12 Burning Baseballs

12 Burning Baseballs: Slot Overview

Historian Jacques Barzun said, 'Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.' In which case, gamblers looking to probe the hearts and minds of those who call the USA home might do well to wind up and pitch 12 Burning Baseballs from developer Print Studios. Or not, since it doesn't really focus on the game as it plays out on a field, per se, but rather fills its screen with baseball-related imagery such as balls and a hitter in a downtown location. It also takes on features that have proven their worth in the past, then mashes them together to create an experience that is at once familiar yet demonstrates Print Studios' ability to transcend the ordinary.

So instead of lush green grass, hot dogs, and bases, the main game opens up to a train track running through the middle of a built-up city, all skyscrapers and graffiti. Urban is the vibe, accentuated by a rhythmic soundtrack, and a main character going by the name of Nicole, who, with cap turned back and what looks like barbed wire wrapped around a bat, clearly takes no crap from anybody. A list of prizes next to the grid, and the game's title, suggest that Print Studios has taken on the popular 9 Masks of Fire-style scatter prize segment of the market, which might be true to an extent, before blending it with a bonus round that will have players hanging on for dear life when it gets a-rolling.

Before you start hitting anything, a stake of $/€0.10 to $/€50 must be selected, and if preferred, three feature buys are available, too. Clicking spin sets the 5x3 grid in motion, which evaluates winning combinations from the leftmost side along 10 paylines. With its highly volatile math model comes an RTP of 96.31%.

12 Burning Baseballs' symbols are Jack, Queen, King, Ace, Brass Knuckles, Money, Dice, and Ducky. Hit 5 matching pay symbols in a line and the reward totals 3x to 10x the bet. There are no wilds; maybe they've been smashed out of the park or squashed by a train, or something, but they aren't here.

12 Burning Baseballs: Slot Features

On the feature side, 12 Burning Baseballs serves up Burning Baseballs, a Blazing Train Bonus, Big Base Crew Respins, Home Run Spins, and the Feature Bet.

Burning Baseballs

Landing 3 or more Burning Baseballs anywhere awards a prize according to the prize meter. This could be a cash prize or one of five Blazing Train Bonus games. Landing 12 Burning Baseballs instantly awards 20,000x.

Blazing Train Bonus

Landing 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 Burning Baseballs triggers 10 seconds of free spins in the Blazing Train Bonus, and the corresponding Scatter Awards are replaced by cash prizes. Landing Nicole symbols increases progress on the meter. Filling the meter entirely resets the timer to 10 seconds and increases the speed of the remaining spins. Landing enough Burning Baseballs to be awarded a better Blazing Train Free Spins mode immediately triggers it, replacing its corresponding Scatter Award with a cash prize. There are five modes, activated by the amount of landed Burning Baseballs - 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 equate to Hot, Fiery, Flaming, Scorching, and Pyroclastic, respectively. The more Burning Baseballs needed to trigger the mode, the more Burning Baseballs will be added to the reels during the round.

Big Baseball Crew

Hitting a 2x2 square of Burning Baseballs in the base game triggers Big Baseball Crew Respins. In this round, 3 spins are awarded, where Burning Baseballs are sticky, and landing new ones resets the spin count. During the feature, only sticky Burning Baseball symbols or dud symbols may land. Landing more sticky Burning Baseballs in a square creates a bigger Giant Baseball. When spins end, Giant Baseballs reveal prizes, and the bigger the Giant Baseball, the bigger the possible prize.

Home Run Spins

The batter beside the reels may randomly swing at a Burning Baseball symbol, and if it hits, 5 Home Run Spins are awarded. During this feature, landed Burning Baseball symbols are collected, and a prize is awarded at the end of the round in accordance with the Prize Table awards.

Feature Bet

Three features can be bought in 12 Burning Baseballs. They are a guaranteed batter swing for 25x, the Blazing Train Bonus with 7+ scatters for 100x, or Blazing Train Bonus with 9+ scatters for 615x the bet.

12 Burning Baseballs: Slot Verdict

Unexpected was one of the first words that came to mind when copping a look at 12 Burning Baseballs. The eyes were drawn to the prize list, followed by thoughts about 9 Masks and its ilk. However, on closer inspection, not only is the top prize a big one at 20,000x (the win cap), but the five below it are named prizes rather than bet multipliers, helping pique interest. After reading the paytable, it became apparent that instead of clinging desperately to bandwagons, 12 Burning Baseballs had set out to take on the familiar and make it its own beast. For the most part, this approach has paid off in a similar way to say Ugliest Catch was able to reframe a common trope and turn it into something more lethal.

With roots in Joker Troupe and Land of Zenith, the Blazing Train Bonus plays a huge role in the game's excitement while also reinforcing Print Studio's genetic links to Push Gaming. One minute, the train might be hitting a speed bump, the next it could be hurtling down the tracks so quickly it's hard to tell what the fudge is going on. Suffice it to say, if you like how Hypermode rounds played out, then 12 Burning Baseballs is one to check. The feature isn't as all-or-nothing as it might have been, though, since 12 Burning Baseballs also shares the RTP out amongst Big Baseball Crew Respins and Home Run Spins, though in the review at least, those two contributed but a smidgen to the overall entertainment.

12 Burning Baseballs might not turn out to be what Print Studios fans were expecting, yet it's a game that manages to skirt the fine line between mainstream commerciality and adrenalised barbwire bat to the face gameplay. In short, 12 Burning Baseballs is a surprisingly raw alternative to the standard scatter-prize format that offers enough mechanical depth and visceral thrills to satisfy those looking for a more aggressive ride.