Hot Potato! Slot Review

Hot Potato! Slot Overview

Hot Potato! from Thunderkick throws you straight onto a busy American street, playing on a 7x7 cluster grid packed with fast food symbols. Instead of standard paylines, wins land when five or more matching icons connect horizontally or vertically, then Avalanche cascades kick in. I like how the Exploding Wild potatoes and hidden Multiplier Grid give even small clusters a chance to spiral into something much spicier than you first expect.

The slot has a lively cartoon style and a funky soundtrack that suits the urban theme, then shifts to a blazing kitchen during free spins, which ties the name Hot Potato! together nicely. Under the hood sits a high volatility set‑up, default RTP of 96.16%, and punchy 10,000x max win, so the game feels built for bonus hunters and anyone who enjoys big swing cluster action.

Theme, Graphics and Sound in Hot Potato!

I get a strong New York feeling from Hot Potato!, with skyscrapers, fire hydrants and yellow cabs framing the grid in the base game. The food icons pop against a darker backdrop, from gleaming burgers and fries to doughnuts and fizzy drinks. Once the bonus round kicks in, the scene shifts to a fiery kitchen packed with grills and pans, which suits the overheated potato character perfectly.

The soundtrack in Hot Potato! is pure funk, with basslines, horns and light percussion giving the slot a laid‑back groove even when the grid turns chaotic. Wins, Avalanches and Wild explosions come with crisp effects, especially when the potato detonates and sizzles across the symbols. I found the audio mix clear without being tiring, which helps during longer sessions when you chase those multiplier clusters.

Hot Potato Rules And Gameplay

Hot Potato! uses a 7x7 grid and Cluster Pays, so there are no fixed paylines at all. You pick a stake between 10p and £100, hit spin, and 49 symbols tumble into view. Any group of at least five matching symbols that connect horizontally or vertically pays, then disappears thanks to the Avalanche feature. New symbols drop from above, and the process repeats until no new winning cluster shows.

Symbols And Paytable in Hot Potato

The paytable in Hot Potato is lean but effective, with six regular symbols that all pay in clusters. At the lower end you get cucumbers, doughnuts and soda cans, which pay from 0.1x to 1x your bet for a five symbol cluster and up to 25x for 25 or more. Fries, burgers and the gold‑toothed chef sit at the top, with the chef paying 100x for a full 25+ group.

On top of the regulars you have the Exploding Wild potato and the HOT scatter symbol in Hot Potato. The potato counts as a Wild and can appear naturally or be generated after a win, then blow up to clear a 3x3 area of symbols. The HOT scatter does not join clusters but is vital for triggering the free spins, with three anywhere on the grid starting the bonus game.

The real spice in the paytable comes from the Multiplier Grid hiding beneath the symbols in Hot Potato. When a Wild explodes it reveals multipliers of x2 on each affected cell, and if later blasts hit the same spots those values double, up to x128. When a winning cluster covers more than one multiplier square, the values add together first, then that total multiplier applies to the cluster payout.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	25+	x100
	20+	x40
	15+	x20
	7	x2
	6	x1.5
	5	x1
	25+	x62.5
	20+	x25
	15+	x10
	7	x1.3
	6	x0.8
	5	x0.5
	25+	x37.5
	20+	x15
	15+	x7.5
	7	x0.8
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.4
	25+	x25
	20+	x10
	15+	x5
	7	x0.5
	6	x0.4
	5	x0.3
	25+	x20
	20+	x7.5
	15+	x4
	7	x0.4
	6	x0.3
	5	x0.2
	25+	x10
	20+	x4
	15+	x3
	7	x0.3
	6	x0.2
	5	x0.1
	Scatter

Hot Potato Bonuses And Special Features

Bonuses in Hot Potato revolve around the bonus game with free spins and sticky multipliers. Hitting three HOT scatters in the base game awards ten free spins and moves you from the street into the blazing kitchen. Any Multiplier Grids active in the base game are wiped at the start, but once you are in the bonus every new Multiplier Grid and upgraded value stays locked in until the last spin.

In both base game and free spins, the Exploding Wilds and Avalanche mechanic in Hot Potato keep the grid busy. I have had bonus rounds where chains of Avalanches, potatoes and growing multipliers cover most of the board, which is where the big hits can land. There is also a Bonus Buy in some markets that costs 100x your bet and launches you straight into a free spins round.

Hot Potato RTP, Volatility And Max Win

Hot Potato runs on a very high volatility math model, so you can expect dry spells mixed with explosive spells of action, especially once multipliers stack up. The default RTP sits at 96.16%, but the game ships with alternative settings down to around 87%, so I always check the info screen first. The max win is capped at 10,000x your bet, which suits the high risk profile.

Review Summary of Hot Potato!

From my sessions, Hot Potato! hits that sweet spot between straightforward gameplay and proper high‑octane potential. The core loop is simple to follow, yet the Exploding Wilds and Multiplier Grid give every spin a sense of danger, especially once several x128 cells appear. I like that the bonus round does not change the rules, it just lets those multipliers build, which feels both tense and very rewarding.

I would not call Hot Potato! a casual slot, as the swings can be brutal, but when the game warms up it can shower you with clusters and big multipliers out of nowhere. If you enjoy grid slots, high variance and food themes, this one is worth a proper session. Just set a budget, stick to it, and let the potatoes do their explosive work on the reels.

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