Updated
Lisa Michaels
Join a super-cute group of owls and play for prizes of up to 5,000x your bet in What a Hoot, a 5-reel slot released by Microgaming in 2016. With no bonus features to discover, What a Hoot is best-suited to players who prefer basic slot gameplay without any of the extras that most new releases include.
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What a Hoot was created by Microgaming, and it’s as easy to play as you’d expect from one of the biggest software providers in the industry. The controls are presented in a pretty basic way, so they’re straightforward and convenient to use. Here’s how to start playing What a Hoot:
What a Hoot has a neat and clean layout that fits comfortably on screens of different sizes. Along the bottom of the screen, you’ll find the buttons and data you need to play.
The most important button is ‘spin’: use this to spin the reels and try to land winning combinations. If you want to change your stake from the default value between spins, click on the ‘+’ or ‘-’ buttons to increase or decrease your bet, respectively. On the other hand, tap the ‘bet max’ to boost your stake to the maximum $5.00 instantly.
Press the ‘help’ button to access the information section, which covers the symbols and other essential details.
What a Hoot’s symbols feature four owls, four foods, a set of stones, the logo, a Wild, and a Scatter. Each of the owls has their own look and personality: the red owl is enjoying a drink, the yellow owl is reading a book, the blue owl has a party horn in its beak, and the white owl is wearing a wizard’s hat. They’re cute, cuddly, and look great on the reels.
The food symbols include an acorn, summer fruits, a chestnut, and more. The acorn and stone symbols pay 100x your stake for 5, while the chestnut and red nut award up to 120x each. Land 5 summer fruit symbols to win 150x your bet.
Moving on to the owl symbols, the white owl is worth up to 250x, and the blue owl pays up to 300x. The yellow and red owls award 500x and 600x your bet, respectively. The What a Hoot logo symbol is the highest-paying symbol: land 5 to win 5,000x your stake.
The Scatter symbol pays 2x, 10x, and 50x your bet for 3, 4, and 5 anywhere on the reels, respectively.
Land three or more matching symbols on any of the nine paylines to win a prize shown on the paytable. The Wild symbol (the owls’ tree) substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter, and it can help you finish winning combinations.
Unfortunately, there are no bonus features in What a Hoot. That sets it apart from so many other slots that include at least one bonus round (such as a Free Spins feature or re-spins). The closest thing to bonuses you’ll find is a Wild symbol and Scatter (which pays anywhere on the reels).
The top win you can expect in What a Hoot is 5,000x your bet. You need to land five of the What a Hoot logo symbols on a payline to win that payout. The Wild symbol can stand in for it if there are others on a payline.
One of What a Hoot’s highlights is the high RTP: at 96.94%, it’s well above the 96% average for slots. It should theoretically award $96.94 for each $100.00 you bet on the game, on average.
Crucially, What a Hoot is a low-volatility game. As a result, payouts are generally awarded on a regular basis, more so than in a medium or high-volatility slot. However, they’re likely to be small most of the time. The 5,000x prize is fairly high for a game in this volatility range.
What a Hoot looks like a basic 5x3 slot, and it’s showing its age. The graphics are bright, cartoony, and packed with color, but they’re not as polished as so many newer slots. Fortunately, the owl symbols are full of charm and character, which gives What a Hoot more of a distinctive aesthetic.
The background shows a nighttime forest scene with a dark-blue tint. A pair of owl eyes blinks in a treetop in the top-left corner of the screen, which brings a little more dynamism to the presentation.
What a Hoot’s audio is fairly standard, with a familiar sound effect triggered on each spin. One nice addition is the brief buzzing that plays whenever a Scatter symbol (an open jar containing fireflies) hits.
If you want to play What a Hoot, why not try it for free first? Take a spin on our What a Hoot demo and see how it works before you bet any real money.
It’s always best to find a demo version of any slot and try it before you start playing for real. The main benefit is that you can explore the game for as long as you like without risking your own money. Instead, just play What a Hoot with virtual credits and decide if you like the game enough to bet on it for real.
There are plenty of animal-themed slots at online casinos in Canada. You can play games featuring lions, wolves, cats, rhinos, buffalo, and much more. But if you want to play slots featuring feathered animals in particular, whether that means owls, eagles, or chickens, you can take your pick from a variety of games. How does What a Hoot compare?
What a Hoot is a pun-tastic name for a slot featuring owls, but you might find that it promises more fun and excitement than the game delivers. The basic gameplay is fine: spin the reels and try to land matching symbols. But that’s all there is to it. You can’t trigger any bonuses, not even a single free spin, which may put you off if you’re used to slots with at least one feature.
However, here’s the good news: What a Hoot has a much higher than average RTP — 96.94%. On top of that, the low volatility offers the potential for frequent wins, even if they are mainly on the small side. The owls are cute and give the game plenty of charm too.
Overall, if you’re in the mood for straightforward spins, you could do worse than What a Hoot.
Lisa started off as a croupier at her local casino. However she found her niche in writing and has subsequently used her real-world gambling experiences to help produce and review the many online slots that are released monthly. Lisa also contributes to keeping you up to date with Canadian newsworthy stories.
