Fire Gnomes

Fire Gnomes: Slot Overview

Gnomes, huh? That's something you don't see every day unless visiting a house which has those statues scattered about the garden. If you haven't seen garden gnomes, they're statues of typically bearded fantastical humanoids with tall pointy hats looking wise or mischievous. Described (in satire, it seems) by Comte de Gabalis, the abbot of Villars in 1670, 'The Earth is filled almost to the center with Gnomes or Pharyes, a people of small stature, the guardians of treasures, of mines, and of precious stones.' How cool if that were true? Even if not, this description makes gnomes ideal for use in an online slot, and so you get Fire Gnomes from Games Global partner Crazy Tooth Studio.

Fire Gnomes is one of Crazy Tooth Studio's BIG BuildUp slots, following others like Lucky Clucks and Banana Drop. Where those other two were cheerfully animal-driven above-ground slots, Fire Gnomes looks like it takes place in a cave or underground grotto, full of toadstools and cute wee abodes like the Smurf Village. Everything in the background has a wavy quality to it, as if visitors have entered another dimension where the laws of nature no longer apply, and nothing really makes sense. A similar feeling is sometimes provoked when test-running some of Crazy Tooth Studio's more experimental slots.

Holding steady in the middle of the gnomic wonderland is Fire Gnome's gaming grid. Deviating from the norm, it's got 4 rows, holding 5 symbols each and crossed with 95 paylines. When you're ready to begin, bet selection ranges from 15 p/c to $/€30 per spin, with neither ante bet nor bonus buy being an option. The game sheet mentions volatility is medium-high volatile, while the math model running the show generates an RTP of 96.18% at the most, though be aware that lower models have also been created.

On this particular gaming grid, it is possible to land winning combinations of 3 or 4-of-a-kind only. On the lower value side are clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades in various values awarding 0.2x the bet for 4-of-a-kind, while the higher value group are mushrooms matching the colours of the low pays. Hitting a 4 symbol mushroom win awards 0.33 times the bet. Regular wilds and Wild Multipliers land at various stages; both are able to substitute for any pay symbol. Wild Multipliers have values of 2x to 5x, and each one included in a winning combination multiplies the pay for the win – these wilds only appear in the Big BuildUp feature.

Fire Gnomes: Slot Features

Fire Gnomes' features include Build-Up Symbols, the Big BuildUp, and the Fire Gnomes Bonus Game.

Build-Up Symbols

In the base game, Build-Up symbols may land on reels 1 and 4 and are stored on the shelf spaces to the left and right of the grid where they hit. Barrel Build-Up symbols equate to wild symbols or wild multipliers, while shields represent Gold or Silver prizes which are added to any values already on the respective shelf space.

Big BuildUp

Landing 1 or more Feature Activation symbols anywhere on reels 2 and/or 3 triggers this feature. When triggered, 1 or more feature awards on the sides of the reels are activated. Barrels add wilds or Wild Multipliers to their row, while Gold or Silver prizes are awarded.

Fire Gnomes Bonus Game

Getting 2 scatter symbols on reels 1 and 4 awards the Fire Gnomes bonus game. When the round begins, each position on the reels gets a credit value or a special bonus symbol. The round starts with 5 spins, and on each spin, at least 1 gnome rolls a bomb with a multiplier value onto the reels hitting a credit value of a special symbol, activating it. When a value is hit, it is multiplied by the bomb's value. If a special symbol is hit, this occurs:

• Retrigger – the number of spins is increased by the activating multiplier value, and it transforms into a credit value.
• Credit Boost – all activated credit values are increased by the credit boost value times the activating multiplier value.
• Row symbol – all positions on the same row are activated with the activating multiplier value.
• Column symbol – all positions on the same column are activated with the activating multiplier value.
• Orthogonal symbol – all positions above, below, or to the sides are activated with the activating multiplier value.

When spins run out, the value of activated positions is awarded.

Fire Gnomes: Slot Verdict

We mentioned the word mischievous in the intro, and that's one way of describing Fire Gnomes. In some ways, Fire Gnomes was one of the more mainstream releases we've reviewed from this studio in a while. Oftentimes we walk away from one of Crazy Tooth Studio's games, scratching our head, trying to figure out what just happened. Examples include releases like The Incredible Balloon Machine or Fortress Charge for two extremes which push the boundary of what the definition of an online slot even is. Fire Gnomes isn't like that. The paytable rules are quite lengthy, but once you've seen the game in action, it doesn't take long to clock what is going on.

To simplify it, what you want is to land as many Build-Up symbols as possible, stack them on the side of the reels, and then unleash them when the Feature Activation symbols hit. The more barrels that stack, the more wilds/Wild Multipliers will land across the row, and the more prize symbols hit, the greater the prize values climb. Simple, really, but the studio has injected plenty of life and personality into the game through the gnome characters triggering the stored Build-Up symbols and rolling bombs onto the reels during the bonus game. Some may rue the delayed action these animations cause; others may love the cheeky charm. The game mirrors Crazy Tooth Studio itself in that it is what it is - Fire Gnome is out there doing its thing, and if you want something a little different, here's a unique option to try.

However, Fire Gnomes is arguably one of Crazy Tooth Studio's more mainstream releases and might provide an ideal stepping-off point for players keen to dip their toes in the weird and wonderful world which is Crazy Tooth Studios.