The Incredible Balloon Machine slot: Inflate your wins and then gamble it all!

I do love it when a company comes up with a new way to play a game and that is precisely what Crazy Tooth Studios have done in their brand new release The Incredible Balloon Machine.

Forget your standard slot game, Crazy Tooth have thrown away the template for that and instead produced a game, the likes of which I have not seen before, but which is incredibly simple to play.

Instead of reels and buttons, what you have here is a balloon inflating device and the 'spin' button is the large button in the centre of the screen which will inflate the aforementioned balloon. Holding this down is the equivalent of clicking the spin button on a standard slot.

The aim of the game is to inflate balloons as far as you can, without making them pop. That sounds easy but each balloon can pop at a different stage in the process. However, the larger you can inflate the balloon without popping it, the more money you can win in the process.

There are a number of additional bonuses and features in this game which we will explore in more detail below, so does this brave decision by Crazy Tooth to offer Microgaming customers something different to their usual new release slot game prove to be a smart one? We decided to take a look and find out.

Overview

• Game: The Incredible Balloon Machine
• Developer: Crazy Tooth Studios (for Microgaming)
• Reels: N/A
• Pay Lines: N/A
• Minimum Bet: 0.20
• Maximum Bet: 40.00
• Jackpot: 100x
• Free Spins Bonus: N/A
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Low

Presentation

You get double whammy with balloons on the Incredible Balloon Machine game as in addition to blowing up the usual party balloons using the special machine, the game is actually set on a hot air balloon with clouds whizzing by in the sky and the occasional other hot air balloon or flock of birds flying past.

Combined with this is a rather groovy drum-heavy musical track that accompanies you as you play together with the sound of air whooshing around. There are just a couple of buttons you need to be aware of, the one to select the size of your bet (which can be between 0.20 and 40.00 per spin) and the big inflate button situation in the middle of the screen.

Overall, the game is presented very nicely and it is certainly a novel change to playing slot games, although the lack of variability in the game (all you do is inflate balloons) may not appeal to all slot players.

What is on the reels?

To help you judge when to stop inflating the balloon, you will see a pressure gauge. The gauge has three different colour settings. Red, Yellow and Green.

The Red setting is simply used before you inflate the balloon to a point when a wager is accepted. The yellow section starts when your wager is made and the balloon starts to inflate. At the end of the yellow section (if the balloon has not popped) then the initial credit amount is displayed. The larger green section is used to judge when to stop inflating the balloon. It is a very simple system but one that is done very effectively.

When your wager is accepted, the balloon will either pop, or will stop when you release the inflate button. At this point, you can either accept the amount offered (which is displayed in the balloon), or turn it down and continue to inflate the balloon.

Each balloon comes with a different start amount based on your total bet (ranging from 0.5x your bet up to 7.5x your bet) and the rate at which it increases in value can vary. Some balloons can increase in value very quickly, others will only increase in value at a lower rate. Balloons with a higher Initial Credit Amount, tend to increase more quickly.

The amount your balloon can increase in value by, based on your bet, ranges from 5% up to a massive 7303%.

To claim the prize shown, simply stop inflating the balloon before it pops and click the green Collect button. You then win the cash prize shown. If at any point the balloon pops though, that turn is a loser.

Wild features

Obviously, as this is not a slot game, there are no Wild symbols in the game, but there is a Multiplier Feature which can trigger any time you inflate a balloon that reaches the stage where an initial credit amount appears.

When this bonus triggers, you will be able to collect that amount and then apply to it a random multiplier, which can be anything up to 10x the stated amount. When you collect the prize, the multiplier will start and a random amount selected.

You can try to increase the value of your credit amount before applying the multiplier if you so choose, but if the balloon pops, you lose the amount and the multiplier bonus ends without being utilised.

Free Spins features

There is an equivalent 'Free Spins' feature on The Incredible Balloon Machine game and this is called the Pick Bonus.

This is triggered when you see a Bonus Balloon Appear and if the balloon does not pop, then the Pick Bonus will be awarded to the player.

In this bonus, a player can play through up to 8 Rounds of a balloon selection game. Each round sees you presented with five balloons to select from which contain a number of awards such as cash amounts, multipliers, an advance icon (which moves the bonus onto the next round), or a complete icon, which ends the bonus round and pays you any money you have won in the bonus.

Best feature of the The Incredible Balloon Machine

I like the whole idea of The Incredible Balloon Machine game, it is simple, effective and easy on the eye and best of all, so easy to pick up and play. The bonus features are what makes the game a little more involved though and you do feel a genuine sense of reward when you trigger them.

Conclusion

I think the innovative nature of the Incredible Balloon Machine will certainly appeal to lower variance slot fans. This isn't a game that you are going to win huge amounts on offer and it is generally low variance game, but it is an unusual one and it is one that does have added levels of depth thanks to the bonus features. It is a game you can play quite happily at lower stakes for many plays and win enough back so as to not make too big a dent in your bankroll. The bonuses are also very good on the slot and I feel Crazy Tooth should be commended for producing such an original game.

You can play The Incredible Balloon Machine slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.