Big Money Wheel

Big Money Wheel: Slot Overview

Huge, mega, bonanza, gold, thrilling, when you pick descriptive, hype words in the online slot biz, they've got to be BIG. The bigger the better, even if reality doesn't reflect the boast. You never see titles like Averagely Flaming Fruit or Low to Medium Jackpot Bronze, even if the game in question and its rewards are on the meagre side. Can't be labelling the possible payouts in casino game maker NetEnt's slot Big Money Wheel as being meagre, though. As well as sizable winning potential, it does have a fair-sized wheel, from which prizes may be gleaned, to go with its respins, free spins, and bonus buys.

As well as all that, Big Money Wheel wraps everything in a snazzy outer coating. The look is a teensy generic, yet the game's maker has managed to imbue Big Money Wheel with a finger-clicking, retro cartoon style, Hanna Barbera, or Top Cat, or something along those lines type mood. Several prior slots came to mind as well, but more on them later. A 'groovy, jazzy game show' is how the info sheet described Big Money Wheel, and while game docs are often packed with hyperbole, a glimmer of truth rings through in this instance.

One noticeable thing about Big Money Wheel when the game opens up is its 2-2-4-4-4-4 aligned, 6-reel gaming grid. Lopsided matrices aren't exactly as rare as Black Lotus Magic the Gathering cards, yet they're not superabundant either. Pragmatic Play used one in Wild Wild Riches Megaways and NetEnt, too, in the slot Rage. Yes, there is an element of unnecessary gimmick to them, but okay, they're a bit unusual, which is welcome. Welcome also is the default RTP of 96.07% and the volatility for players who like it on the high side. Bets of 20 c to $/€40 per spin are selectable, and this particular matrix provides 1,024 ways to win.

Regular ways wins begin from the leftmost side of the grid and hit over consecutive reels. Jack to Ace royals make up the lower-paying symbols, while records, shoes, double basses, and horns are the highs. Wilds hit on reels 3, 4, 5, and 6, as well, substituting for any regular paying symbol type.

Big Money Wheel: Slot Features

One main objective in Big Money Wheel is collecting the values from Coin symbols, which is possible in the main game during respins or in the free spins bonus round.

Coins, Colossal Coins, and Respins

During the base game, respins or free spins, coins with random multiplier values of x1 to x25 may land anywhere on the grid, while those bearing values of x50 or x100 may appear only on the two leftmost reels. Moreover, colossal-sized 2x2 coins only appear on the two leftmost reels. In the main game, any Colossal Coin landing with at least one other coin triggers a respin. If at least one coin appears on the reels during the respin, another respin is awarded. When respins end, thecoin values are awarded.

Free Spins

A Colossal Big Money Wheel scatter may appear on the two leftmost reels in the base game. When it does, it activates free spins on a 4x6 gaming area. The feature starts with 3 free spins. Landing a new Coin or Mystery symbol on the grid resets the number of free spins. All symbols are sticky until the end of the feature.

When the free spin counter reaches 0, and there is at least 1 Mystery symbol on the grid, then the Big Money feature triggers. The wheel spins once, stopping on multipliers of x5 to x1,000, Double, or Triple rewards. The landed wheel result adds the bet multiplier value to all Mystery symbols on the reels. If it lands on Double or Triple, the wheel spins again but can only land on multipliers. This multiplier gets boosted by Double or Triple, whichever is relevant, and the resulting value is placed on the Mystery symbols.

Feature Buy

At the feature buy, players can activate free spins with 1 guaranteed Mystery symbol at the start for 90x the bet or free spins with 3 guaranteed Mystery symbols at the start for 150x the bet.

Big Money Wheel: Slot Verdict

Big Money Wheel was a game that got subtly better than when it first appeared. Initially, the graphics and features didn't make a huge impression, causing harsh words of criticism to boil up in the mind. After holding back the critique to take in what Big Money Wheel presents, the picture got rosier. Okay, the final reaction wasn't exactly 'Ooh, how did NetEnt do that?', but there are positives, and if a game brings to mind a host of, albeit better, prior reviews, it can't be all bad, can it?

Those prior games included Slotmill's Money Jar and Money Jar 2, Push Gaming's Dinopolis, as well as Relax Gaming's Bill & Coin, and Chip Spin. No doubt the coin element, a popular slot addition, helped unite them. Whilst Big Money Wheel has a 2+4 unusual grid layout, it is arguably less sophisticated than these other slots. The base game has a fairly basic hold and respin coin feature, and the free spins round is hardly the gambling version of a flight simulator. However, NetEnt has cleverly incorporated a prize wheel mechanic which might create a measure of suspense - if Mystery symbols have landed on the grid, though. Finishing free spins without a Mystery symbol in view might be disappointing. But, get some in there, and the wheel is capable of awarding chonky results, keeping in mind the Double and Triple effects are able to help ramp up the suspense even further if you can get them.

The top prize in Big Money Wheel is a cool 12,026 times the bet, which, fair enough, is pretty big money compared to much of what NetEnt had been putting out around the same time - Golden Realms, Gladiator Clash, Mermaids, etc. Still, you know, this is NetEnt, so it's kinda sad to see competitors completely outclass the veteran studio in terms of sophistication. But Big Money Wheel has a fun vibe, and its relatively uncomplex coin reward system has merit.