatives
Gameplay is Bonanza with a few added bells and whistles. Homages are fine, total rip-offs are not.
Taking symbols out of your existing games and adding them into new ones is the epitome of laziness. Big Time Gaming can do much better.
The volatility is still incredibly high. Make sure to budget accordingly.
This is the perfect game for players who wanted more Bonanza. However, we cannot recommend playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Rewarding companies for copying their existing slots just leads to tons of rehashes later down the line. And nobody wants that.