Bonfire Night Slots
It’s that time of the year when leaves turn brown, the nights get longer, and people get together to shoot rockets into the sky and burn effigies in the streets! We’re talking about Bonfire Night, of course, the celebration of Guy Fawkes’ failed gunpowder plot. Surprisingly, there aren’t too many Bonfire Night slots knocking about. So, instead, we’ve gone for games that relate to fireworks, explosions, and other flame-related themes. Without further ado, let’s jump straight in.
Fire 88
We start with a slot that’s all about fire and flames; Fire 88. It’s a classic slot, meaning it takes inspiration from the old video slot machines of yesteryear, rather than more contemporary games. Veteran players can expect to see some familiar symbols here, as well as some fiery visuals, although the gameplay can certainly get heated too.
In general, classic slots don’t have too many features to shout about, but Fire 88 boasts a couple of bonuses in its locker. The first relates to the in-game wild, which can offer some nice effects if you land more than one of it in a single spin. The second of these is a re-spin round, which is triggered by landing it at least twice on the reels. When this happens, the reels you landed the wilds on will freeze before spinning again and a new calculation will be made, on top of the original win. Landing three of the wilds will result in a prize worth 35x your stake.
The final feature found in Fire 88 is a jackpot mechanic, which can award one of three tasty sums, if triggered. You will be taken to a new screen displaying nine gold coins and asked to pick from them. Each one is hiding one of the totals. Find three matching ones and you will receive that jackpot, with 888x, 88x, and 38x your stake given for the Grand, Minor, and Mini respectively.
Narcos
Now, strictly speaking, this slot has nothing to do with fireworks, bonfires, or Guy Fawkes, so you may wonder how this fits in? It’s down to that fact that this game has one of the most explosive displays we’ve ever seen, which probably shouldn’t be surprising considering the show it’s based on. For those not in the know, Narcos is a Netflix show based on the exploits of infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
There are three bonus features in the game; Drive-By, Locked Up, and a Free Spins round. The former can trigger randomly at any point of your gameplay. Armed gang members blast the reels from the background, which will result in some of the high-value symbols turning wild. The second bonus is known as the Locked-Up feature, and will take you to a new reel set, comprised wholly of Golden Briefcases and Locked Up symbols. Landing clusters of the latter will award a prize of 1-10x your stake. For the former, you might get something even better. Finally, there is the Free Spins round, which will trigger after the scatter symbols hit the first, second, and third reels simultaneously. You will receive ten free spins with the drive-by active in each, so there is the potential for some serious wins with this one.
Outside of the bonuses, Narcos looks great too, with a comic book style that works well with the cops and robbers theme. Many of the graphical exploits in the game are contextual to the bonuses, such as the Drive-By feature, which sees virtual criminals show up and attack the reels. All the visuals in Narcos aren’t just well rendered, they’re well thought out too, and perfectly complement the theme and gameplay.
7’s To Burn
From a feature-packed, cutting edge title to one that feels like it’s from a different decade, 7’s To Burn is a three-reel, five payline slots from developers extraordinaire Barcrest. These guys have proved the appeal of classic slots, most notably with Rainbow Riches, an old school game that is now one of the biggest in the industry. 7’s To Burn follows this mould; it doesn’t offer too much in the way of features, but the simple, engaging gameplay has managed to garner a sizeable player base.
It really is inspired by all things retro too, most obviously in the symbols, which are all modelled on fruit machine icons from decades past. These include double bars, stars, bells, watermelons, plums, lemons, oranges, and cherries. Additionally, a red sevens and burning sevens can be found too, with the latter paying out a huge 250x your stake, if you land three of them on the payline. The payouts are quite high, with the lowest equivalent to 8x your stake. Not bad at all. Additionally, for a slightly higher wager, you can activate the Hi Roller Spins, you will get five extra spins with the burning sevens serving as wilds, although payouts will be halved.
The display exhibits the classic vibe we’ve talked about, as 7’s To Burn’s aesthetic is rather minimal when compared to other, more contemporary slots. There aren’t any whacky animations or 3D cinematics, with Barcrest instead favouring static visuals and images. While it isn’t the prettiest we’ve ever seen, it is a very user-friendly interface, with easy navigation and no danger of mixing up the buttons. If you like simple slots that are bags of fun, this might just be up your street.
Lions Dance
This next one isn’t based on a British holiday, instead, Lions Dance is themed after the fantastic affair that is Chinese New Year! Traditionally, this occasion is celebrated with huge fireworks displays and pyrotechnics, so it earns the nod from us here. This Red Tiger Gaming effort offers a slightly more tranquil layout than our other entries on the list, with cherry blossoms, great mountains, and blue skies, instead of flames and explosions.
The first features we must talk about are the reels modifiers, all of which will trigger at random. There are four on offer, the first of which will see a paying symbol spread after a winning combination. The second will initiate a ‘pick me’ round where you must flip coins to reveal a high-value symbol, whilst the third will stack the reels exclusively with high-value icons. Finally, the last modifier will add a symbol standing up to 4x4 positions tall, which could give a nice boost to your payout.
Outside of these randomly triggering rounds, there is also a Free Spins mode, which will commence after you land the scatter on reels one, three and five. You will then have to play a pick me round to determine how many spins you get and one of the modifiers will be active for the entire duration. If all that wasn’t enough, there are also four progressive jackpots to be won. Three of those, the Mega Hit, Super Hit, and Quick Fit, will payout when three jackpot symbols are landed. The fourth is a daily total that must pay out before the timer on it runs out.
Starburst
We finish with one of the hottest games in the whole of Kerching; Starburst. This intergalactic slot has been brought to earth by developers NetEnt, who have delivered it in style with a space-age aesthetic that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie. In fact, the background of the reels encompasses an entire galaxy, which is fully animated with bursts of colour and light, just like a firework! But if you think the visuals are out of this world, just wait until you see the gameplay.
As we’ve seen from this list, you don’t need a whole load of flashy bonuses to make a great game. However, it is strange to see a developer like NetEnt opt for this strategy since the developer is most known for bonus heavy slots. They have done a brilliant job though, refining and modifying the slot’s mechanics rather than focusing on a standalone feature. Take the wild for instance, which only lands on the second, third, and fourth reel. If one of them hits the reels, it will expand to cover the entire reel, which can be a greater help than your run-of-the-mill wild.
On top of that, a re-spin will trigger whenever it lands too, and it will stick in place while expanded. If you manage to land even more for the three spins this remains in effect, the same bonuses still apply, so you could end up with multiple reels stacked with wilds! Finally, Starburst will pay both ways during the re-spins, giving you an even better chance of landing a win. So, the wilds can be quite generous, but the game also offers a chance at winning a jackpot if you land three in a single spin. This will pay out a very nice £50,00, so be sure to keep an eye out.
Play them at Kerching
All these games and more can be found right here at Kerching. If you’re a newbie, make sure to check out our latest welcome offer.
Gamble Responsibly
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