Introduction to Nuclear Tumble
Nuclear Tumble is a casino slot from Relax Gaming, expanding the studio's iconic series with an entry set in a quirky, post-apocalyptic world, where the usually deadly radiation finally produced something useful. Mutated fruit and veg dot the otherwise ruined landscape, growing to monstrous sizes, alleviating one of the main struggles during such a scenario - finding food. Instead of looking for a nutritious meal, you can focus on scanning for bronze, silver, and gold bottle caps, which seem to have taken over as the wasteland's main currency (hello, Fallout). To win the cash values attached to them, you must drop them to the bottom of the screen as a result of cascading wins. However, caps can also help themselves by crushing any blockers underneath them. If you clear the grid of all obstructions, a Meltdown Mode will reward you with a fresh spin where all cash prizes are held in place, while Free Spins introduce a progressive element leading to increased values of bottle caps.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Nuclear Tumble is a video slot from Relax Gaming with 6 reels, 6 rows, and 46,656 ways to win. The range of available betting options starts from a Min.bet of 0.20 and goes all the way up to a Max.bet of 200. The game offers a default RTP of 96.10%, which is on the lower end of the industry average. Additionally, several alternative variants of 94.00%, 92.00% and 90.00% have been released, so be sure to check your version before playing. You can expect slightly more of the return values to be pushed toward rare big wins rather than smaller, more frequent payouts due to medium-high volatility, while the max win achievable in a single round is 5,000x the bet.
Nuclear Tumble depicts an unusually spry and colourful version of a post-apocalyptic world. That is, until you proceed to Free Spins, where toxic waste starts spewing from a nuclear plant in the distance, flooding the entire screen with radioactive mist. But for now, you can enjoy gigantic, plump fruit and veg scattered across the landscape, resting on crumbled rooftops and protruding from broken windows. A muscular bear in overalls, probably some kind of wasteland farmer looking over the goodies, stands next to the grid, eagerly eyeing the symbols. Despite its grim underlying plot, the game maintains an unusually cheerful atmosphere with its vibrant palette and a laid-back, whistling soundtrack. The setup is also fully responsive, adapting seamlessly to all screen sizes of devices like PCs, smartphones, and tablets.
In the paytable, you'll find regular symbols split into two categories. Regardless of their place in the hierarchy, to achieve a win, you'll need to land at least 3 matching ones on adjacent reels, starting from the left side of the panel. The low-paying icons are represented by four playing card suits: clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts, which award 0.2x the bet for matching 6 on a winning way. Blueberries, apples, eggplants, tomatoes, and a bear represent the high-paying symbols, which bring payouts of between 0.3x and 1x the bet for a complete way of 6. Wilds appear as a gold radioactive sign, while Scatters take the form of a nuclear container. There are also three bottle cap types carrying cash prizes and Bombs appearing as flammable canisters.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Nuclear Tumble?
You can win up to 5,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Nuclear Tumble?
The features are Cascading & Blockers, Exploding Bomb, Cash Prizes, Meltdown Mode, Regular, Super, and Ultra Free Spins, and Feature Buy (Super Charge).
Cascading & Blockers
Cascading allows you to score multiple consecutive wins within a single game round. Every initial combination disappears from the grid, causing the remaining symbols to drop and new ones to fill up the board. This can potentially lead to more hits, thus extending the sequence until no new combinations can be formed. On each spin, up to 25 blockers populate the reel area. Those directly adjacent to winning symbols or underneath the cash symbols get destroyed. Random blockers can reveal a cash symbol, a bomb, or a Scatter.
Exploding Bomb
Once all cascades have been processed, Exploding Bombs clear symbols in a cross pattern originating from them and reaching the edges of the grid.
Cash Prizes
Bronze, silver, and gold bottle caps represent cash prizes displayed as a multiplier of the active bet. These symbols always destroy any blockers located underneath them and drop down to the lowest available position. If they reach the bottom row of the grid, their values are instantly added to the total win of the ongoing round.
Meltdown Mode
When you destroy all blockers during a single game round, the Meltdown Mode is triggered. All symbols except Cash Prizes are removed, and a fresh redrop occurs.
Regular, Super, and Ultra Free Spins
Gathering 3 or more Scatters at the end of a game round triggers 6 Free Spins. If one of the triggering symbols is a Super or Ultra Scatter, an enhanced mode will be awarded with 8 or 12 Free Spins, respectively. Throughout the game, all scored Cash Prizes charge the meter outside the grid. Every 4 Cash Prizes collected increase the level and all Cash Prizes' values. Super Free Spins start on Level 2, while Ultra Free Spins start on Level 3. Above Level 4, Cash Prizes cannot be increased anymore, offering up to 20x for bronze, 100x for silver, and 2,500x for gold caps. Before Free Spins, you also have the option to gamble your current round for a higher starting level.
Feature Buy (Super Charge)
If you'd like to speed up your journey through the post-apocalyptic wasteland, you can use a rich selection of Feature Buy options.
2x = Enhanced Spin with a higher chance of triggering Free Spins and Meltdown Mode.
10x = Bonus Reels, played with only bonus symbols and a higher chance of triggering the Bonus or Super Bonus.
15x = Golden Spins, where Cash Prizes are always gold.
30x = instant trigger of the Meltdown Mode.
50x = Regular Bonus.
100x = Super Bonus.
175x = instant trigger of the Meltdown Mode with only gold Cash Prizes.
200x = Ultra Bonus.
400x = Golden Free Spins, with only gold Cash Prizes available.
750x = Golden Super Free Spins, with only gold Cash Prizes available.
1,500x = Golden Ultra Free Spins, with only gold Cash Prizes available.
Final Thoughts on Nuclear Tumble
When dealing with a post-apocalyptic scenario, be it in a book, movie, or an online slot, we rarely get to experience such an upbeat scenario as the one in the base game of Nuclear Tumble. There's usually much more violence and despair, like in Aftermath by NetEnt, for example. Here, despite the world lying in ruins, nature seems to thrive with the help of radiation, sprouting mutated plants that bear gigantic fruit. And even though the game doesn't dive too deep into the plot, it's nice to imagine that a catastrophic event like that can yield some positivity. Most of the time, the game maintains a cheerful vibe through its vibrant design and a soundtrack sipping through a crackling radio, very much like the one in Nolimit City's xWays Hoarder.
For most players familiar with Relax Gaming's roadmap, seeing a slot from the 'Tumble' series probably creates specific expectations in their minds. A large grid with ways evaluation and blockers is pretty much standard in all those instalments, and it continues to be so in Nuclear Tumble. This time, the tile-crushing action is complemented by instant cash prizes paid whenever they reach the bottom of the grid (think Bill & Coin 2: Mummy Mischief). Here, they play a bit more central role, though, as all the game's features and bonuses revolve around collecting these bottle caps. Having them crush any obstructions underneath to make the traversal toward the bottom row faster is a particularly effective mechanism that oftentimes builds loads of anticipation both in the base game and bonus rounds. It becomes so much more impactful during Free Spins, where each collected prize contributes to the progressive level increase, resulting in higher value ranges for each bottle cap type. Altogether, there should be enough here to keep the fans of the series intrigued and new players attracted with the ever-popular cash collections.
Nuclear Tumble seamlessly fuses cash collections with the familiar Tumble mechanics, wrapping everything in a casual, post-apocalyptic theme.
