Hot Shot Pokies
Based on the fairly complicated game of Baseball, Hot Shot is a very simply pokie from Microgaming that substitutes any bonus features with some reasonable wins and gameplay that’s ideal for newcomers or those who like to concentrate on the important business of spinning the reels without having any distractions.
Considering how popular Baseball is, it’s perhaps a surprise that there aren’t more games themed around it, but pokies from Microgaming are currently not available to play in the USA, so maybe they thought the market wasn’t worth chasing.
Anyway, what we have here is a colourful game that’s filled with images of players, trophies, gloves and lots of the fast-food that seems to be such an important part of watching this particular sport.
Pitching for Wins
Hot Shot has the standard 5 reel format, with players able to wager across 9 paylines. Control buttons along the bottom of the game lets them fix coin values at 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 5.00, or 10.00, while they can have from 1 to all 9 lines active for a minimum of 0.25 a go and a maximum bet of 90.00 per spin.
The reels themselves dominate the game, leaving little room for the background image of a neatly mown field behind them, although the payline indicators are superimposed on Baseball bats for a nice added effect.
By clicking the View Payout buttons, players will be taken to a simple table that details what they will win each time favourable combinations land on the reels, with prizes awarded each time enough identical symbols land across an active line, running from the reel on the left.
The number of coins won depends on which symbol lands and how far across the reels the line runs, with the lowest value symbol being the coffee cup which is worth 3, 5 or 50 coins when 3, 4 or 5 land across them on an activated line.
Other lower value symbols include popcorn, candy bars, ketchup-drenched fries, and a hot dog. Moving away from these tasty treats we see the more valuable symbols like a baseball cap which pays from 1 coin to 300 coins when players land from 2 to 5 across a line, while the pitcher and hitter, strike and home run symbols complete the standard line up. Get the home run on a line to win 5x, 50x, 500x or 1000x the coin value when 2, 3, 4 or 5 run across the reels.
Hot Shot
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Baseball Bonuses
There’s not an awful lot in the way of bonuses, but we have a couple of symbols that add a little variety to the run of play, with the wild ball symbol acting as any other apart from the scatter, if it will make up a winning combination, although it’s got no value of its own, so even getting a full line of wilds across the reels won’t be much help to anyone.
The other special symbol is the trophy which acts as a scatter, meaning that it can pay out from any positions as long as at least 3 appear following a spin. It will also pay multiples of the total bet rather than just the coin values, with 3 scatters being worth 10x the bet, 4 pays 50x and 5 scatters at once will reward players with a prize equal to 100x the triggering bet amount.
A Home Run or Three Strikes?
Players who like to see bonuses such as win multipliers from wild substitutions, or scatter symbols triggering a free spins round are going to disappointed when they find that Hot Shot has none of these, or anything else really. It’s a bare-bones and back to basics pokie that simply spins the reels and pays out for certain combinations.
That’s fine for many players, but the majority like to see a little more action, particularly in a sports-themed pokie and anyone who really likes Baseball is going to struggle to find a game based around their favourite pastime.