PUG THUGS OF NITROPOLIS

HOW TO PLAY PUG THUGS OF NITROPOLIS

ELK Pug Thugs of Nitropolis does away with most online slot conventions, offering a unique experience right down to the very basics.

It’s played on a large, rectangular grid with 6 reels (though we should probably call them columns in this case.) Each column has 6 positions, except the 1st and last which only have 4 each. The four positions in the corners are reserved for special features, which we’ll get to in a moment.

As for the payouts, the game is a sort of combination between regular fixed paylines and cluster pays. 

The idea is that winning lines can be made from all four sides of the game board. That means left to right, right to left, top to bottom, and bottom to top. A single symbol can be part of multiple winning combinations, which makes things even more interesting. Also, lines can be straight or diagonal.

Any winning symbols are removed from the board and new symbols appear to replace them. This can result in multiple wins on the same spin. However, these are not classic tumbling reels, because the symbols don’t tumble down from the top. Only the winning symbols themselves are affected, the ones above stay the same.

SPECIAL FEATURES

On top of the unique base gameplay, Pug Thugs of Nitropolis features add a lot of variety and excitement to the game. 

First of all, the game contains a special kind of symbol called Nitro symbol. These are basically stacks of 2-8 instances of the same symbol. They appear on intersections between winning lines. This also means they can appear on the central 4×4 square.

If a Nitro symbol is part of a winning line, all of the symbols “stacked” on it count towards calculating payouts. Moreover, you can increase the number of stacks on a single Nitro symbol by creating more intersections of winning lines on the same spot.

Feature Screens

The four screens on the corners aren’t just for show. Each one has a chance to randomly trigger on any spin,

Make Big – Selects a random symbol on the grid and turns it into a 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4 cluster.

Collect – Triggers a coin-collecting minigame with high variance.

Nitro Wild – Converts one or more Nitro Reels on the grid into Nitro stacks of Wilds

Nitro Match – Selects one random Nitro symbol and converts all Nitro Reels into symbols of the same kind

Nitro Insane

Thie feature can randomly trigger on any spin. It creates a random number of Nitro Reels on the board before the spin completes.

You can guarantee a Nitro Insane 10x the bet using the X-citer screen. Additionally, you can buy a guaranteed Nitro Insane with a random Feature Screen for 25x the bet.

Pug Thugs of Nitropolis Free Spins

Hitting 3 or more Scatter symbols anywhere on the grid activates Free Spins. You start with 6 spins, and they can be re-triggered.

Every spin during free spins is guaranteed a Nitro Insane.

Additionally, some Scatter symbols appear in their Super version. If Free Spins are activated with at least one of these, the free spins become a Super Bonus Round. It works much the same as the regular Pug Thugs of Nitropolis bonus round, with the addition of Sticky Nitro Reels. Basically, all Nitro symbols become stick to their position until the end of the bonus round.

You can buy bonus rounds using the X-citer screen. The regular free spins cost 100x, while the Super version costs 500x. Additionally, you can turn on Bonus Hunt to increase the chances of winning free spins at the cost of 3x the bet per spin.

Casino Bloke Best tips for Pug Thugs of Nitropolis Slot

• 1X-citer purchases do not affect the game’s overall RTP. You can play the game optimally any way you want.
• 2The Collect feature is not explained very well in-game. Generally, it results in payouts off 20-30x, but has the potential for much bigger prizes.

PAYOUTS & RTP

The four-way payout system of Pug Thugs results in fairly common wins despite the game’s overall high volatility. However, pretty much all standard payouts are very low. The idea is to improve these numbers through the game’s many features and specials.

Anyway, you still need 3 matching symbols in a line to get a reward. Low-paying symbols pay between 0.5 and 0.7 for five-symbol combinations, which are not easy to complete at ll. Even high-paying symbols only go up to 2x.

All things considered, it’s a highly volatile game because the special features do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to payouts.

Pug Thugs of Nitropolis RTP is 94%. Not great compared to most other slots online.

PUG THUGS OF NITROPILIS BY ELK – CASINO BLOKE’S VERDICT

Overall, we would say this slot is a visionary, exciting release that’s only hampered by a mediocre math model. The gameplay itself feels great enough, and the 35,000x max payout is certainly an enticing prospect. However, an RTP rate of only 94% is quite disappointing in this day and age.

Slots that we can honestly call innovative are not that common, so it’s still worth a shot. However, we can’t help but feel that a slightly stronger RTP would have promoted this game from an innovative, fun slot to an absolute must-play.