The rowdy, cartoonish fun and quirky sound effects on Lightning Box’s video slots game Chilli Gold regularly see the game feature in the Top 20 on casino sites. The game features five reels and 40 fixed paylines, and adopts a comedy Mexican theme, complete with energetic Mexican music, a moustachioed Hombre in a poncho, and lots of spicy chillies. Players can bet between 1 and 5 coins per payline, for a total bet ranging between 40 and 200 coins.
Icons Out of a Mexican Cartoon
One of the reasons Chilli Gold features in so many Top 20 lists, is the bold, broad humour it embodies in icons and game play, and its resolute devotion to exuberant music and spicy food. Even the five Poker symbols used, from 9 to K, are rendered in decorated adobe plaster. The higher-value symbols continue the theme, with a mariachi Guitar, a pair of Maracas, a cheeky Parrot, a comedy Burro and the goofy-looking Hombre clutching his chilli pepper. The Hombre begins paying out prizes for two of a kind, at 10 coins, while all other standard icons need three of a kind or better to win. The top win in standard play, for five Hombres on a payline, is 1,000 coins.
All-Purpose Wild and Scatter
The red-hot Chilli icon works hard to help Chilli Gold retain its Top 20 status. It not only serves as the Spin button for the game, but it also doubles as both the Wild and the Scatter symbol. The Chilli can appear only on Reels 2, 3 and 4, where it can substitute for any other symbol to make more winning lines. However, it also appears stacked, so it can fill two, three, or all four slots on those reels. If six or more Wilds appear in any position on the three central reels, they act as the Scatter, to trigger a Free Games round.
Free Games Deliver the Biggest Wins
The number of free spins triggered in a Free Games round depends on the number of Wilds in the triggering spin. Six is the minimum, and delivers 3 Free Games, but with four rows on three reels and stackable Wilds, the maximum number of Wilds that can trigger a bonus round is 12, which will result in 21 Free Games. So the number of Free spins increases in increments of 3 for every additional Wild in the triggering spin. During Free Games, the red Chilli turns golden and becomes the Gold Wild, which is also stackable and can appear on four reels: Reel 2, 3, 4, or 5. Free Games can also be retriggered during a bonus round; this feature, combined with stacking Gold Wilds, delivers the big prizes that keep Chilli Gold in the Top 20.
Resolutely Cheerful Game Play
The maximum jackpot possible in Chilli Gold is 5,000 coins, but it is the game’s relentlessly cheerful theme, amusing animations and enthusiastic sound effects that make it a perpetual Top 20 contender.