Chilli Gold Slot Machine - Full Review & Free Demo Game Here!

Sometimes peace and quiet is so underrated. Having the time and space to sit in silence and contemplate, or just rest your eyes and drift off into a daydream is one of the most comforting and refreshing things you can do. Seldom do we have a chance to do that nowadays. That was until the Chilli Gold slot came along.

That’s because for the majority of the game, you play the Chilli Gold slot machine in cold and stony silence. Sure there’s the odd click as the reels fall into place, a burst of Mexican-themed music when you land a winning line, but for the rest of the time, it’s quieter than a Trappist Monk’s Library. Here’s the thing, I’m not sure that should be the case on a slot. So are there any other redeeming features the slot offers? Let’s take a look and find out.

Overview: Chilli Gold

Chilli Gold is a product of Amaya. It boasts a 5×4 reel set with 40 non-selectable paylines in play on each spin. The styling for the slot is a comedic, cartoon-style. The backdrop is presumably a Mexican desert complete with a rather cheerful donkey and a rather drunk-looking Mexican on the reels each above a flowering cactus. Yes perhaps a little stereotypical, but it’s the slots world after all.

One unusual aspect of the slot is that the Spin button is overlaid on the reels on the right. (As is the Information bar on the left of the screen.) These disappear when you click the button to set the reels spinning. You use the information tab to access the section to increase or decrease the size of your bet. You can increase the individual credit value (from $0.01 to $1.00) and the number of credits per line you want to wager (from one to five). That gives a minimum bet of $0.40 and a maximum bet of $200 per spin.

Who will the Chilli Gold slot appeal to?

The Chilli Gold slot is definitely a game that will appeal to fans who enjoy a quieter slots experience. Don’t get fooled by the rather bright and action-packed looking background, as this is a slot that can lure you into a gentle slumber with how quiet it plays. Although things do get a little louder and more celebratory when you do eventually trigger a payline win.

There’s a decent bonus game you can aim for in the Chilli Gold slot. This will certainly bring in players that enjoy free spins games, especially those that offer more than the standard 10-15 free spins. Chilli Gold is definitely an ‘all-round’ slot. It has enough features to keep most slot players happy without pushing the boat out too far and having anything truly groundbreaking.

Gameplay: Chilli Gold

The first thing you’ll notice is that this is a 5×4 slot and there are 40 paylines in play. That sounds a lot, but in truth for a slot with a 5×4 reel set, that isn’t a huge amount of paylines. That means that winning does not happen as frequently. Bear this in mind, as it makes this more a medium variance slot rather than a lower variance game.

Once you’ve selected your wager and number of coins or credits to wager per spin, you can hit the Spin button or use the Auto Play feature to get the reels turning. As I have said though, don’t expect any musical accompaniment on the reels. All you’ll get is the click of the reels as they fall into place, plus a little blast of music when you land a payline.

On the reels there are a mix of symbols. Lower value symbols include the playing card low symbols from 9 through to the King. These offer a chance of wins of up to 100 coins. There are also five higher value symbols. Ranked in order are the guitar, maracas, a cheerful blue parrot, a crazed-looking donkey and the seemingly inebriated Mexican who is holding a red chilli, which I thought I’d better clarify.

This latter symbol is the highest paying one on the slot. Five on a payline awards a rather tasty 1,000 coins. This is considerably more than you can win with any of the other higher value symbols.

Additional features

Unlike other slots which have separate Wild and Scatter symbols, Chilli Gold has a Wild Scatter symbol. The Scatter symbol stacks across reels two, three, four and five. The Wild Scatter serves two purposes. First it’s used as a Wild symbol to substitute for high and low value symbols to create wins.

Secondly, if you can land six or more Wild Scatters on the reels then you’ll trigger a free spins bonus round. The number of chillis you land unlocks a stated number of free spins. These will range from 3 free spins for 6 chillis, up to 21 free spins if you land 12 chillis.

During the Free Spins round, you also have Extra Gold Chilli Wilds stacked on the reels. They give your chances of a bigger value win during free spins a big boost. Land the Wild Scatter symbol again during free spins in sufficient numbers and you can retrigger more free spins from within the bonus round too.

Special features: Chilli Gold

Wild Scatter

The Wild Scatter symbol serves a dual purpose in the Chilli Gold slot. You can use it as a Wild symbol to substitute for other symbols to create more winning paylines. Additionally, if you land enough, it triggers free spins. This symbol stacks on the second to fifth reels during the base game.

Free Spins

Land between 6 and 12 of the Wild Scatter symbols during the base game on any spin and you trigger between 3 and 21 free spins. You can retrigger free spins during the bonus and you also have the benefit of some extra Wilds on the reels.

Extra Stacked Wilds

During Free Spins, in addition to the Wild Scatter symbols, there is also an additional Extra Stacked Wild. This can significantly improve your chances of landing a bigger value win during the bonus feature.

What works?

Wild Scatters

I like the fact that with Wild Scatters you don’t effectively have wasted symbols on the reels like you do when you only hit one or two scatters in other games. With a Wild Scatter, even if it doesn’t trigger free spins, the Wild aspect can still trigger a payline win.

Stacked Wilds

The fact that the Wild symbols stack on the second to fifth reels makes them more accessible. This makes the Free Spins bonus game relatively easy to trigger compared to some other free spins bonus rounds, albeit you tend to trigger just a small amount of free spins most times

Free Spins Bonus

The Free Spins round is good value especially with the extra Stack of Wilds across the second to fifth reels. You can hit some of the better value wins in this round and it’s definitely the round to aim for if you want to maximize your winnings from the slot.

What doesn’t?

No multipliers

Once again, this is a slot that doesn’t really offer a player any multiplier wins. I think that is a big omission, especially when you land some of the lower value wins in the base game. A multiplier on a Wild Scatter win for example would have added value to the slot.

Limited Free Spins

Most of the free spins bonus games you will trigger will be for just a small amount of free spins, themost commonly triggered are between 3 and 9 free spins. While 9 is a decent amount of Free Spins, 3 is a limiting amount. You can trigger this and win next to nothing on some occasions.

Small jackpot

With a jackpot of 1,000 coins for a payline win, this isn’t a huge amount even if you could trigger than jackpot on more than one payline using the Wild symbols.

The scores

Graphics & soundtrack 1/5

I was really disappointed with the presentation on this slot. The lack of sound makes it distinctly unappealing. What sound it does use is entirely generic and uninspired. The graphics are, at best, stereotypical. They are a real mish-mash of colors that aren’t too easy on the eye.

Originality & creativity 2/5

I’m not a fan of 5×4 slots with 40 paylines or less. I think that makes it very hard to be profitable. Unfortunately, there’s lots of games like this around now. The way the slot uses the Wild symbols is clever, for which it earns its two marks. The rest is somewhat generic and bland.

Play value 2/5

This is a medium variance slot chiefly because there’s just 40 paylines. As a result you don’t win often and when you do win, the amounts won tend to be small unless you can hit a decent-sized payout in the Free Spins round, and that is never guaranteed.

Jackpot potential 2/5

The 1,000 coin jackpot on a payline is not the biggest even though you can win this across multiple paylines in the free spins round which does make it more appealing. Even so, it’s not a sizable jackpot that is likely to attract new players to give the slot a try.

Repeat play 1/5

I gave Chilli Gold a few sessions but even after the first I was wishing I was playing a different slot. It has a few redeeming features, but the overall appeal of the slot just isn’t there. I feel there are much better slots that you can play, offering you a better experience and better value. Not one you will return to often, in my view.

Total score: 8/25

I don’t really know what Amaya was trying to achieve with Chilli Gold. The intent didn’t hit the mark. This is a poor slot, and while there are one or two nice touches, it looks and feels like it’s rushed with little care or attention paid to how the game plays for the slot player.