Split Happens

Split Happens: Slot Overview

Balls at the ready, folks, we're going bowling with software provider Thunderkick in the online slot Split Happens. Split does indeed happen, both in bowling and, it could be argued, out among the wider world, too. The splitting in Split Happens relates to a full reel walking wild feature, which literally splits wilds when they appear on a certain reel. Couple that with a pay-both-ways win mechanic and a multiplier in free spins, and while a split is a tricky proposal in a game of bowling, in Split Happens, it might turn out to be a sweet result.

Imagine visiting a bowling alley after munching through way too much red rope liquorice (or a more intoxicating form of consumable), and you'll get an idea of Split Happens' underlying imagery. A blurry vision of a set of bowling lanes can be made out in what is a pinky, bluey-lit establishment. To really get in the spirit of the thing, try flexing a bit of mental matter to visualise those dinky bowling shoes they make people wear, still warm from the last customer's feet, reeking of an aerosol spray to provide freshness. Or not.

Split Happens is played on a 5-reel, 3-row reelset combined with 10 paylines to land winning combos across. Players may start a session by choosing a stake of 10 c up to $/€100 per spin; plus, there are Bet+ gambling options and a feature buy in order to theoretically speed things along. With an RTP of 94.16%, Split Happens is a medium-high volatile slot.

The game's pay symbols are made up of 10 to A card royals, nachos and beer, and a character symbol who kinda looks like Walter Sobchak from 'The Big Lebowski', a comedy crime film with a bowling slant. Payouts in Split Happens are evaluated along paylines that award wins left to right from the leftmost reel, as well as right to left from the rightmost reel. Five-of-a-kind wins pay 0.5 to 7.5x the bet, and a line of 5 wilds also pays 5x. Wilds replace any regular paying symbol to help form winning combinations.

Split Happens: Slot Features

The actual split happening in Split Happens occurs when stacked wild symbols land on the middle reels as part of the Walking Stacked Wilds feature. Other extras to bowl for are the free spins bonus game, where a progressive multiplier and Power Reset enter the action, Bet+ ante bets, and a feature buy.

Walking Stacked Wilds

The Walking Stacked Wilds feature is activated when a full stack of wild symbols lands on reels 2, 3 or 4, triggering respins. The wild stack moves left or right with each respin, depending on its starting position. If a full stack of wilds lands on reel 3, the Split Happens feature triggers. This splits the stack into 2 wild stacks, placed on reels 2 and 4, which then move left or right on respins. Respins continue until no full stacks remain in view.

Bonus Game

The bonus game is triggered by collecting 3 scatter symbols on the bonus meter which awards 5 free spins. In the bonus round, a global Walking Stacked Wild multiplier starting at x1 comes into play. It increases by +1 with each respin. The multiplier value is displayed above the reels and is applied to each payline win with a participating full wild stack. The Power Reset feature activates when a full stack of wilds land, resetting the number of free spins. Respins do not affect the free spins count, and the Power Reset does not reset the multiplier.

Feature Buy and Bet+

The feature buy lets players buy their way into the bonus round for a cost of 100 times the bet. The Bet+ provides two options for increasing the per spin bet in order to increase the chance of triggering the feature.

Split Happens: Slot Verdict

There are good things happening in Split Happens, but it wasn't as immediately exciting as Thunderkick slots can sometimes be. Why? Hard to say. Perhaps because the Walking Stacked Wild feature didn't seem to accomplish a whole heck of a lot for much of the time, the cartoon graphics were a bit hit or miss and didn't have the usual Thunderkick crispness to them. The blurred background was just a bit too blurry. Add it all up, and you've got a game that didn't manage to explode right out of the gate.

Before you go hanging up your bowling shoes, though, there are times when the pace may pick up. Partnering Walking Stacked Wilds with respins is a positive, though the paylines and average symbol values didn't often add up to very much. The pay-both-ways mechanic is a plus, though, admittedly. Bonus round free spins are where the safety wheels are taken off by way of a two-pronged attack. This is, of course, the persistent multiplier, always a handy addon, and the Power Reset feature, which, when combined with respins, is able to stretch those 5 initial free spins out into something lengthier and, hopefully, financially rewarding.

All in all, Split Happens was okay; it's in possession of some intriguing gameplay ideas while oozing a cartoon quirkiness. However, by the end, the misses just seemed to outweigh the hits, making Split Happens an alright slot to playthrough but one that didn't inspire strong desires for a repeat performance.