More Hearts Slot Machines

Aristocrat Leisure Limited released the More Hearts slot game to land based casinos in 2011. The game uses a larger video screen than older slot games and from 2 to 4 playing reel areas can beplayed at once during the bonus games.

The multiple games in one format is not necessarily the most popular among slots players but several gaming companies have experimented with it.  Another game in the Aristocrat inventorythat utilizes multiple playing reel areas is The Big Bang Theory, which received much praise. Reactions to More Hearts have been mixed among reviewers and players alike.

The game is themed around St. Valentine’s Day and romance.  Saint Valentine’s identity has been in question since Pope Gelasius established the feast of St. Valentine for February 14starting in the year 496. According to one story, Valentinius (given as Valentinus in some sources) was a 3^rd century CE Bishop of Terni, a city located close to Rome in central Italy.Rome and Terni were contemporary with each other, as Terni was founded by the Umbri in the 600s BCE. The Valentinius of Terni is said to have been executed for performing Christian marriages;hence, his connection with love and romance is attested to at least the medieval period when this story was circulated.

The only officially recognized account of Bishop Valentinius’ death is that he was martyred on February 14 in the year 273 on the Via Flaminia (Flaminian Way or Flaminian Road) near Rome. Probuswas emperor at the time  However, another account says he was condemned to death by an earlier emperor, Claudius II Gothicus, in the year 268. However, there were no significant persecutionsof Christians at this time. Both Claudius and Probus, who was emperor in the year 279, were involved in military campaigns outside of Italy and their reigns are not remembered for Christianpersecutions. If Valentinius lived and died in that era his death was probably ordered by a local official as some accounts suggest.

Modern folklore says that the St. Valentine’s Day romantic tradition was invented by greeting card companies that wanted a holiday in between New Year’s and Easter.  The truth is muchdifferent. People have been celebrating love, marriage, and romance on February 14 since at least the 1300s through songs, special meals, and other romantic gestures. Love poems associated withthe date are attested to the 1400s and informal greeting cards go back to at least the 1700s. Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote at least 60 love verses for his wife in France while he wasimprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415.

Although the Feast of Saint Valentine is no longer formally celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church it remains a popular celebration in some areas and has become firmly fixed in the public’ssecular traditions wherever European and Christian culture prevail.

Although the land based game was introduced in 2011 in 2013 Aristocrat announced a partnership with NextGen Gaming. NextGen developed an online version of the game that was featured in severalwell-known casinos. However, the online game appears to have been withdrawn from distribution. The game is still available in land-based casinos. This article reviews the online version of theslot game. There are minor differences between the two versions of the game, mostly in the playing controls and the currency denomination used.

More Hearts is a 5 reel, 3 reel video slot game using 25 or 30 pay lines. The basic game uses 25 pay lines but players can pay a few extra credits to add five more pay lines. Doing so increasesthe theoretical return to player from about 89.2% to about 95.7%. All prizes are paid from left to right and are multiplied by Bet Per Line, except for Scatter wins which pay for any position andare multiplied by Total Bet.

The Diamond is the game’s Wild symbol, substituting for all other symbols except the Scatter and the Heart. For five of a kind the Diamond pays 2000 times Bet Per Line. For four of a kind theDiamond pays 500 times Bet Per Line. For three of a kind the Diamond pays 75 times Bet Per Line. For two of a kind the Diamond pays 25 times Bet Per Line.  The Diamond can appear as asuperstack during the bonus game.

The More Hearts logo is the game’s Scatter symbol. Three or more of these symbols trigger the Free Spins Bonus game described below. The More Hearts logo only pays 2 times Total Bet regardless ofhow many symbols trigger the bonus.

The Heart symbol pays no prize but may appear at random during the basic game. The symbol has a special function during the Free Spins Bonus game described below.

• Leopard Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 1500 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 300 times Bet Per Line, three of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line, and two of a kind pays 5 times Bet Per Line.

• Yellow Tulip Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 1000 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 250 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line.

• Love Birds Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 900 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 200 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line.

• Butterfly Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 800 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 200 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 40 times Bet Per Line.

• Money Gift Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 700 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 100 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 35 times Bet Per Line.

• Ace Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 500 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 100 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 25 times Bet Per Line.

• King Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 250 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 100 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 25 times Bet Per Line.

• Queen Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 200 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 20 times Bet Per Line.

• Jack Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 100 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 25 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 15 times Bet Per Line.

• Red 10 Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 25 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 10 times Bet Per Line.

• Green 9 Symbol

  Five of a kind pays 50 times Bet Per Line, four of a kind pays 25 times Bet Per Line, and three of a kind pays 5 times Bet Per Line.

A transparent information marquee is positioned above the playing reels area and this marquee is used to show tips and prize descriptions to the player.

Thirteen colored, number badges run down the left side of the playing reels area. Twelve colored, numbered badges run down the right side of the playing reels. These badges denote the 25 basicpay lines in the game. The badges are dimmed when the pay lines are disabled and brightened when they are enabled. Each badge serves as an anchor position for a highlight line that shows youwhere the winning combination on the pay line occurs.

There are six control widgets and major buttons running across the bottom of the screen.

The Lines widget controls how many pay lines are active. The widget displays the number of currently active pay lines above the Minus and Plus buttons. Use the buttons to adjust the number from 1to 25. Click on the pink “+5” button to opt in to playing the extra five pay lines.

The Bet Per Line widget controls how much money you pay per active pay line for a spin. Values range from 0.02 to 2.00. Use the Minus and Plus buttons to adjust the value.

The Total Bet widget computes and displays active pay lines times Bet Per Line. The “+5” cost is added to this calculated result.

The Win widget tallies up all the prizes from the last paid spin and displays the total in cash value.

The pink Gamble button is only enabled after a paid spin pays a prize. Click on this button to play the special Gamble feature described below.

The green Play button initiates one paid spin. Use the Auto widget attached to the upper left hand corner of the button to set the number of automatic spins the game plays for you. Click on Playto start the automatic spins. The Play button then becomes a red Stop button.  The automated spinning continues until the last spin completes, or until you interrupt the spins, or until abonus game is triggered, or until you exit the game, or until your available balance drops below the Total Bet amount. Automatic spins are played at the current active pay lines and Bet Per Linesettings.

Your current available balance is displayed on an information bar at the bottom of the screen. Several additional controls are positioned on the right side of the information bar.

Click on the Gear button to launch a window with several options to control game sounds and use of the space bar as a Play button.

Click on the Question Mark button to launch a window with the six help system screens. You navigate to the screens by clicking on their names at the top of the window. Available screens include:Game Rules, Gamble Option, Free Spins Feature, Pay Tables, Pay Lines, and Instructions.

The online game was only ever available in the UK market. Although it’s hard to say that players have been enthusiastic about the game the bonus rounds can be very exciting if you collect enoughHeart symbols to trigger all four playing reel groups.

One surprising aspect to the game is the fact that it uses older incidental sounds in the basic game. The bonus game music is fully orchestrated and is a bright jazzy theme.

A cash register “ka ching” rings out each time you collect a Heart in the bonus game and a girl’s voice announces “More Hearts!” when the bonus game starts or as additional playing reels areadded.

The orchestra strikes up a full celebrational song for each Big Win that spawns a shower of coins.

Some players complain that the lack of a prize for the Heart symbols in the basic game is disappointing since they take up space on the playing reels but this is kind of a wash given that up tothree extra sets of playing reels may appear in the bonus game.

The game nonetheless lacks the type of panache and luster that other recent Aristocrat designs bring to the gaming experience. It is not for lack of thought that the game pales by comparison to aBig Bang Theory or Britney Spears game. Maybe this is just a transitional game that will only appeal to a niche audience, or maybe it will take off later.

The +5 extra option is highly recommended but even though this is not a high roller slot game it is probably best to keep your Bet Per Line in conservative ranges until you form an opinion on thegame for yourself.