Scientific Games and Hasbro strike again with SlotBeats’ SOTW

Scientific Games’ long-term partnership with Hasbro continues to succeed as its most recent slot title, Monopoly Utility Trails, claimed SlotBeats’ Slot of the Week.

Following on from Cluedeo Cash Mystery at the end of January, which also claimed Slot of the Week, Monopoly Utility Trails is a 8×7, cluster pays slot title which includes a water works spin streak, community chest and wild rails expanding wilds. 

“Our long experience partnering with Scientific Games has shown us that this is a company dedicated to producing gaming entertainment that pushes the boundaries while staying faithful to our iconic brands,” noted Mark Blecher, SVP corporate strategy and business affairs at Hasbro.

“The Monopoly brand is the most iconic of all and it’s a delight for us to see a cherished brand globally inspire such an innovative gaming experience that we are sure players will love.”

During the base game, wins will occur when five or more paytable symbols form a connected cluster. A cluster is a grouped combination of symbols where every symbol touches at least one other symbol of the same type along a horizontal or vertical edge. 

The wild symbol within the game will substitute for all other symbols except the electric company Bulb and the water works tap. 

Once a Wild symbol has been used in a winning combination, it will explode and disappear. If it is not used in a win, it will remain on the board during the cascade until the end of the spin.

“Monopoly remains one of the most popular game brands in the world and we thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Hasbro in delivering this innovative new title,” explained Rob Procter, content specialist director, digital at Scientific Games. 

“Our OpenGaming proposition really springs to life with the Monopoly brand, and Monopoly Utility Trails typifies everything we are about in terms of game releases this year. Our in-house team has produced a slot that has a great front end, striking artwork and as ever, a strong set of responsible gaming features. 

“The cluster pays mechanic has great potential and this is a slot we are certain will be enjoyed by players seeking a new, feature-rich experience that builds on the success of a timeless classic.”

Whenever a golden wild symbol shares the same column or row with another golden wild, it will trigger a wild tracks carriage Wilds which will then replace all symbols between the golden wilds in that row or column. 

Alternatively, if the golden wilds form a square, then the carriage wilds will expand to cover all symbols within that square. 

Randomly during a spin or cascade, a 3×3 community chest symbol may land on the grid. Once this happens, the chest will open to reveal a random cash prize.

Furthermore, when a water works tap symbol lands on the grid, it increments the associated gauge to the right of the board. This symbol will only land during the base game. 

Once the player has collected 15 water works tap symbols and filled the gauge, the bonus mode will be triggered. 

During the water works round, the game will initially spin until a winning cluster, or clusters, land on the board. All winning clusters are locked in place and will remain for the duration of the mode. 

The game will cascade all non-paying symbols, locking in place any symbols which increase the previous cluster or create new ones. 

The taps located above the board may activate at any point after the board is populated. If they pour water, it will activate one of two modifiers.

If there are multiple clusters of different symbols and the taps activate, all clusters will be upgraded to match the cluster with the highest value symbol. 

Opposite to the water works gauge is the electric company alternative. When a Bulb symbol lands on the grid, it will be added to the meter. 

The bonus round is activated once 15 electric company bulb symbols land and fill the gauge. 

During this mode, the player is awarded three lives and the grid symbols are replaced with property cards, colour tiles and chance cards.

Any property cards which land are held for the remainder of the feature. Any Ccuster of colour tiles will explode and disappear. If they match any of the property cards colour that are in play, then the value is doubled. 

Any chance cards which land are flipped to reveal either a house or a hotel. The house increases the value of a random property card by x2 and the hotel doubles the value of all property cards on the board. 

Finally, within the base game, if the entire board is filled with wilds, the player is awarded the off the rails jackpot.