The Dog House slot

By Pragmatic Play. A cartoon back garden with a grinning Rottweiler, a pug and a beagle peering out of a red-trimmed kennel, with bones and collars as the small symbols.

RTP: 96.51%
Volatility: High
Max win: 6,750x
Reels: 5x3, 20 paylines
Free spins: 9 to 27 free spins from 3 scatters
Released: 5 March 2019

The Dog House is one of Pragmatic Play's oldest hits, out in March 2019 and still in every top list. It is a plain 5x3 reel set with 20 fixed paylines that pay left to right. The dogs are the premiums, the Rottweiler at the top with 37.5x the stake for five in a line, then the poodle, the pug and the beagle, with bones, collars and card suits filling the low end. There is no tumble and nothing pays anywhere; this is a line slot.

The feature that matters is the kennel wild. It only lands on reels 2, 3 and 4 and every wild carries a 2x or 3x multiplier. When two or three wilds sit in the same line win, their values combine, so a line through three wilds can be worth far more than the paytable number. In the base game they land and vanish like any other symbol, which keeps most base-game spins small.

Three paw-print scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 open a pick: a 3x3 grid of bones, and the one you choose reveals between 9 and 27 free spins. During the round every wild that lands on reels 2, 3 or 4 is sticky, meaning it stays put with its multiplier until the spins run out. The dog symbols also land in full stacks in this round. A grid that collects six or seven sticky wilds early pays on almost every spin after that, and that is where the 6,750x cap sits.

Scorebet carries the Pragmatic Play catalogue, and The Dog House runs at the standard 96.51% RTP where the operator uses that setting. Reviews rate the volatility as high, which here means the base game grinds while you wait for the three paws, and the round itself can pay anywhere from a few times the stake to several hundred depending on how early the wilds arrive. There is no ante bet to speak of in this original version.

What the features do

Multiplier wilds: the kennel wild lands on reels 2, 3 and 4 only and carries a 2x or 3x value, and when more than one wild is in a line win the values combine
Sticky wilds: in the free spins every wild that lands stays in place with its multiplier until the round ends, so the grid fills up as the spins go on
Free spins pick: 3 paw-print scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 open a 3x3 grid of bones, and your pick sets the number of spins, from 9 up to 27
Stacked dogs: the four dog symbols land fully stacked during the free spins, which is how a wall of sticky wilds turns into a line hit on many paylines at once
20 fixed paylines paying left to right, with the Rottweiler the top symbol at 37.5x the stake for five on a line

Before you spin

The pick for 9 to 27 spins is luck, not skill. There is nothing to read in the bones, so do not build a system around which square you choose.
Sticky wilds on reels 2, 3 and 4 only pay with matching symbols on reel 1. Watch reel 1 in the round, because that is what unlocks the lines you have built.
A round that lands its first wild on spin 20 of 27 will pay far less than one that lands it on spin 2. Budget for the weak rounds, they are common.
At R2 a spin on 20 fixed lines, the stake is the stake. There is no way to play fewer lines, so set the coin size, not the line count.

The Dog House questions

What is the RTP of The Dog House?

The standard version returns 96.51% over the long run. A 95.51% version is also offered to operators. The number is a long-term average and says nothing about a single session.

What is the max win on The Dog House?

6,750x the stake, which is R13,500 at R2 a spin. It needs a free spins round where the grid fills with sticky 3x wilds early and the top dogs land stacked across the other reels.

How do the sticky wilds work?

In the free spins, any kennel wild that lands on reels 2, 3 or 4 stays on the grid with its 2x or 3x multiplier until the round ends. Multipliers on wilds in the same line win combine, so a line through three sticky wilds pays many times the normal amount.

How many free spins does The Dog House give?

Three paw-print scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 trigger a pick on a 3x3 grid of bones. The square you choose reveals between 9 and 27 free spins. The number is random.

Can I play The Dog House in South Africa?

Yes. Scorebet is licensed by the Northern Cape Gambling Board and carries the Pragmatic Play slots catalogue, The Dog House included. You need to be 18 or older and registered to play.