Money Train 5

Money Train 5: Slot Overview

Billed as 'One last chance', Money Train 4 was originally set to be the final swan song for Relax Gaming's industry-disrupting Money Train series, which originally launched in 2019, before also taking various Cart detours along the way. However, the studio has dusted off the locomotive, lubricated the wheels, and most importantly, dragged back the long list of special symbol modifiers for another rumble down the track. In a surprise turn of events, Money Train 5 is on the move, and it brings with it a unique version of the hold 'n' win round the series is infamous for, with a fair share of alterations to refresh the experience and put gamblers back on their toes.

The Money Train series has travelled through a wildly varied landscape since first rolling onto gamblers' screens. The original was a straight-arrow Western, before getting all steampunk for part 2. The third installment saw the series thrust into the distant future, before part 4 left Earth altogether to engage in some off-world terraforming. Money Train 5 is back on Earth, but a version of the planet caught in the death throes of dystopian destruction. Clouds of smoke choke the atmosphere, which gets progressively worse as the train reaches new stations during free spins. Perhaps this is Relax Gaming's warning about where the planet is possibly heading as we suck in resources and increase energy production at exponential rates. Then again, people have been crying out warning signals for decades, which many with the power to actually do something have consistently chosen to ignore.

Chugging on, Money Train 5 has two main ways of being played. These are Standard Mode or Ultra Mode, which has double the win cap. One would assume Ultra provides the bumpier journey, though nothing further was really mentioned about it in the game rules. Players can likely expect a highly volatile ride no matter the mode, and an RTP of 96.1%. Stuck to the side of the train is a 5x4, 40 payline play area that gamblers can stake $/€0.10 to $/€20 on in Standard mode, or up to $/€10 in Ultra mode.

Money Train 5's regular paying symbols are the four card suits - diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades - then four character symbol high pays. Lines of 5 matching royals pay 3x-5x the bet, or when hitting a 5 OAK premium line, the award is 8x-20x the bet. Wilds substitute for all symbols except the scatter. They land on all reels and have the same payout value as the top character symbol.

Money Train 5: Slot Features

A Nuclear Wild feature keeps the base game moving along until the free spins round fires up. Gamblers also have access to various feature buys and the Enhanced Bet.

Nuclear Wild

The Nuclear Wild feature may trigger on base game spins. Crosshairs plant 5 Nuclear Bombs across the reels when activated. As they connect into winning combinations, they detonate into full reel wilds.

Free Spins

Landing 3 or more bonus scatters triggers the free spins feature. The Ticket Master symbol contributes to triggering the Super Bonus, which starts the round at station 15. Three spins are awarded, and the triggering bonus symbols reveal a bet multiplier value. Regular free spins and Ultra Free Spins start at station 0; Super Free Spins and Ultra Super Free Spins start at station 15. Each time a new symbol lands, it sticks and resets the spin count to 3. Symbols landing in the bonus include:

• Bonus Symbol - Reveals a value of 1x-10x.
• Absorber - Absorbs all normal bonus symbols and removes them.
• Arms Dealer - Converts 1 to 4 bonus symbols into a feature symbol. After the conversion, the new feature symbols trigger their abilities.
• Collector - Collects all visible values and adds them to its own value.
• Collector Payer - Selects 3-5 symbols as targets, adds their values to its own, then pays out its updated value to each of those targets.
• Ticket Master - Takes the total win and adds it to all other symbols on the reels. Ticket Master always applies a value 1 Ticket.
• Necromancer - Brings back one or two already used non-persistent special features.
• Payer - Reveals an xbet value and adds it to all other symbols on the reels.
• Sniper - Doubles the values of 3 to 8 other symbols. It can act on the same symbol several times.
• Bomber - Unlocks at station 15. Multiplies all values on the reels by either x2 to x5.
• Pyromancer - Unlocks at station 15. Burns a static Hot Zone on the train. Normal feature symbols that can be persistent are upgraded to persistent inside the hot zone. All bonus symbol values that land inside or are moved into it are doubled.
• Permanent Payer - Unlocks and activates at Station 20. It can only be obtained by reaching Station 20. Its value can only be boosted by Payer and Persistent Payer (not including the ones created from the Necromancer or Arms Dealer). The value is boosted only by the first effect of any new Payer or Persistent Payer that lands. Permanent Payers act after all other features except Tickets.

All special symbols reveal a value before doing their effect. Some symbols can be persistent, such as the Collector, Payer, Sniper, Collector Payer, Necromancer, Arms Dealer, and Bomber. Persistent symbols activate their effect on each new spin. Ticket symbols may also land. The number shown on Ticket symbols determines how many steps the reels move from right to left. Each reel that moves off the grid progresses the train by one station and adds its total value to the total win. Tickets always act last. Station 5 unlocks the chance to land Persistent symbols, Station 10 unlocks an extra row, Station 15 unlocks the chance to land Bomber & Pyromancer, while Station 20 unlocks & activates the Permanent Payer.

Super Charge Feature Buy & Enhanced Spins

Six options are available from the Super Charge section. Bonus Reels cost 10x and have a much higher chance of triggering a bonus, while the Ultra Bonus Reels option has a much higher chance of triggering an Ultra Bonus for 25x. Regular symbols do not land during Bonus Reels or Ultra Bonus Reels. Standard free spins can be bought for 100x, Ultra Free Spins for 250x, Super Free Spins for 500x, or Ultra Super Free Spins for 2,000x the bet. Super versions start at station 15. Activating the Enhanced Spins ante bet raises the stake by 50%, more than doubling the chance of triggering free spins or Ultra Free Spins - depending on the mode.

Money Train 5: Slot Verdict

Money Train 5 marks a bold return for Relax Gaming's flagship series, and one that earns its place on the track. It's a sequel which feels the same and yet not, as it brings back many elements that made previous releases great while adding in a number of its own tricks. After Money Train 4 was scheduled to bring the journey to an end, the fifth installment rolls up with more than enough new ideas to avoid feeling like a rehash. Fans are no doubt salivating at the thought of a new version of the iconic hold 'n' win mayhem these slots have built their towering reputation on, and while Money Train 5 might not eclipse all that went before it, there is a lot of good stuff here to chew over, and avoid being mown down by.

Positives include a free spins feature which is able to blow its stack when special symbols are lining the reels; obviously, persistent is the preferred version. Now though, Money Train 5 has a quest element to it, as persistent symbols only appear from station 5 onwards. When special symbols are on screen, the interplay between the various effects, boosting each other, boosting themselves, is a powerful reminder of why Money Train became the phenomenon it did.

The way the grid moves right to left when progressing through stations is a curveball that brings with it ups and downs. Ups, since travel is needed to get to the better symbols; downs, at times when, say, you've got a persistent symbol on the leftmost reel putting in some good work only to watch it vanish when the grid shunts to the next stop. Lost reels do add their value to the total win, but still. There is a supposition that doing things this way means a higher frequency of special symbols, since the train can move and push them out of view, but this is not backed up by anything official in the rules. Suffice to say the bonus round is more than capable of sending players thundering down a track of thrills, spills, and all the rest of it.

For the lucky few who make it to the end of the journey, winning potential is an interesting one. Where subsequent Money Train games of the past have continually increased the prize pot, churning out bigger and bigger headlining numbers, Money Train 5 eases back, relatively speaking, to 100,000x in Ultra mode and 50,000x in Standard Mode. Either way, both max wins are big totals to shoot for in a game which might not be as monstrous as some would have hoped for, but nevertheless resurrects a series with a new installment that reminds us what made it great in the first place.