Rules for Playing Motorhead Slots
Motorhead is a 5 reel, 76 fixed pay line video slot game. It features free
spins, wild substitutions, a Bomber feature, and a Mystery reel. All wins pay
from left to right. Only the highest possible winning combination on any pay
line awards a prize. Reels 1 and 2 have three slots, reels 3 and 4 have four
slots, and reel 5 has five slots.
The Ace of Spades logo is the game’s Wild symbol. The logo substitutes for
all other symbols in the game except the Scatter symbol.
The Bomber Scatter symbol triggers the free spins bonus game (see below for
details). The Scatter symbols only appear on reels 3, 4, and 5.
Other Symbols in the Motorhead Slot Game
All prize amounts are in credits (“coins”) unless otherwise noted. As there
are ten bet levels, the prize amounts are only in “level 1” amounts. Multiply
the number of credits by the bet level for the full prize value of any winning
combination).
Lemmy’s portrait is the game’s highest value symbol. He pays 150 credits for
five of a kind, 30 credits for four of a kind, 8 credits for three of a kind,
and 1 credit for 1 of a kind.
The Gold Star from Lemmy’s stylized cavalry coat pays 50 credits for five of
a kind. It pays 15 credits for four of a kind and 5 credits for three of a kind.
The Bell pays 30 credits for five of a kind, 10 credits for four of a kind,
and 3 credits for three of a kind.
The Lucky 7 pays 30 credits for five of a kind, 10 credits for four of a
kind, and 3 credits for three of a kind.
The Horseshoe pays 12 credits for five of a kind, 5 credits for four of a
kind, and 2 credits for three of a kind.
The Double Cherry pays 12 credits for five of a kind, 5 credits for four of a
kind, and 2 credits for three of a kind.
The Four Leaf Clover pays 12 credits for five of a kind, 5 credits for four
of a kind, and 2 credits for three of a kind.
How to Play Motorhead Slot Machines
All the game controls are below the playing reels area. The main control
panel resembles a row of speakers and amplifiers on a stage. A status ribbon
running at the bottom of the game screen contains a few incidental controls.
The Information button resembles a speaker panel in the far left corner. It’s
next to a golden-brown Stratocaster guitar. The speaker has a faint “I” in the
center. Click on this button to activate the help screen system.
There are nine screens in all. Use the left and right arrows to navigate
through the screens. Or click on the dots below the information displays. The
screens wrap around so you can scroll left or right. To exit the help screen
system locate the “x” in the upper right hand corner and click on that.
The Bet and Level widgets work together. The Bet widget displays the current
number of coins you wager per spin. The Level widget contains left and right
arrows. Use these to decrease or increase the bet level. There are ten bet
levels. Each level multiplies your wager by 20 coins. You can wager a maximum of
200 coins.
The Auto Play button activates the control dialog for choosing how many spins
the game will play for you at the current Bet and Level settings. Click on
“Advanced Settings” to choose exit options. You can set thresholds for some of
the options.
Use the left and right arrows in the “Number of Spins” widget to scroll
through all your choices. You can set from 10 to 1000 spins.
The automatic spins will continue until:
- The game meets one of your conditions,
- You exit the game,
- Your available balance drops below the total bet amount.
Click on the minus button in the upper right hand corner of the dialog to
exit the Auto Play screen.
The round Spin button looks like two half circular arrows. Click on this
button to start one paid spin at the current Bet and Level settings. You can
also click on the Spin button to end the spin animation.
Click on the Max Bet button to adjust the Level widget to the value of “10”.
You can click on the Max Bet button a second time to start a spin at that level.
If the maximum bet is already set then the Max Bet button acts like a second
Spin button.
The Coin Value widget allows you to scroll from 0.01 to 1.00 using the left
and right arrows. The Coins widget’s value changes as you change the value of
your coins.
The Music button in the far right corner toggles on and off the band’s
soundtrack. You can listen to four songs play while the reels are either in
motion or stationary.
How the Motorhead Mystery Reel and Bomber Features Work
The golden Motorhead symbol is a special symbol. It appears anywhere on the
screen in what some game designers call “superstack” mode. where the entire reel
fills up with the same symbol and they may scroll for a few spins.
Sometimes the symbol comes to a rest in the visible playing reels area. When
it does, all the golden mystery symbols transform into a random symbol.
It’s possible to earn a Big Win from the Mystery reels because the entire
screen could fill up with mystery symbols.
Sometimes the reels highlight in flames as they spin and the reels may go
into a hyperspinning mode. This appears to be a visual effect.
The Mystery symbol can turn into any other symbol in the game except the
Scatter. Hence, it is possible for an entire reel of Wild symbols to appear due
to the Mystery Reel feature.
When the Bomber feature activates, the reels spin longer than usual. Sirens
begin to play. The stage lights activate and sweep across the screen as if an
air raid is about to begin or start. Mystery symbols explode onto the screen in
groups.
The explosions continue until at least 10 Mystery symbols lock into place on
the screen. The reels continue spinning but stop after the Bomber explosions
have completed.
The Bomber feature awards randomly at the beginning of a spin. There is no
minimal bet amount required.
How the Motorhead Free Spins Bonus Games Work
The Free Spins bonus game triggers when three or more Scatter symbols appear
in reels 3, 4, and 5.
You get 10 free spins, during which the Mystery Reels consist of both the
Wild and Mystery symbols. The Wild symbols will also transform when they are
part of the Mystery feature.
The rest of the free spins bonus plays like a normal game, although you
cannot interrupt the spins.
Conclusion
Motorhead is without question a dynamic slot game. The visual effects model
actual Motorhead stage effects. You’ll see flashing lights, pop light bulbs, and
strobing spotlights. You’ll hear incidental sounds.
The game opens to the sound of a concert audience chanting “Lemmy! Lemmy!”
and the background graphics are slick and professional. You could be looking at
an album cover instead of a slot game.
The game also punctuates the play with profanity-laced sound bites from
Lemmy. The game lifts these from his in-concert commentary. If you play Rock
Mode and listen to all four songs you’ll hear his comments between the songs.
But he also says something after you win a prize. The band also strikes a chord
and the audience screams when you win a prize.
The game option controls on the bottom ribbon are small and that may be
annoying to some players. Another minor fault is the lack of a widget that tells
you exactly how much money you are betting. You have to mentally multiply the
coins by coin value to see what you are risking on your next bet.
The choice of game symbols is quite appropriate. The band itself was not
associated with gambling (much). But “Ace of Spades” features prominently in the
opening sequence. It also features in the soundtrack and in the game’s symbol
set. It’s nice that the other symbols draw on traditional non-fruit slot machine
symbols:
- Lucky 7
- Red cherries
- Clovers
- Horseshoes.
This is a good tribute to both the game and its storied founder. He might
have been flattered if someone had invented a poker game and named it after him
or the band. But given Lemmy’s preference for slot games over card games the
Motorhead slot is the right choice. Kudos to whoever came up with this idea.
Is the game playable?
It seems to favor moderate volatility.
In practice sessions we were able to win free spins bonus games, Bomber
features, plenty of Mystery reels, and a lot of Wild symbols.
Your experience may vary but this is one game well worth checking out. It’s a
great fit if you like pure rock and roll music.
