Oil Mania slot review (Nextgen)

The savvy video slot player will immediately recognise the potential to win big with the Oil Mania video slot

This video slot adds another excellent game title to the Nextgen Gaming slots portfolio, not in the least due to the fun nature of the game and unique bonus feature.

Step into the world of the black gold, where enormous amounts of money are made.

With Country blues music in the background, this game will immerse you in the oilfields of Texas. The question is, are you the big oil tycoon (a Saddam Hussein lookalike?) with the cigar in his hand?

Or are you the hard grinding oil worker with oil stains on your overall?

Let’s see if we can drill in the right spot and have the black gold gushing out of the ground.

Oil Mania gameplay and features

Oil Manie is played on a 5 x 3 reel setup, with 25 paylines. When playing with all 25 paylines activated, the minimum bet is $€ 0.25. The maximum bet is $€ 250, again if all lines are in play.

You can also choose to play with fewer paylines. That also leads to a remarkably higher variance.

This game has several fun symbols that fit in with your quest for oil.

You will encounter images of an oil chart, a hardworking oil worker with stained clothing, a suitcase bursting with money and an expensive gold coloured car. These are the high-value symbols of the game.

Spinning 5 of the same high-value symbols on an active payline will net you between 250 to 5,000 coins.

Besides these, you will also find the well-known card symbols on the reels (9, 10, J, Q, K and A). 5 identical cards on an active payline will earn you up to 200 coins.

Payout rate and variance of Oil Mania

The payout rate is at 95.66%, which is about average for older-generation Nextgen Gaming video slots.

Oil Mania’s variance is medium, and that is also pretty indicative for Nextgen.

The Gamble Feature

The gamble feature works as follows: if you choose the right colour card, you multiply your winnings of the last turn by x 2.

If you select the correct suit of the card, you will even quadruple your prize. You are allowed to use the gamble feature for a maximum of five times. However, if you make an incorrect choice, you lose all your prize money.

Oil Mania Upwild Feature bonus game

With the Oil Mania video slot, you can earn free spins during the Upwild Feature.

It is the only bonus feature in the game but is certainly one that will enable you to earn big time. Just one scattered cigar-smoking oil tycoon symbol on reels 2, 3 or 4 is enough to activate the Upwild Feature.

You receive an earth-shattering (not!) 3 free spins. But there is an upside, during these three spins a Wild will stack on top of another Wild. This enhances your chances to create winning combinations within the Upwild Feature.

You will also get respins when a new scatter symbol appears on the reels. New Wilds are added, and the Wild symbols that are already on the screen remain active.

When you spin scatter symbols simultaneously on reels 2, 3 and 4, you end up with three reels with stacked wilds on your hands. This ensures a big win with every respin.

Getting these guaranteed wins is a fantastic feeling: you feel like the oil is gushing up from the ground all around you.

Our verdict on the Oil Mania video slot

Nextgen has created a simple and enjoyable little game with Oil Mania.

During the Upwild Feature bonus game, there is a lot of fun to be had and a whole lot of money to be won. With the right Wild combinations, you can upgrade your self from oil worker to oil tycoon. This will draw the bigger players to this Oil Mania slot.

We are not capping the well on the Oil Mania video slot but give it a modest thumbs up.

3.5 out of 5 stars.