Woof woof! Pragmatic Play are back again to squeeze even more out of our canine friends. After their 2019 release The Dog House was shown so much love from players – not just because of the cuteness, but rather the simple, sticky Wild mechanic that was capable of producing potent results – the team at Pragmatic have revisited the idea twice already, in The Dog House Megaways and The Dog House Dice Show. Now it's time to up the ante even further in The Dog House Multihold. With RTP options up to 96.06%, this highly (5/5) volatile release can produce wins up to 9,000x bet.
Visually, things are exactly what you'd expect in The Dog House Multihold. The team have chosen to stay true to both the original and Megaways version, with everything taking place in a suburban street, with houses in the background and a white picket fence running along the top of bright green grass. Pink flowers grow to both sides of the reels, with a little blue bird hiding under the wooden roof. All in all, there's nothing new but it's still a pretty picture to look at, with the same audio track we've come to know and love finishing it off.
The Dog House Multihold Base Features
Taking place across 5 reels, wins are formed on The Dog House Multihold by matching at least 3 symbols on adjacent reels, beginning with the leftmost reel, across 1 of 20 fixed win lines. Symbols available begin with non premiums, with 10s, Js, Qs, Ks, and As, awarding wins between 0.10 and 0.25x bet for 3 of a kind matches, increasing to values between 1.25 and 2.50x bet for 5 of a kind wins. In the mid range we have bones and collars, awarding wins of 0.40 and 0.60x bet respectively for 3 of a kind, increasing to values of 3.75 and 5x bet respectively for 5 of a kind matches. At the premium end, we have four dogs – a Dachshund, a Pug, a Maltese, and a Rottweiler. Land 3 of a kind of any dog to see wins between 0.75 and 2x bet, increasing to values between 7.50 and 25x bet for 5 of a kind matches.
Alright so there's one main feature driving the base game of The Dog House Multihold forward, and it's a familiar one – Wild Dog Houses. On any spin, Wilds can land on reels 2, 3, or 4 and take on a multiplier of 2x or 3x. Wilds multiply the win value of every wining combination they are part of, and also substitute for all symbols except Bonus symbols.
If more than one Wild is involved in a winning combination, the relevant Wild multipliers are added together before being applied to the win.
The Dog House Multihold Bonus
Land 3 Bonus symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5 to trigger 7 Free Spins, whilst also receiving a trigger value of 2x bet. When Free Spins begin, players leave the regular reels and are taken to a screen with 4 reel sets on it – each 5×3 in size. At the beginning of Free Spins, only the top left grid is in play.
During Free Spins, every Bonus symbol that lands in view is collected into the next game grid. Each time 3 Bonus symbols have landed, one more grid is unlocked – players start with the top left, then unlock the top right, bottom left, and finally the bottom right. Bonus symbols can only land on the most recently unlocked reel set.
Each time a new grid is unlocked, either +1, 2, or 3 additional spins are awarded at random. All Wild symbols that land on the most recently unlocked reel set will be sticky for the duration of spins. Each time a new reel set is unlocked, it will start with all Wild symbols from the previous grid already active. If two new reel sets are unlocked simultaneously, additional spins will be awarded twice, and both grids will have the previous grid's Wilds copied.
Players in appropriate regions can skip straight to the action with an option to Buy Free Spins, wherein for a cost of 100x bet, 3 Bonus symbols are guaranteed to land, triggering 7 Free Spins. Based on the 96.06% RTP version of this game, RTP increases ever so slightly, to 96.08%, when buying Free Spins.
The maximum win available in The Dog House Multihold is 9,000x bet. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game round will end and 9,000x bet will be awarded.
First Impression
Well, what to say? As far as the base game is concerned, if you liked The Dog House, you'll like The Dog House Multihold – to my knowledge there are no differences, except maybe in maths. For example, RTP has taken a slight hit, but win potential has increased, so it will be up to each player to make that decision.
Where differences do come in is during the Free Spins round, where we now have four reel sets to unlock and build Wild symbols upon. It can be confusing at first wondering why some Wilds stick and others don't, especially if you unlock extra grids early on, but you get the gist pretty quickly, and it's all explained in the game information. The whole thing is reminiscent of Gorilla Gold Megaways, along with a host of other slots that I can't be bothered to name – the four reels thing seemed really popular in 2021, so it'll be interesting to see if it receives the same reception now. Regardless, things definitely pick up when everything starts unlocking and Wilds start sticking – and if you get lucky, wins are possible up to 9,000x bet – higher than the original, but lower than The Dog House Megaways.
Finally, maths is highly (5/5) volatile, and RTP options are available up to 96.06%, so as always it's worth checking this. This one is quite simple – if the series hasn't convinced you thus far, having four times as much on the go at once probably wouldn't be your thing. If you're already a fan though, you should enjoy the extra large helping.
*The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.
