Fire in the Hole 3

Fire in the Hole 3 Slot Overview

In the latest Nolimit City release, Fire in the Hole 3, we’re descending deep into a frozen mine to join the dwarf miner in another pursuit of gold. This new sequel to the Fire in the Hole series brings us some innovative features, insane volatility, and massive winning potential. So, read our Fire in the Hole 3 slot review until the end to find out everything this game has to offer.

Pros

• 70,000x max win
• Unique features
• Dynamic grid expansion
• Lovely aesthetics
• God mode option

Cons

• Extremely high volatility
• Expensive bonus buys
• Low base game payouts

Fire in the Hole 3 Video Review

See the action unfold in real time! Have a look at our Fire in the Hole 3 video review, where we analyze everything you’d want to know about this game.

Fire in the Hole 3 Slot Review

Fire in the Hole 3 by Nolimit City is the latest sequel in the popular Fire in the Hole series. While it builds upon the gritty dwarf-mining theme, it’s not just a simple reskin of the earlier games. Instead, it takes a step further and adds a bunch of new features. So, expect frozen symbols, collapsing reels, explosives, but most notably, insane volatility.

Theme

The theme of Fire in the Hole 3 is mining, which appears to be increasingly popular among slot developers. I’ve seen quite a few mining games at the best online casinos, but few studios use it as effectively as Nolimit City. That’s likely because the gritty, mysterious underground setting fits perfectly into Nolimit’s already dark and edgy style.

We’re once again joined by the heavy-drinking dwarf miner, though this time, he’s not alone. We also get to meet the evil dwarf, who may be a sinister figure the protagonist encountered in the depths or, more likely, an audiovisual hallucination caused by too much booze and too much time spent in underground isolation.

Graphics, Sounds and Animations

The graphics and artwork aren’t anything out of the ordinary, but they’re solid and consistent with other Nolimit City slots. The color palette leans heavily on earthy brown, stony grey, and icy blue tones, while the grid symbols add contrast with bright and fresh colors.

The animations are quite lively and dynamic, including explosions, collapsing mines, breaking ice, and the dwarf getting wasted amid piles of gold. Also, everything is accompanied by a nice soundtrack, which complements the atmosphere but isn’t overwhelming.

RTP, Payout and Volatility

The provider lists the Fire in the Hole 3 RTP at 96.05%, which is a solid number. However, keep in mind that RTP can vary depending on the casino you choose to play the game at.

The maximum payout is a whopping 70,000x the base bet. This is not too high by Nolimit City standards, but it’s still massive compared to most slot games.

Fire in the Hole 3 volatility isn’t just high — it’s extreme. Or, as the provider puts it, insane. Expect long, dry spells, or better yet, given the game theme, expect long, freezing cold spells. But when the big wins land, it really is “fire in the hole.” They blast like miners’ dynamite. Because of this, it’s always a good idea to play free demo games first to familiarize yourself with the mechanics and payouts before wagering real money.

Gameplay

Fire in the Hole 3 uses a spacious 6×6 grid, though the bottom three rows are frozen at the start of each spin. When you land a winning combination or trigger an xBomb explosion, one frozen row unlocks. Also, when a winning combination hits, the winning symbols disappear and make way for new symbols to land, which potentially allows for several wins within a single spin. The game uses traditional paylines, but the total number of paylines depends on how many frozen rows are unlocked. With the whole grid unlocked, it reaches up to 46,656 ways to win.

Features

This is where things get a bit more complicated. In true Nolimit City fashion, Fire in the Hole 3 is absolutely packed with features, including extensive bonus buy menus. So, let’s cut to the chase and explain them one by one.

Gamble Feature

If you win at least 5x in the base game, you can gamble the win for a chance to trigger the Lucky Wagon Spins. You can toggle this feature on and off.

xBomb Wild

The xBomb is a wild symbol that substitutes for all other symbols except scatters. When it forms part of a winning combination, it explodes and clears space for new symbols to drop into place.

xHole Symbol

The xHole pulls in adjacent regular paying symbols and then scatters them back to random positions as split symbols with sizes from 1 to 3. After that, the xHole disappears and causes a collapse. Winning symbols are paid out and removed before the xHole pulls in the rest.

xSplit Symbol

The xSplit symbol splits all other symbols on its reel and doubles them, except for scatters, other xSplits, or xHoles. After that, the xSplit transforms into a regular symbol.

Wild Mining Feature

Wild Mining triggers in the base game when 3 to 6 matching symbols align horizontally or vertically, but without wins, xHoles, or xBombs. The matching symbols then transform into the same number of wilds in the center positions. All symbols above them, except scatters and frozen symbols, explode and cause a collapse. Frozen symbols unlock and become active during this collapse.

Ice Buried Symbols

As I mentioned earlier, the bottom three rows in the base game are frozen in thick ice. They may conceal special symbols or even a max win symbol, but the symbols remain locked until the ice block they’re trapped in breaks. However, you can also unlock all symbols except for multipliers if you slice them with an xSplit. Empty ice blocks, or ice blocks with multipliers that get split and then collapse, are cleared as well. The max win symbol is a 2×2 ice block, and if you break all the surrounding ice, you’ll score the max win instantly.

Lucky Wagon Spins

Unlike most Nolimit games, Fire in the Hole 3 includes just one type of free spins, the Lucky Wagon Spins. But those free spins are elaborate enough to make up for the absence of another one or two types of bonus rounds.

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols triggers Lucky Wagon Spins with 2, 3, or 4 rows unlocked, respectively. You start with 3 spins, but they reset back to 3 every time a Coin lands.

The game shifts to a new grid where all rows are frozen except for the top one. There’s also a special row on the button that contains only chests. The frozen rows can land Coins, xHoles, Dynamites, and Persistent Dynamites, while the top row reveals special enhancers for each spin. These enhancers activate whenever a coin lands on the reel directly beneath them. The enhancers are:

• Coins – They carry a value that adds up to the triggering Coin.
• Multipliers – They multiply the value of Coins, Persistent Dynamites, or the Persistent Dwarf.
• Dynamites – They add the dynamite count to the triggering Coin, then throw that many Dynamites into random positions. Depending on where they land, the Dynamites can remove ice blocks, double Coin values, activate Chests, reveal symbols hidden in ice, double the value of Coins, other Dynamites or Persistent Dynamites, and even double the value of a Persistent Dwarf.
• Persistent dynamites – They drop a number of Dynamites equal to their count at each spin.
• Persistent dwarf – He collects all values on the reel at each spin.
• Evil dwarf – Most likely a hallucination, but that’s another story. He triggers a Golden Spin, which reactivates all Coins on the reel.
• xHole – It triggers 3 Frozen Wagon Spins, during which the top row contains only Coins. All existing Coins on the reel collect the values from the enhancers above them, and any xHole symbol transforms into a Coin. After the Frozen Wagon Spins end, the game returns to the regular Lucky Wagon Spins with the spin count reset to 3.
• Chests – Locked in the bottom row, they can only be activated by Dynamites. When active, they collect the Coin values from the reel above them on every spin.

Nolimit Boosters

Ne Nolimit Booster menu offers different options to boost your base game:

• Booster 1 (2x the bet) – Guarantees a scatter on the second reel.
• Booster 2 (5x the bet) – Guarantees at least 3 scatters in frozen rows.
• Booster 3 (5x the bet) – Unlocks all frozen rows.
• Max Win Booster (7,000x the bet) – A.k.a. the God Mode, guarantees the max win symbol in the frozen rows.

Nolimit Bonus Buys

The Nolimit Bonus Buys menu lets you purchase direct access to free spins with different bonus features. You can choose between the following:

• 3 scatters (60x the bet)
• 4 scatters (200x the bet)
• 5 scatters (500x the bet)
• Lucky draw from the above three (240x the bet)
• 6 scatters (4,000x the bet)
• 3 scatters + guaranteed Evil Dwarf on each spin (700x the bet)
• Lucky draw from the above two (2,350x the bet)