Pile Em Up Slot Machine: Review & Demo

A large number of new slots are the result of various partnerships, typically between a larger company that provides the platform and audience, and a smaller developer that actually creates the game. Pile Em Up is one of many such examples that we’ve seen from Microgaming, which in this case have collaborated with Snowborn Games. Cartoon-style graphics, powerful features that can be fun as well, a pretty good top prize, these are all things that make this slot noteworthy.

You’re going to find 20 win lines active, on 5x3 reels. The top prize of 7,500x the stake could be claimed during one of the main features, but it should be mentioned that the slot’s volatility is High, even as the RTP can go up to 96.22%. The fun part will be coming through its features, where you will find high-paying wilds, scatters, collect mechanics, multipliers, free spins, and even a Heart feature with Hold & Win style respins.

Pile Em Up Slot Betting and Prizes

Like most slot machines, the wagers you can place inside are designed to be accessible, but they can also have higher values, in case you want a chance at a life-changing prize. The full range is between $0.20 and $30.

With the 7,500x top prize that you can claim in Pile Em Up, you could get paid up to $225,000 cash, though you’d need to use the max bet for that kind of money. It’s the Heart bonus respins that are responsible for that big prize. Regular spins will bring you up to 2,220x the stake, and you’d need to cover all symbol positions with wilds.

For a slot machine which has high volatility, the payouts look adequate, but we’ve seen many others that do better there. The RTP is reaching a max value at 96.22%, but some casinos may use a lower value, so I’d double check for that.

Slot Features

If you want to just get paid through regular combinations, then you still want a feature symbol to be there. It’s the wild that will pay the most when forming winning combinations, up to 111x the stake on each line completely covered. By comparison, regular wins pay up to 20x. Of course, there is the added benefit of having wilds used as substitutes, so smaller wins can be easier to claim thanks to them. You will not be able to trigger other features by using wilds instead of the required symbols.

Another important part of the game’s action will come via the Coin Booster multiplier, which goes up by 1x whenever a 1 Up icon lands. It’s limited to a 10x max value. Unfortunately, the multiplier only applies to Coin wins.

You will notice that gold Coins will appear on the reels, and that they have values on them, ranging between 0.2x and 50x the stake. They’re useless unless you also get the Collect symbol at the time, the one with the red magnet. At that point, the game applies the Coin Booster multiplier to the total amount obtained from those Coins, and the rewards can be quite generous. Once the multiplier is used on a win, it goes back to 1x.

Getting into the free spins is possible when there are all three Flower scatters present, on the reels that they’re allowed on (1, 3, 5). You then get 9 free spins, which can be extended by 3-9 rounds whenever 2-3 more scatters appear.

During the free spins, the game collects Coins in a special Respin counter. The value, boosted with help from the multiplier, can be claimed at the end, but it’s not guaranteed.

Many will appreciate the presence of the Hold & Win respins here, under the name of the Heart Bonus. The trigger is different, as you need to collect Heart icons from all five reels, across multiple rounds.

You start the feature with 3 respins, and the Coin Booster multiplier from the triggering round. You lock in place any Coin symbols that show up, resetting the number of respins as well. Once the feature ends, you get paid based on the values shown by the Coins, after they’re boosted by the current multiplier. Should all 15 Coins be collected, then their value goes to the maximum of 50x the stake per coin. Add the multipliers of up to 10x, and that’s how you can get to a jackpot of 7,500x the stake.

Theme & Design

While the surrounding decorations remind me of a game like Mario, the actual symbols being used are the classic fruits, along with gemstones. Nothing unusual or very interesting there, but the style of the design still makes it fun.

You will find four fruit symbols with the plum, melon, lemon, and strawberry, along with four gemstones colored in blue, green, yellow, or red.

Conclusion

Pile Em Up looks like it has quite a bit to offer, and it succeeds mostly through its features and arcade-style graphics. There is room for improvement, but it’s not a bad slot machine overall.