Behind Bars Masterplan

Behind Bars Masterplan: Slot Overview

They say if you've done the crime, you gotta do the time. But some people just don't wanna, and would prefer to put their smarts together and bust out of the slammer, which is tricky to do in this day and age, given all the guards, fences, and cameras. Nothing is going to stop the three desperadoes in Bullshark Games' online slot Behind Bars Masterplan, though. These guys have got a plan, and they are ready to execute. A high security prison provides the setting for some scatter paying Reel Multiplier action, and bonus rounds that faintly echo a certain chaotic slot partner Hacksaw Gaming released a while back.

The game begins with an animated sequence introducing players to the three main characters, nicknamed The Mastermind, The Toolman, and The Muscle. From there, we enter the prison itself, where the three chaps stand ready and waiting to bust out to freedom. It's a very clean-looking clink, but jail's jail, who wants to be in there? And after some digging, the trio find themselves outside the prison during the bonus round phase. The question is what next? It's not like an escaped con can just go get a normal job and live like a regular member of society. They're sort of destined to a life on the run after that, always looking over their shoulder, knowing Big Brother has their number.

Played on a 6x5 grid, Behind Bars Masterplan is a scatter pays slot that creates a winning combination when at least 8 matching symbols land in any position. Winning combinations are removed, causing symbols to drop down to refill the grid. As long as new wins keep hitting, the cascade feature will keep triggering. This is a medium volatile slot, taking bets of $/€0.10 to $/€75 per spin, and producing a maximum RTP of 96.29%.

Behind Bars Masterplan's low pay symbols are J-A card ranks, while the higher pays are nightsticks, toilet paper, soap, IDs, and keys. Combinations of 8 matching symbols pay 0.1x to 1x the bet, or at the top of the table, a 16+ OAK hit will award 10x to 50x the stake.

Behind Bars Masterplan: Slot Features

Behind Bars Masterplan busts out of the slammer with the aid of Reel Multipliers, an Escape Plan bonus, The Great Escape bonus, and feature buys.

Reel Multipliers

One multiplier field is displayed above each reel. On each spin, a random multiplier of x1 to x100 appears in the fields. If at least one symbol on a reel participates in a win, that reel's multiplier is applied to the win. If multiple reels with multipliers higher than x1 are part of the same win, the values are summed up before being applied. After the win and symbols are removed, 1 or 2 random reels receive a multiplier boost. This could be an additive value of x1 to x100 or a multiplicative value of x2 to x10. Multipliers persist through cascades but reset at the end of a base game spin. The max multiplier value is x24,000.

Escape Plan

Landing 3 scatters in the base game triggers the Escape Plan bonus. Each Reel Multiplier starts at x1, but they are progressive until the bonus ends. The feature initially grants 3 spins, and each time a new non-blank symbol lands, the spin count is reset. The following symbols may land, none are sticky:

• Blank: Does nothing.
• Instant Win: Reveals a value of 0.5x to 100x, which is multiplied by the Reel Multiplier and added to the total win.
• Adder: Adds x1 to x100 to its Reel Multiplier.
• Multiplier: Multiplies its Reel Multiplier by x2 to x10.
• Epic Adder: Adds x1 to x100 to all Reel Multipliers.
• Epic Multiplier: Multiplies all Reel Multipliers by x2 to x10.

If a spin results in no new symbols, the Search Party may randomly trigger. When it does, 2-4 Instant Win symbols are added to empty positions, resetting the spin count.

The Great Escape

Landing 4 scatters in the base game triggers The Great Escape round. It has the same mechanics as the Escape Plan, except 3 random reels start with increased multipliers of x2 to x10.

Feature Buys

The feature buy menu offers two ante bets and two feature buys. For 3x the bet, BonusHunt FeatureSpins increase the likelihood of triggering a bonus by 5 times. Surprise Inspection FeatureSpins cost 50x to make all reels have a random multiplier of x2 or higher, and at least one win is guaranteed. The Escape Plan bonus may be bought for 100x or The Great Escape for 250x the stake.

Behind Bars Masterplan: Slot Verdict

Seems Bullshark Games has a bit of Reel Multiplier fever going on. The previous release from the studio, the stylish steampunk caper Gearlab Genius, featured Reel Multipliers alongside synced reels and super reels, and they're back to boost wins in the current jailbreak slot. Other than Reel Multipliers, Behind Bars Masterplan is a totally different type of game, though. For one thing, it creates winning combinations with a scatter pays system rather than ways, negating the need for any syncing, though, in saying that, synced reels in a scatter pays game might be interesting. As it is, winning symbols can land anywhere, opening up the chance of catching Reel Multiplier values all over the grid, creating a different type of tension.

Behind Bars Masterplan wasn't made in a bubble, though, and you can detect possible influences here and there. One is in the bonus round, which evoked memories of the bonus feature Hacksaw Gaming dropped into Chaos Crew back in 2020. The Escape Plan and The Great Escape are by no means copies. Instead of just collecting Reel Multiplier values times the bet, here they are used to multiply Instant Prizes instead, the total of which is awarded. So while the activity has links, the full effect is quite different. Quite entertaining, too, and capable of hitting up to 12,000x in all bonus rounds, as well as during Surprise Inspection FeatureSpins.

Behind Bars Masterplan joins the likes of Holy Heist and Gearlab Genius as Bullshark Games builds up a solid portfolio of Reel Multiplier-powered slots. If there's a slight rattle in the bars here, it's the lack of a really distinct progression between bonus tiers. While The Great Escape provides an appreciated head start with boosted Reel Multiplier values, it feels more like a shortcut than a drastic transformation. A unique new mechanic, symbol, or a more potent 'super bonus' triggered by five scatters might have added extra incentive to keep spinning. As it stands, Behind Bars Masterplan is an entertaining prison break slot that makes good use of its Reel Multiplier mechanics, even if the feature set stops short of reaching full breakout potential.