Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Slotmill |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 5 |
| Paylines | 15,625 |
| Bonus Rounds | 2 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 40 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 25,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 95.80% |
| Our Rating | 8.5 |
Latest Slots
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
I didn’t review the original Money Jar game by Slotmill – in fact, I’m not sure if I had ever played the game before taking a look whilst making my notes for this review! That’s probably a shame as it happens because Money Jar looks like it was a fun game… Was? Yes, I’m saying it was because today we are checking out the game’s sequel, imaginatively titled Money Jar 2! One thing that immediately stood out to me about this updated Money Jar game is that the playfield has shrunk since the first game – we now have “only” 15,625 payways. The RTP has shrunk slightly too, although it’s still adequate at 95.80%, especially when you factor in that the maximum jackpot prize has been boosted to 25,000x the player’s stake.
In terms of features, the game retains its “Win Re-Spin” gameplay mechanic, which will lock winning symbols in place before re-rolling the remaining symbol positions, providing an opportunity to add additional symbols to existing winning clusters. The countdown wilds are back too – keep an eye on the numbers displayed in the bottom-right corner of any wilds that appear on screen, as those symbols will remain on the reels until they have been included in as many winning combinations as the numbers indicate. The base game has been enhanced with several “power up” symbols, an idea borrowed from video games such as Super Mario Bros. There are wild magnets, wild payers, and mystery symbol dealers. The “extra chance” feature will occasionally make itself known when a re-spin does not result in an improved reel layout – you’ll need at least two money jars on the screen for this to occur, but when it does, the reel positions which are re-spun are guaranteed to land either coins or money jars. All that, and we haven’t even mentioned the money jar bonus games, bonus buy facility, or burst mode!
Yup, there’s quite a lot to unpack with this release, so stick around – why not give our Money Jar 2 demo a few spins in the background whilst checking out the remainder of our review as well? It’s available to play below:
Money Jar 2 Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
If you’re curious about the original Money Jar online slot, we have a free demo of the game available on our site, along with a review written by one of my colleagues. He seemed reasonably impressed with the title, scoring it 8 out of 10 on our review scale when it was released back in August 2022. Considering the short amount of time between that release and this one, it would appear that Money Jar has proven to be popular with fans of Slotmill’s output. That’s not so surprising, however, when you consider that the Money Jar games have taken a little… creative liberty in their designs, as they borrow several key aspects from the Jammin Jars franchise. Every developer borrows successful ideas from their competitors though – that’s just the very nature of a capitalist system. Push Gaming themselves have created a handful of games that borrow heavily from Jammin’ Jars too – their Retro Tapes release is a shameless clone, for example, whilst the Money Jar games do at least try to carve out their niche within the online slots industry.
I regularly remind readers that, when it comes to games with huge numbers of payways such as this one, the numbers shown on the paytable don’t give you a particularly useful impression of just how generous a game might be. In this case, we have four high-paying symbols featuring cartoon characters. There’s a captain with a maximum payout of 3.5x the total bet for a complete payway of six of a kind, followed by a cigar-smoking female (I think?) at 2x, another lady in a blue hat at 1.8x, and a green Brutus lookalike with a 1.5x return to complete the set. There are four more medium-paying symbols represented by casino chips that pay either 0.7x or 0.6x, depending on their colour. That just leaves the low-paying royals, which are once again divided into two groups, with the Aces/Kings paying 0.5x and the Queens/Jacks offering slightly less at 0.4x each for a six of a kind combination. As for the wilds and scatters, neither of those has any cash value, I’m afraid! A full line of wilds will therefore pay the same amount as the top symbol, assuming such a combination is possible.
The bet spread seems relatively sensible here – we have minimum/maximum permitted wagers of €0.20 and €40.00 per spin, respectively, and whilst the upper end of the range does suffer a little from the usual arbitrary limitations on exactly how much you can choose to bet, there’s no problem in the €1 – €5 range where the majority of players lean towards.
Base Game & Modifiers
This review already feels a little on the long side, so it’s almost a shock to realise that I’m only just about to discuss the features of the base game! We have a six-reel playfield with five rows per reel here, which is large enough to make you feel like you are playing a grid slot. That’s not the case though – this game has 15,625 payways, which can seem a little confusing at first, especially when you get the win re-spin feature kicking in, as that type of mechanic is much more commonly used by grid slots. You’ll soon get used to it though, and the fact that you only need to hit three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left feels like a relatively easy requirement once you do.
Win Respin Feature
All symbols forming winning combinations will lock in place immediately after landing, and a free re-spin will be awarded. The remaining positions will spin again, and if new matching symbols land (or wilds) which enhance your current winning combinations, the feature will re-run again, and this can continue indefinitely as long as new winning combinations are landing on the reels.
Countdown Wilds
The number in the corner of every wild symbol represents the number of times that symbol will be part of a winning combination. The wild will stay on the screen for as long as it takes to be included in the relevant number of winning combinations.
Power Up Symbols
Whilst playing the base game, there is a handful of special “power-up” symbols that can occasionally land on the playfield – the Wild Magnet will transform into a countdown wild with a value equal to the number of existing wilds present on the same reel, whilst the Wild Payer will add +1 to the value of all existing countdown wilds before transforming into one itself. Finally, the mystery symbol dealer adds mystery symbols to the reels before transforming into a wild.
Extra Chance
At the end of a round with two money jars visible on the playfield, there is a chance that the Extra Chance feature will activate, giving you another shot at boosting the value of your win.
All of the symbol positions surrounding each money jar will re-spin – this is no ordinary re-spin though, as only coins or extra money jars can land in this part of the game. If a third money jar symbol does land, the bonus game picker will be activated.
Money Jar 2 Slot Bonus Features
Landing three money jar symbols during a single round will award the bonus game picker, which is modelled on a casino entrance. Walk to the left, and you’ll find the coin bonus game – a table game, according to the information displayed on the screen. Walk to the right, however, and you’ll find yourself in the Countdown Wilds bonus game, which takes place in the slots area of this virtual casino.
Coin Bonus Game
The Coin Bonus Game starts with six lives, and every spin played will use up one of those lives. Fortunately, landing an extra life symbol will add another life to your meter! After each spin, the money jars visible on the screen will collect all adjacent coins, money jars, magnets, portal pills, or payers. After this occurs, the money jars will jump to another symbol position. At the end of the coin bonus game, the total sum of all visible money jars will be added together before being multiplied by the current stake and then awarded as your final win.
The Coin Bonus Game includes several extra symbols to help you boost your winnings and seems to have been inspired by another classic franchise – the Money Train games! There are Doublers, Payers, Magnets, Coin Dealers, Portal Pills, and Persistent versions of many of the above. Together, all of these symbols work to improve the value of your money jars.
Countdown Wilds Bonus
The countdown wilds bonus game is a little more straightforward than the coin bonus game – you’ll be given eight free spins to begin with and can win additional spins by hitting extra life symbols on the reels. Any unused wilds or countdown wilds will stay on the screen until they have been used in a winning combination or you run out of spins.
Super Mode
Many slots produced today include some type of “super” mode that is often only accessible by paying a crazy amount of cash in the bonus buy menu. Slotmill has included a ‘super’ mode in Money Jar 2, but I’m pleased to report that it can activate randomly before any bonus round as a player-friendly bonus boosting feature. Of course, it’s still possible to buy the super feature via the bonus buy menu if you wish – speaking of which.
Fast Track Bonus Buy
The fast track menu provides instant access to the game’s best features:
- 500x Bet – Super Mode (RTP 96.22%) with a guaranteed special symbol on every game round
- 100x Bet – Bonus (RTP 96.13%) awards a set of free spins
- 20x Bet – 3x Countdown Wilds (RTP 96.04%)
- 8x Bet – 2x Countdown Wilds (96.02%)
Burst Mode
Ever wanted to play a slot without bothering with the actual, err… slot? If so, this is the option for you! The game will play itself in the background without showing you the animations, symbols, or reels. Instead, you’ll simply be told if you have won anything after every “spin”. Even the free spins can be bypassed if you wish, and you’ll just be told the final result of the bonus round. It’s certainly an interesting idea – but an unusual one too.
Pros
- Fantastic presentation – the artists and engineers worked hard on this one.
- A massive jackpot of 25,000x the total bet.
- So many features that you’ll have to play for some time if you want to see them all.
Cons
- Regular paytable prizes are definitely on the low side – even a six of a kind hit of the best symbol won’t be enough to impress anybody.
Final Thoughts
I’ve spent half of the day playing this slot whilst writing this review, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! This is a great little slot that is sure to entertain anybody that plays these games – it’s quite similar to the original, but as that game was also fantastic, that isn’t the end of the world!
Top-Notch
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