Fire Opals Slot

Fire Opals slot review — a volcanic gem from IGT

Fire Opals slot is made by IGT (International Game Technology), and it has a tropical/volcanic theme with bright gemstones. Imagine hot, liquid rock, unusual flowers, dragonflies, red and blue opals, and a secret tribal/island atmosphere with hints of fire and magic. The images aren't the latest, but they have a sense of mood.

But what makes Fire Opals special is how it's set up:

• Instead of the usual paylines, it uses the MultiWay Xtra system, which offers 720 ways to win, paying both from left to right and from right to left.
• The reel layout is hexagonal and non-standard, with the symbols arranged in a 3-4-5-4-3 pattern across the five reels.
• If you get Stacked Wilds on the middle reels (2, 3 and 4), you'll be more likely to win.
• To enter the Free Spins bonus, you need to collect Red Opal symbols. To retrigger the bonus, you need to collect Blue Opal symbols.

It looks and works differently from most slot machines. It's a bit unusual, but in a good way.

Gemstones, lava and 720 ways to win - Fire Opals unpacked

• Reels & Ways
  • Fire Opals has 5 reels of different heights: the first and last reels have 3 symbols, the next ones have 4, and the middle one has 5.Because of this layout, there are 720 possible winning combinations (ways), not just fixed lines.
  • Wins count in both directions: matching symbols on adjacent reels pay from left to right and from right to left.
• Betting
  • The game is played with a fixed "full ways" bet (you can't pick and choose lines).
  • You'll see the settings for the coins; your actual bet will be the same as the coin value multiplied by the number of coins, depending on the casino.
  • In many versions, the bet you have to make is 50 coins (and you can choose how much each coin is worth).
• Wilds & Substitutions
  • The Wild symbol can cover the whole reel and appears on reels 2, 3 and 4.
  • Wilds can be used in place of other symbols to help form winning combinations (but not for bonus Scatter or Opal trigger symbols).
• Bonus, Scatter and Free Spins
  • To get Free Spins, you need to land one Red Opal on each of the five reels (so a total of five Red Opal symbols). This gives you 10 Free Spins.
  • If you get five Blue Opal symbols (one on each reel) in the Free Spins mode, you get another 10 Free Spins. This is called a retrigger.
  • You can retrigger as many times as you like, which means the bonus round can go on for a long time. Some players have said that they have won up to 260 Free Spins in total.
  • The Free Spins use different reel sets, often with more Stacked Wilds, which makes the bonus round more exciting.

Fire Opal paytable - symbols and their payouts explained

Here is a rough sketch of what the paytable looks like. Remember that the exact values can be different depending on the casino and version, so always check the in-game paytable.

Symbol	Payout (5 of kind)	Notes
Fire Opals logo (top symbol)	2,000 (in coins)	The highest paying symbol.
The lady	500	Next in line after the logo.
Volcano	300	One of the higher paying symbols.
Flowers	125	Pay moderately for 3-5 matches.
Royal symbols (J, Q, K)	100	Frequent but lower-value combinations.

Also worth noting:

• MultiWay mechanics mean that if a reel has multiple matching symbols, the payouts multiply accordingly. If you get two matching symbols on one reel, it will double the win.
• During Free Spins, the symbol frequency changes (more Wilds, denser stacks), so the payouts feel better than in the base game.

Fire Opals special features: MultiWay Xtra magic & Free Spins

Fire Opals doesn't have fancy animations or complicated controls — its strength is in the way the maths and design work together. Once you understand how all the features work together, the game suddenly feels a lot more exciting. Here is a closer look at what makes Fire Opals special:

The MultiWay Xtra System — 720 ways that pay in both directions!

Forget everything you know about "paylines." Fire Opals doesn't have any. Instead, it uses IGT's MultiWay Xtra system, which pays out whenever you get matching symbols on adjacent reels, no matter where they are.

What makes it even more interesting is that it works both ways — from left to right and from right to left. That's where the 720 possible "ways to win" come from. So, even if the matching symbols start on the rightmost reel, it still counts.

This structure makes the game more stable than traditional 20- or 40-line slots. You will see many smaller wins, and sometimes, things will come together in a way that creates surprisingly strong combinations.

The best part is that symbols can appear more than once on each reel. Every time they do, you win more money for that combination. If a symbol appears twice on one reel, it will double the effect of that reel in your win calculation. This subtle multiplication makes Fire Opals feel richer than they look on paper.

Stacked Wilds — A big chance in the middle

The "Wild" symbol is another important part of the game, and it's stacked - meaning the whole reel can be covered in Wilds. These only appear on the middle section of the grid, on reels 2, 3 and 4.

The MultiWay Xtra system makes it really powerful to have Stacked Wilds in the middle reels. They can link matching symbols from both directions at once, creating a sort of "Wild bridge." For example, if a Wild stack is in the centre, it can complete a win that starts from the left and another that starts from the right. This can effectively double your payout in one spin.

You might not see huge stacks of Wild symbols every time you play, but when you do, they often lead to some of the most exciting wins.

The dual Opal Scatter mechanic — red and blue gems with different jobs

Fire Opals has two types of Opal Scatter, each with a different role depending on the game mode.

• If you get a red opal, you'll unlock the Free Spins Bonus. To unlock it, you need one Red Opal on each of the five reels (so, five in total). It doesn't matter where they appear on the reels; as long as you get one per reel, you're in.
• Blue Opals only appear during the bonus round. They are used to retrigger more Free Spins. If you get a Blue Opal on each reel, you will get another 10 Free Spins added to your total.

This colour-coded system makes Fire Opals feel more interactive than most classic slots. In the base game, you're always looking for the red gems, and in the bonus game, you're looking for the blue ones.

Free Spins bonus - the heart of the game

The Free Spins feature is where Fire Opals really shines. When triggered, you get 10 Free Spins, but what makes them exciting is the change in the reel sets.

During Free Spins, the game switches to a different set of reels that contain more Stacked Wilds and a slightly different symbol distribution. This means that you are more likely to win big, multi-way wins than in the base game.

Combine that with the possibility of repeated retriggers via Blue Opals, and you could get to play dozens - or even hundreds - more spins. In theory, players can win up to 260 Free Spins in one bonus round (though that's very rare).

The Free Spins round has a nice rhythm: lots of medium-sized wins, with the occasional huge win when the Wild stacks line up perfectly with the high-value symbols.

Reel Multiplicity — when one reel counts more than once

This is a subtle mechanic, but it's one of the reasons Fire Opals feels more generous than its low-to-medium volatility label might suggest. Wins are based on the number of symbols that appear on each reel. This means that one spin can produce a lot of wins, even without adding new symbols.

For example, if your target symbol appears twice on the second reel and twice again on the third, that combination counts four times (1x2x2). The more duplicates on each reel, the more you win. At first, you might not notice it, but once you do, you'll see how strong it can be.

Fire Opals doesn't have a lot of weird modifiers, pick bonuses, or random overlays. It follows a simple structure — base game, Wild stacks, Free Spins — and uses maths to create the effects. The game's simple rules and the way you can retrigger and play both ways make it fun to play. This is why it has been popular in casinos for over 10 years.

Fire Opals strategy guide - the smart way to play and enjoy

Because slots are based on chance, there's no surefire "strategy," but here are some practical tips to help you get the most out of your session:

• Make sure you know the RTP your casino uses. In many listings, Fire Opals' RTP is around 93.965% (some sources also mention 94.97%). This is below what many newer online slots offer today, so be aware when you play with real money.
• Choose a bet size you can sustain. Fire Opals often give smaller hits with some bigger ones in between, so you'll need to have enough money to last through the times when you don't win anything. Try to pick a bet size that allows for dozens to hundreds of spins without burning out.
• Try to win the bonus. The base game can surprise you with features like Wild stacks and symbol multipliers, but the best wins come in the Free Spins mode, which has better reel strips and retriggers. The base game is like the "prelude".
• Don't chase losses recklessly. It can be tempting to increase your bet after a run where you don't win anything, in the hope of winning the bonus. But this often results in you losing more of your money more quickly. Stick to your plan unless you're just playing for fun.
• Start with demo mode. Try the free version to see how wins are counted, how often the bonus appears, and how the reels feel.
• Keep an eye out for bonus retriggers. If you get a Blue Opal retrigger early in Free Spins, that's when the real fun starts. Once the retriggers stack up, you might see a real run.

Fire Opals slot - the old school heat with endless charm

If you're looking for a slot that's not too fancy but has potential, Fire Opals is the perfect choice. Its charm lies in the fact that it's subtle: the hex layout, the wins in both directions, the Stacked Wilds, and that bonus round that can go on for a long time. That said, you have to go in with your eyes open. The RTP is not as high as what is considered normal today, and the big wins come from getting lucky on the Free Spins reels.

If you like games where you win a little bit at a time and sometimes win big, Fire Opals is a great choice. If you're looking for games with high volatility or RTP, you should look elsewhere. But as a nod to IGT's history and a great "underdog" slot, Fire Opals still deserves a place in your collection.