In Hot Dog, Cryptologic has designed a dog themed slot machine, with a couple of main characters and with various objects that are used by pets or by their owners. The pet theme should be popular enough on its own, but in this case you get a dated design with graphics that aren’t attractive enough to keep players interested. The action taking place inside revolves around two dogs that are in love, with little red hearts being spread all around the reels. It’s not as evident in most of the symbols though.
In Hot Dog, the player will find only 9 lines on its 5 reels. It’s one of the older 5 reel games that Cryptologic has to offer, visible not just in its graphics, but also in the entertainment factor. Its features are nothing to write home about, but you do get the usual wild with multipliers, plus a bonus game and a scatter. As for the big prize, the slot’s rewards can go up to $40,000.
Features of Hot Dog
Hot Dog has wild and scatter symbols, plus multipliers and a bonus round that can get triggered by them. Overall, an average title in this case.
You only get the wild symbol on two reels out of five (1st and 5th). The Lady Dog takes the role and whenever it appears on those reels it substitutes for other symbols, as long as that action allows it to form a new combination, which means an extra prize for you. It can’t substitute for a scatter, but it can do it for all the other symbols. While doing so, its 2x multiplier will double the prizes formed with its assistance.
The Chihuahua, the little dog that is in love with the Lady Dog, acts as a scattered symbol. You will get rewarded with cash prizes starting from 2+ Chihuahuas present in the game, while the bonus features needs 3+ of these scatters. The prizes go from 2x to 200x the value of the round’s wager, with the requirement being for two to five symbols to be scattered on the reels.
Bonus Feature
The prizes aren’t the only ones you can get from the Chihuahua scatter. With 3+ little dogs on the reels and in whatever positions they want to appear in, you get the bonus game.
You get a screen next, with two cards that you have to pick from. One of them reveals the Bone, the other shows a Hot Dog. You get only one pick, with the Hot Dog resulting in an extra round. The Bone on the other hand will end the bonus game. For each round you advance through, the prize doubles. The prize in the first round is 1x the bet, the second round has 2x the bet, third round has 4x the bet, and so on. You can get up to 9 rounds this way, or up to 256x the wager.
Betting options and jackpots
Hot Dog has typical betting requirements for a slot with 9 lines, asking for a single coin to be used for each payline that is active, though it allows you to choose how many lines should be selected. On top of that, you also get the option to decide how much the coin should be worth, the range being $0.01 to $5. The result, as you might’ve calculated already, is a wager of up to $45.
I’ve already mentioned how much the top prize is worth, $40,000, so let’s see how you can get it. You need the right five symbols for starters, meaning a five dog bed combo where at least one wild contributes (2x multiplier). You also have to use the $5 coins in your bets, in order for the 8,000 coins of the jackpot to have the maximum value.
Design and symbols
The theme is pet related, while the story revolves around two dogs, a Chihuahua male and a Poodle female. The little dog is in love with the elegant Poodle, and a big part of the design is driven by the romantic story. There is an all purple background in the area outside the reels, with red hearts, bones and buildings drawn on it. The symbols are mostly objects related to dog care, but the two dogs are also present, plus a number of less interesting playing cards.
Symbols: Chihuahua (scatter, 200x the triggering wager), Hot Dog Poodle (wild, 2x), Dog Bed (4,000x), Collar (1,000x), Comb (500x), Bone (500x), Ace (400x), King (400x), Queen (200x), Jack (200x), 10 (100x) and 9 (100x).
Is It Worth Playing?
For a fan of pet themed slots, this game should do alright. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else though, there are plenty of other slot machines these days that look and play a lot better.
This Hot Dog slot is offered by all online casinos with Cryptologic software, playable either in practice or in real money mode.
