Fire in the Hole 3 Slot (Nolimit City)

The Fire in the Hole 3 slot has 6 reels and offers between 64 and 46,656 ways to win. When you fire up the game, there are 3 active rows for up to 486 ways to win. With some positions frozen, you can begin with as few as 64 ways to win. To form a winning combination, you need to see 3 to 6 matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel.

Bets-wise, you can play from 20p per spin: the maximum bet is £5 a spin in the UK (or £2 if you’re under 25). To change your bet, there is a ‘Coins’ icon: when pressed/clicked, it will reveal all available bet options. If you’re located outside the UK, there is Autoplay (with up to 1,000 auto spins) and Turbo Mode.

The Fire in the Hole 3 RTP rate is 96.05%: above the 96% average, 63% is for the base game and 33.05% for the bonus features. Like with other Nolimit City slots, there are alternative RTP versions: 95.33%, 94.08% and 92.08%. Open the Paytable to check which rate you’re playing with.

In terms of volatility, this game is in the extreme bracket (10/10). With a 22.18% hit frequency rate, you can expect a winning combination to land every 4.51 spins on average. Triggering the Lucky Wagon Spins feature will take approximately 231 spins.

Finally, Fire in the Hole 3 benefits from 70,000 x bet max wins. Higher than its predecessors, the max win is known as ‘Fire In The Bowl’ with a max win probability of 1 in 14.3 million spins. Winning 100 x bet or higher will occur every 796 spins on average.

With a mining theme, the Fire in the Hole 3 slot game is the 3^rd instalment from Nolimit City as it follows on from Fire in the Hole xBomb (March 2021) and Fire in the Hole 2 (February 2024).

In this game, the entrance to the mine is now frozen shut with Nolimit’s favourite dwarf trapped inside, drinking whiskey. With another dwarf down there, the soundtrack is intense. If you load up the game and don’t press/use the ‘Spin’ button, you’ll see the dwarf appear in a bucket with a whiskey bottle and shot glass in hand.

On the reels, you’ll see A, K, Q, J and 10 royals. The higher-value symbols include cooked chickens on a plate, lamps, spiked boots, wheelbarrows full of gold and whiskey bottles: the whiskey bottle is the best-paying symbol as it pays 7.5 times your total bet for 6 in combination.

Fire in the Hole 3 also benefits from several special symbols. There is an xBomb Wild (a detonator) which substitutes for any symbol except the Wagon Coin Bonus. You’ll also discover xSplit, Win Multiplier and Max Win Turd symbols: more on these in the Bonus Features section below.

Fire in the Hole 3 Mobile

With HTML5 technology used to produce Fire in the Hole 3, it can be played on mobile, desktop and tablet devices. Adapting to any device you opt for, it is compatible with iOS, Windows and Android systems. With Portrait Mode used on smartphone devices, I always suggest a laptop or PC to benefit from the full, visual experience.

The Fire in the Hole 3 slot comes with the usual bonus features from its predecessors as well as a few new extras. With Collapses, xBomb Wild Multiplier, xSplit, xHole, Wild Mining and Buried extras, there is the Lucky Wagon Spins, which has more Enhancers and bigger win potential.

Collapsing Mine

You’ll notice that each spin begins with 3 active rows, giving you up to 486 ways to win. When you land a winning combination, an extra row becomes active (up to 6 rows). New collapses are triggered by the following events:

• A winning combination
• xBomb Wild explosion
• Wild Mining feature trigger
• xHole feature trigger

When a collapse occurs, the winning symbols are removed from the reels with the remaining symbols falling downwards: this leaves empty symbol positions which are filled with new symbols dropping in from above. With each win, Enhancer Cell positions unlock (beginning from left to right).

xBomb Wild Multiplier

The detonator is the xBomb Wild symbol, which substitutes for all symbols bar the Wagon Coin Bonus. Removing adjacent symbols (except the Wagon Coin Bonus), the win multiplier is increased by its value for the next collapse. All xBomb Wilds explode before the next collapse, unless you trigger the Wild Mining feature.

Wild Mining

When 3 to 6 of the same kind of symbols align horizontally or vertically and no winning combinations land, active xHole or active xBomb Wild, the Wild Mining feature will be activated.

The triggering symbols are removed from play and create xBomb Wilds in the middle positions of the alignment. 3, 4, 5 or 6 symbols will award 1, 2, 3 or 4 Wilds.

Then, all symbol positions above the bar (except Wagon Coin Bonus and Ice Buried symbols) explode and trigger a new collapse. Ice Buried symbols are revealed and become active for more ways to win.

Buried Features

Ice Buried symbols in the base game can contain an xBomb Wild, xSplit, Wni Multiplier, xHole, Wagon Coin Bonus or Max Win symbol. They are inactive until the ice block they are trapped inside is exploded by an xBomb Wild.

Symbols inside Ice blocks are also revealed when split by the xSplit symbol (except the Win Multiplier). Also, empty Ice Blocks and Ice Blocks with Win Multiplier values affected by a split feature are removed if a collapse occurs. Win Multiplier values range from 2x up to 100x.

Finally, a Max Win symbol will appear as a 2x2 symbol in an ice block. Once all the ice is cleared from the symbol, the max win of 70,000 x bet will be awarded and won.

xHole

The xHole feature is triggered when the xHole symbol appears. With paying symbols drawn from the reels, they are scattered to random positions with split symbols which are 1-3 symbols in size. The xHole leaves an empty space in its position, which, in turn, triggers a collapse. If you land multiple xHole symbols, the symbol size increases several times.

xSplit

As with other Nolimit City slots, an xSplit symbol splits all other symbols on its reel, doubling those symbols. Wagon Coin Bonus, xSplit, and xHole symbols cannot be split, though.

Once all xSplit symbols become active, they transform into 1 of the regular, paying symbols. Finally, Ice blocks affected by the xSplit symbol are removed if there is a collapse.

Gamble

If you manage to win 5 times your total bet or higher in the base game, the Gamble feature is an option. If taken, you gamble your win for a chance to win your way into the Lucky Wagon Spins feature.

Lucky Wagon Spins

As with other Fire in the Hole slots, there is a Lucky Wagon Spins feature. It is triggered by landing 3, 4 or 5 Wagon Coin Bonus symbols: this gives you 2, 3 or 4 rows open, respectively.

Beginning with 3 spins, the number of spins resets to 3 every time a coin lands in the play area. Coins contain a bet multiplier value.

If you manage to trigger the feature with 6 Wagon Coin Bonus symbols, you’ll play with a Persistent Dwarf on the first spin and 4 rows of the reel area active. Once in, the top row reveals Enhancers on each spin. An Enhancer is activated when a Coin lands on the reel below the Enhancer. Below, you’ll find details on the Enhancers appearing on the top row:

• Coin: Contains a bet multiplier prize
• Multiplier: Multiplies the value of all Coins, Persistent Dwarf and the coin value of Persistent Dynamite on the reel below the Enhancer.
• Dynamite: Adds the Dynamite count as bet value to the triggering coin. It then throws as many Dynamites as its count on reel positions. It removes Ice Blocks, doubles Coin values, activates Chests, reveals symbols on Ice, doubles the Coin value on Dynamite/Persistent Dynamite and doubles the Coin value if landing on Persistent Dwarf.
• Persistent Dynamite: On each spin, it drops several Dynamites equal to its count on the reel positions.
• Persistent Dwarf: Collects all values in the reel area at its triggering position on each spin.
• Evil Dwarf: Triggers a Golden Spin, which reactivates all the Coins on the reel area. Coins will trigger their respective Enhancers, boosting their existing values.
• xHole: Triggers 3 Frozen Wagon Spins and transforms itself into a 1x Coin. After the 3 Frozen Wagon Spins, Lucky Wagon Spins are resumed, and the spin left count is reset to 3.
• Frozen Wagon Spins: The top Enhancer row will only contain Coins. All the existing Coins in the reel area will collect the Coin values from the Enhancers and add them to their existing values.
• Collect Chests: The bottom row Collect Chest is activated by Dynamites. When activated, it collects the values in the real area for the corresponding column above for every spin. If the real area is full, normal Coins are removed with their values added to the bottom Coin of their respective reels.

Nolimit Booster

Fire in the Hole 3 comes with a Nolimit Booster feature with 3 options. Details are below:

• Booster 1: Costing 2 x bet, you are guaranteed a Wagon Coin Bonus symbol on reel 2. The RTP rate is 96.06%.
• Booster 2: Costing 5 x bet, you are guaranteed 3+ Wagon Coin Bonus symbols in ice blocks. The RTP rate is 96.06%.
• Booster 3: Costing 5 x bet, you activate all 6 rows (for up to 46,656 ways to win). The RTP rate is 96.03%.

Nolimit Bonus

Non-UK players have the added extra of the Nolimit Bonus feature. Giving you access to various bonus features, all the details are below:

Fire in the Hole 3 Slot

Rating: 4.7/5

Fire in the Hole 3 builds on its predecessors with more extras in the base game, more Enhancers in the Lucky Wagon Spins and a higher max win potential of 70,000 x bet.

Chris Taylor

The Fire in the Hole 3 slot is the third in the series, with previous releases proving extremely popular. With a slightly different look (more ice basically), the bonus features remain more or less the same. Nolimit City has added the xHole mechanic, which sees symbols drawn from the reels and scattered to random positions with split symbols.

In the all-important Lucky Wagon Spins feature, Nolimit City has added more Enhancers, including Persistent Dynamite, Persistent Dwarf, xHole and Collect Chests for higher winning potential. With 70,000 x bet max wins, it is more than the 60,000 and 65,000 x bet max win potential in Fire in the Hole xBomb and Fire in the Hole 2, respectively.

For non-UK players, there is a huge variety of Bonus Buy options ranging from 60 up to 7,000 times your total bet! The most expensive option is Golden Nugget or God Mode, where you are guaranteed a Max Win symbol in the ice block. With winning combinations, you’ll pocket the game’s top payout if you unblock the ice. This feature can be found, in various forms, in slots such as Loner, Kill Em All and Mental 2.

To summarise, Fire in the Hole 2 has more depth than its predecessors with more explosive action, more Enhancers and an extra (evil) dwarf. What more could you want?

If you’re a fan of mining-themed slots, there are literally hundreds to explore. A popular source of inspiration amongst slot providers, here are my top 3 picks:

• Bonanza Megaways (Big Time Gaming): This iconic game kickstarted the Megaways evolution and is a simple slot with Reactions for continuous wins, a Free Spins feature with an unlimited win multiplier and 26,000 x bet max wins.
• Bonanza Falls (Big Time Gaming): This sequel comes with Reactions but there is a Megadozer Free Spins feature which sees Bonus Coins drop down onto the reels from the Megadozer to award multiplier rises, extra free spins, wild multipliers up to 5x and symbol multipliers up to 10x for 93.540 x bet max wins.
• 5k Gold Mine Dream Drop (4ThePlayer): There is a Gold Rush Trail where you move around for cash prizes, free spins, mystery prizes and Dream Drop progressive jackpots. As well as free spins and 5,000 x bet max wins, the Mega Jackpot is worth £1,701,360.89.

The Fire in the Hole 3 slot review was written by Chris Taylor from our OLBG Expert team who who written over 10,000 slot game reviews in an iGaming career spanning over 2 decades. 

Chris Taylor

The king of slots

Chris Taylor is an industry veteran originally from Gibraltar. Having worked in the online gambling industry since 2004, Chris loves slots and has reviewed over 10,000 online slot games. Running a slots-focused website for 13 years, Chris is the go-to guy for everything slots-related.