Hot Potato

Consider an illustrative cluster covering cells of 2×, 8× and 32×. Their contribution is 42× because the cell values add. This is an arithmetic example, not a captured result.

If a later blast doubles the 8× cell to 16×, a new cluster covering those same three positions would have a 50× contribution: 2 + 16 + 32. The new symbol combination still needs to qualify as a winning cluster.

First watch where a blast leaves its multiplier patch. Then compare a later blast’s footprint: only the positions that overlap an existing patch are doubled, while newly activated positions begin at 2×.

When a cluster wins across the developed area, read the cell values it actually covers. A large multiplier elsewhere on the board contributes nothing merely by being visible outside that cluster.

Add the covered cells

Two multipliers under one cluster are summed, not multiplied.

128× is a cell ceiling

It is not the entire cluster multiplier or the game’s maximum payout.

The base grid does not enter the bonus

Free Spins starts after the base multiplier patches reset.

A patch needs a winning cluster

A visible cell value is not itself an immediate cash award.

Hot Potato suits players who like watching positions develop beneath a cluster board. The payoff structure is easier to follow when you track the grid as well as the new symbols falling onto it.

It is a less direct match for someone who wants fixed paylines or a bonus that resets all progress on each spin. Thunderkick classifies it as Very High volatility, so a developed grid is not a promise of a particular return.

Multiplier values belong to positions under the symbols. A winning burger or fries symbol can disappear, and a different symbol can fall into the same valued cell.

That distinction explains why the board has a history within the sequence. Reading only the latest symbols misses the multiplier patch beneath them; reading only the patch misses whether a valid cluster has actually formed.

Both modes use the same five-symbol cluster requirement, Avalanches and Exploding Wilds. Free Spins changes the lifetime of the newly developed multiplier grid.

The base-game patches are cleared at feature entry. From that point, the bonus patches are sticky for the whole feature, so an early explosion can affect later spins rather than only the current refill sequence.

The rules distinguish a Wild landing on the board from one generated in a winning cluster. Both can explode, and an explosion itself can start the refill process even before another normal cluster appears.

Wilds substitute for ordinary symbols but not the Scatter. Their substitution role, clearing effect and multiplier footprint therefore do different jobs in the same sequence.

Normal-play RTP is 96.16%; purchased Bonus Game RTP is 96.44%. The difference is 0.28 percentage points between the documented entry modes, not a promise that a bought bonus will produce a better individual result.

The game-round cap is 10,000× the bet. If reached, the round terminates and no additional wins are paid. Remaining opportunities inside that round do not override the cap.

A 7×7 board contains 49 positions, but it does not have 49 paylines. A 3×3 explosion describes the area affected by a Wild, while a five-symbol minimum describes a valid cluster.

These numbers should be read with their units: positions, blast footprint and matching-symbol count. None can be substituted for the number of Free Spins, which is ten from the three-Scatter trigger.

When comparing Hot Potato with another cluster slot, start with how a position becomes valuable. Here, Exploding Wilds activate 2× patches and repeated blast overlap doubles cells; a cluster merely landing on a position is not the complete upgrade rule.

Next compare how those values combine and survive: Hot Potato adds covered cells for the cluster, resets base patches at bonus entry and preserves new patches through Free Spins. Games with similar grids can use different arithmetic and reset rules.