Fruit Merge Megapots: Slot Overview
In the online slot world, fruit isn't automatically synonymous with forward-thinking, innovative gaming. However, in the hands of creative studio Big Time Gaming, Fruit Merge Megapots might possess fruit alongside a hold 'n' win round and progressive win multiplier bonus, yet there is more to it than first meets the eye. What helps Fruit Merge Megapots avoid becoming just another fruit slot is a clever merging mechanic, which can lead to gripping moments as symbols coalesce their way to higher and higher values. Massive winning potential adds further heft to something that is surprisingly weighty for a pears and cherries game.
Hopefully, you like outer space, too, because Fruit Merge Megapots spends its time blasting through a far-out section of it. So even if fruit isn't exactly the 'final frontier' of online slot themes, the galaxy angle gives the game more of a futuristic edge. And to be fair, whilst fruit makes up the bulk of the symbols, the features have a more avant-garde quality to them than might first be suspected. As for the rest, Fruit Merge Megapots has a strong and obvious Big Time Gaming feel to it, all shiny gems, and upmarket sheen that is a hallmark of the studio's work.
Played on a 6x4 gaming matrix, Fruit Merge Megapots has 4,096 ways to form regular winning combinations. Users have access to a stake range of $/€0.20 to $/€20 per spin and are able to buy either bonus feature. With a highly volatile math model steering the ship, Fruit Merge Megapots generates an RTP of 96.17%.
On the pay table are four gemstone symbols as the high pays and 9 to A royals as the lows. A winning combination consisting of 6 matching symbols awards 0.4x to 0.6x for the royals and 1x to 10x the stake for the gems. Wilds appear on all reels except the leftmost reel. They substitute for all symbols except scatters and bonus symbols.
Fruit Merge Megapots: Slot Features
A fruity-themed slot gets some classic features to go with it, though Big Time Gaming has played with the rules to brighten them up. Here we find a hold and spin round, Megapots prizes, free spins, and bonus buys.
Hold and Spin
Fruits and Megapots Coins can appear as bonus symbols. Landing 6 or more bonus symbols triggers the hold and spin round with 3 spins. Every 3 matching Megapots Coins awards the corresponding Megapots prize displayed on the screen. In addition, every 3 matching fruits that land merge into the next tier symbol, with Megapots Coins being the final tier that cannot merge further. At the end of the round, the total of all bonus symbols on screen is awarded.
Megapots
Mini, Midi, and Mega Megapots are displayed above the reels and contain random prizes that change on every spin. Megapots can only be won during the hold and spin. The Mini is worth 500x-1,000x, the Midi is worth 4,500x-8,888x, and the Mega is worth at least 20,888x the bet.
Free Spins
Hitting 3 scatters anywhere on the reels awards 12 free spins, plus 3 spins for each extra scatter. Free spins are played with an unlimited win multiplier that starts at x1 and increases for each bonus symbol. However, the win multiplier does not apply to hold and spin wins and is not affected by bonus symbols in the hold and spin. If the hold and spin is not triggered, any bonus symbols that land on a free spin are held for the next free spin. Hitting 3 scatters awards +4 more free spins plus 2 free spins for each extra scatter.
Bonus Buy
There are two options at the bonus buy. They are a hold and spin trigger for 35x the bet or the free spins round for 85x the bet.
Fruit Merge Megapots: Slot Verdict
It took a little while to get the point of Fruit Merge Megapots. Initially, the hold and spin didn't really go anywhere, so the full potential of what was possible took time to become apparent. However, the first half decent hold and spin round was eye-opening, where the merging of bonus symbols into higher-tier bonus symbols had a Salazar-like quality that was actually quite compelling. You can see how some gamblers would get a real kick out of merging symbols inching closer to Megapots. Then there's the anticipation of landing new bonus symbols that will hopefully start the build-up process into higher symbols again to keep the round rolling. Basically, there was more to the bonus than first met the eye, as Big Time Gaming has put together something more unique to transcend the typical hold 'n' win experience.
Free spins were the less captivating of the two main features, though they do benefit from a progressive win multiplier, and triggering the hold and spin from within them is a definite possibility. Too bad the win multiplier does not apply to payouts accrued from the hold and spin, but it remains a useful tool in a game with thousands of ways to win. Winning potential is enormous for a fruit slot, or any slot for that matter, where hitting the biggest Mega Megapot (so mega it had to be named twice) is worth 88,888x the bet, sure to lead to tense moments should merging symbols be converging on the big one.
Fruit Merge Megapots was a game which got better as it went on. The first impression wasn't amazing; there was fruit, stars, the expected Big Time Gaming sheen, but not much else to quicken the pulse with anticipation. However, dig in, and there is some juicy gaming here. It helps that winning potential is gigantic, but even if you don't win the top prize, and most gamblers won't, hold 'n' win connoisseurs or players who want to experience compelling merging dynamics would do well to wrap their jaws around this fruity item.
Fruit Merge Megapots takes time to reveal its strengths, but its merging hold-and-win mechanic adds enough tension and progression to make it more engaging than it first appears.
