A Closer Look at Trigger Happy – Big Time Gaming's Newest Slot

Big Time Gaming, a subsidiary of Evolution, is set to release an exciting new slot game called Trigger Happy on May 22nd. It’s one of their rare attempts to satisfy players looking for frequent wins, while keeping the maximum win potential prominently high at 50,000x the bet. Let’s see what BTG’s first 5x5-grid cluster slot is all about.

Unpacking the Game Mechanics

There’s a limited number of cluster slots in BTG’s portfolio. This game is not part of the MegaClusters series, which includes Star Clusters and Cyberslot, as it’s more of a continuation of the 4x4 Pop slot that came out back in March 2021. However, the two games have very different gameplay and feel to them, so Trigger Happy is really in a league of its own. Here are the features and bonuses that it contains, making for a decent RTP of 96.58, or 94.23% when an operator chooses to go with a lower value.

Cluster Pays

Each time you spin, the board fills up with 25 symbols. You win when you get 5 or more of the same symbols touching each other, either up and down or side to side. When you win, those winning symbols disappear and new ones fall from the top to take their place. This keeps happening until no more wins are possible. Truthfully, wins are possibly mostly thanks to Wilds.

Target Wild

With each spin and every explosive reaction, a Target emerges, which places a Wild symbol at a random position. It doesn’t stop there.

Bonus Panels

Bonus Panels is what drives this game forward – an inspiration taken from BTG’s signature slots with Dual Reels or Triple Reactions, like in Royal Mint. Essentially, there are two extra reels or panels on the game board, one horizontal and one vertical. Each time you spin, these panels can show Multipliers, Bombs, or Trigger Coins.

• If a Multiplier appears and lines up with a Target's final spot, it boosts the new Wild at that position. If Multipliers from both panels align with the Target, their effects are combined and applied to that Wild. During regular play, Multipliers can go up to x3.
• If a Bomb appears, it clears all the symbols in its row or column and places up to four Wilds there instead.
• If a Target's final spot matches a Trigger Coin in both panels, you earn 8 Free Spins. These Free Spins can accumulate if you trigger them multiple times in one series of reactions, with 8 Free Spins granted for each occurrence.

Free Spins Bonus

In the Free Spins bonus, there are two Targets for each spin. The excitement builds when a Target’s final position lines up with a Trigger Coin in both Bonus Panels, resulting in 3 extra Free Spins for a single Target. Moreover, the Multipliers shown in the Bonus Panels can increase up to 10x.

There are two more ways to hit the bonus.

Win Exchange

Whenever you win between 25x and 100x your stake, you have the option to exchange or gamble the entire win for the chance to be awarded 8 Free Spins. The probability of winning the gamble is proportional to the amount being gambled, so a 25x gamble has a 25% chance to trigger the feature. Whenever you win 100 times stake or more, you have the option to directly exchange 100 times your stake for the Free Spins.

Bonus Buy

Win or lose, you can always take a shortcut in the way of a feature buy. Click on the pink Ticket button and have 100x the sat your disposal to kick off freebies immediately.

Final Thoughts

If Big Time Gaming’s upcoming Trigger Happy slot visually reminds you of the Reactoonz series then you’re not alone. Gameplay-wise, however, it diverges in a way that will appeal to some players and frustrate others. This especially applies to players who are, understandably, prone to anchor their expectations to the Bonus Buy cost or the sky-high win potential, while discounting the high volatility that's at the heart of most BTG slots. In other words, Trigger Happy seems to need quite a few triggers to achieve any meaningful wins.