Overview of More Hearts
The background screen for More Hearts is nothing more than a
basic checkerboard pattern, but with the squares replaced by
hearts. Where one might expect the screen to be colored in pink
or red, traditional colors signifying love and affection, the
background for More Hearts is actually colored in blue and black
shades.
The title screen for More Hearts sticks more closely to the
Valentine’s Day theme, featuring a large red heart in the center
of the screen. Cupid’s arrow pierces the centerpiece heart while
smaller hearts float around in the space above. The words More
Hearts are written in a cursive-like script.
Once you’ve entered the actual base game for More Hearts, the
lack of thematic continuity becomes even more apparent. Along
with the basic Aristocrat card rank reel symbols, spanning 9,
10, J, Q, K, and A, you’ll find a random assortment of symbols
which seem to have little connection to the game’s title or
theme. The reel symbols for More Hearts include the glittering
diamond, the necklace wearing cheetah, the blossoming flower,
the pair of birds, the butterfly, the gift box, the More Hearts
logo, and the pierced heart symbol.
In 2013 Aristocrat added the More Hearts title to its growing
selection of online slot games. Other than superficial
differences in terms of graphics, land based slot machines and
online versions of More Hearts offer an identical in game
experience.
Gameplay Features and Mechanics
More Hearts is a typical five reel, 25 pay line video slot
machine which offers players medium level volatility.
Each of the five reels on More Hearts contains three symbols,
putting 15 symbols in play.
As a true penny slot, the minimum coin denomination for More
Hearts is just $0.01, while the maximum coin denomination climbs
to $2.00.
Players can choose to activate any or all of the 25 pay lines
in More Hearts, so in effect you can get away with spending only
a single penny per spin. Regular slot players know better
though, as Aristocrat games only become fully functional in
terms of features and bonus games when you activate all 25 pay
lines.
When playing all 25 pay lines, penny slot players will face a
minimum cost to cover per spin of $0.25, while high rollers can
wager $50.00 per spin.
You’ll also notice an option near the line amount area which
invites you to play “+5 Extra.” Fans of Aristocrat slot titles
will recognize this as the additional ante bet, or a wager of
five credits which is tacked on to the 25 pay line bet. In
essence, you’ll be paying $0.30 rather than $0.25 at the minimum
coin level, while playing all 25 pay lines. This extra cost is
used to cover the enhanced bonus games and other features which
make the More Hearts gameplay experience more entertaining and
enjoyable.
On other games, this ante bet is known as the Power Pay or
the Extra Choice, but for all Aristocrat slot titles the concept
remains the same. For an additional five credits per spin,
you’re granted access to the game’s full complement of free spin
bonuses, multipliers, and other features.
As with any Aristocrat slot game which includes the ante bet,
two reasons dictate that you should always wager the additional
five credits. First, the overall experience is enhanced by
adding more play to free spin bonuses (more on this below).
Second, the return to player (RTP) rate for More Hearts stands
at a quite low 89.167 percent without the ante bet in place but
rises to a more palatable 95.691 percent when you tack five more
credits on top.
The base game experience for More Hearts is built around the
familiar Aristocrat layout, so you can expect to find wild
symbols, scatter symbols, a free spin bonus round, and
multipliers. Unfortunately, the game is not connected to any
larger progressive jackpots, so progressive slot specialists may
be better suited by looking elsewhere on the casino floor. A
list of basic specifications for More Hearts has been included
below:
- Wilds: Yes
- Free Spins: Yes
- Multiplier: Yes, for 2x
- Bonus Game: Yes
- Progressive: No
- Return to Player
- 89.167% without additional five credit ante
- 95.691% with ante bet
During the More Hearts base game you’ll be playing for your
share of a fairly standard Aristocrat slot pay table. The game’s
highest prize occurs when you land five of the glittering
diamond symbols on an activated pay line, as it returns 2,000
credits. Landing four of the glittering diamond symbols is good
for 500 credits while three of a kind pays out 75 credits.
The prize for landing five of the necklace wearing cheetah
symbols on the screen is 1,500 credits while five of the
blossoming flower symbols will return 1,000 credits.
You’ll receive a boost of 900 credits for landing five of the
pair of birds symbols, and 800 credits is your reward for five
of a kind in the butterfly symbols. When you see five of the
gift box symbols on board, the payout stands at 700 credits.
As for the card rank symbols, five As will pay out 500
credits, and you’ll get 250 credits for landing five Ks. Five of
the Qs on an activated pay line pays out 200 credits while five
Js will return 100 credits. Finally, landing five of a kind in
10s or 9s is good for a 50 credit payout.
The pierced heart symbol offers no payouts during the base
game, but it becomes an integral aspect of the free spins bonus
game in More Hearts.
Aristocrat’s Gamble Feature
More Hearts also includes Aristocrat’s popular Gamble
feature, which allows players to risk their payout from any
winning spin by playing a simple guessing game. Press the Gamble
button after recording a win, and the game will transport you to
a side screen displaying alone playing card turned face down.
Your job is to guess either the color or the exact suit of the
card.
For correct color guesses you’ll see your previous payout
doubled, and correctly guessing the playing card’s suit returns
four times the amount at risk. You can exercise the Gamble
option successfully five consecutive times before being brought
back to the base game, and any incorrect guesses will cost you
accrued winnings along with your original payout.
The wild symbol during the More Hearts base game is the
glittering diamond symbol, which can substitute for all other
symbols, except for the scatter symbol and the pierced heart
symbol, to create winning combinations.
The scatter symbol during the More Hearts base game is the
More Hearts logo symbol. This scatter symbol pays out from
anywhere on the reels, not just right to left, and when you land
three or more on the screen your payout will have a 2x
multiplier applied. Even better though, the More Hearts logo
scatter symbols holds the key to entering the game’s free spins
bonus round.
The Bonus Round
Triggering The Bonus Round
Anytime you land three or more of the More Hearts logo
scatter symbols on the screen, the free spins bonus round will
be triggered.
For players with the additional five credit ante bet in play,
you’ll receive 15 free spins to start out. Players without the
ante bet in play will receive 12 free spins to begin their bonus
round.
Unlike most Aristocrat games, however, landing more than
three of the More Hearts scatter symbols doesn’t provide
additional free spins. So when you land three, four, or five of
the scatters, your free spins bonus allotment will always stand
at either 12 or 15 free spins, depending on whether or not
you’ve placed the ante bet.
You may also notice that the free spins bonus round can be
triggered randomly at the conclusion of any base game spin, even
when you haven’t landed three or more of the More Heart logo
scatter symbols. This is a nice touch added by Aristocrat,
allowing players to enjoy the thrill of a spontaneous free spins
bonus round at the end of what appears to be a losing spin.
Playing the Bonus Round
Whichever way you happen to trigger the free spins bonus
round, More Hearts has expanded on the basic concept by
providing you with two smaller screens to play. Each of the
screens displays the standard five reels, 25 pay line setup from
the base game, so in essence you’ll be playing two machines at
once. This obviously doubles your chances of generating winning
combinations.
Above the two reel screens you’ll also see graphics informing
you about the rules to a built in bonus side game. Basically,
those pierced heart symbols which held no value during the base
game become extremely important. As the rules state, if you can
gather between nine and 13 of these heart symbols during your
initial run of free spins, the game will open up a third screen
featuring another set of reels.
If you can find 14 or more of the pierced heart symbols
during the free spins bonus round, the game will open up a
fourth reel screen, giving you even more opportunities to land
big winners.
Wild Reels
Another thing to watch for during the free spins bonus round
is the presence Wild Reels, or reels which always drop as
stacked glittering diamond symbols on all three reels. During
the first two bonus screens you won’t see any Wild Reels, but
depending on how many pierced hearts you can collect, the Wild
Reels will begin appearing.
For example, landing nine of the pierced heart symbols will
open up the third bonus game reel screen, and the fifth reel
there will always be a Wild Reel. But when you land 14 of the
pierced heart symbols, opening up the fourth bonus game reel
screen, both the fourth and fifth reels on that screen will be
Wild Reels. Finally, if you can find 30 of the pierced hearts
during your free spins, that fourth bonus game reel screen will
include Wild Reels on the third, fourth, and fifth reels.
Unfortunately, the free spins bonus round can’t be
retriggered by landing three or more of the More Hearts logo
symbols during a free spin. However, when you consider that the
game opens up two sets of reels to begin with, and each screen
can provide its own winnings, you essentially begin the free
spins bonus round with 30 free spins to work with. And opening
up the third and fourth bonus game reel screens essentially adds
more free spins to your bonus round.
Summary
More Hearts is an odd game to be sure, one which lacks the
clearly defined themes which make Aristocrat slot machine such
fan favorites. But if themes aren’t really your thing, and
creative free spin bonus rounds tickle your fancy, More Hearts
just might be the game for you. By transforming your screen into
two, three, or four individual slot games during the bonus
round, More Hearts gives players plenty of chances to bring home
the big payouts during the free spin portion of the game.
