Break Away Slot Review

Provider	Microgaming

Break Away is a five-reel ice hockey slot from Microgaming, released in 2012 and still holding up well against newer titles. With 243 ways to win, Rolling Reels, stacked wilds and a free spins round loaded with multipliers, it packs a lot into a compact package. If ice hockey means nothing to you, the mechanics alone make it worth a spin.

Theme and Design

Microgaming leaned fully into the ice hockey theme here. The reels are framed by the boards of an arena, and the symbols are all drawn from the sport - players in red and white jerseys, a referee, a Zamboni machine, a pair of skates, and the goal keeper. The Break Away logo doubles as the wild, and a flaming puck serves as the scatter. Card suit symbols were left in the dressing room, which gives the whole design a consistent feel.

The sound design matches the atmosphere - crowd noise, the crack of a stick on the puck, and the satisfying crunch of symbols shattering when the Rolling Reels kick in. It is not a quiet game, but the audio works rather than distracts.

How to Play

The game runs on 243 ways to win rather than fixed paylines, so wins are formed by matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right. Bets are set by choosing a coin value and number of coins per line, with the range sitting between £0.50 and £50 per spin. The control panel at the bottom of the screen handles everything, and there is an Expert Mode option for setting up autoplay runs of 10 or 25 spins.

The RTP is 96.29%, which sits comfortably above the industry average and makes it a reasonable choice for longer sessions.

Rolling Reels

Rolling Reels is Microgaming's term for what other developers call cascading or avalanche reels. When a winning combination lands, the contributing symbols shatter and new ones fall down to fill the gaps - giving you another chance at a win from the same spin. This continues for as long as new winning combinations keep forming.

In the base game the Rolling Reels mechanic works on its own, without multipliers. It still adds a useful extra layer of potential to each spin, particularly when the reels are already loaded with stacked wilds on the third, fourth and fifth positions.

Smashing Wild Feature

The Smashing Wild is the game's randomly triggered base game feature. An ice hockey player charges into one of the middle three reels - the second, third or fourth - and turns the entire reel wild for that spin. It can hit any reel independently, though landing on the second reel is the most impactful since the third and fourth already carry stacked wilds as a standard feature.

The trigger is random rather than linked to any specific symbol, so there is no way to predict it - it simply appears from time to time and can turn an ordinary spin into a strong one.

Free Spins

Three or more flaming puck scatter symbols anywhere on the reels trigger the free spins round. Three scatters award 15 free spins, four award 20, and five award 25. The free spins cannot be retriggered once active.

What sets the free spins apart from the base game is the multiplier trail. Rolling Reels are active throughout, and each consecutive win in a cascade increases the multiplier by one step. The multiplier can reach up to 5x during the round, which means a sustained cascade chain during free spins can deliver sizeable returns. The stacked wilds on reels three and four remain in play, giving you a solid base for landing those chains.

Verdict

Break Away does what it sets out to do cleanly. The Rolling Reels mechanic keeps base game spins engaging, the Smashing Wild adds random moments of genuine excitement, and the free spins round - with its escalating multiplier trail - gives you something to aim for. The 96.29% RTP is strong, and the 243 ways structure means wins come in more frequently than on a standard payline game.

It is not a high-variance game that will deliver massive single-spin payouts, but it rewards patience and gives the Rolling Reels time to build. Developed by Microgaming, it reflects the studio's confidence in mechanics-led design - the theme is vivid but the features are what keep players coming back.

Break Away Slot FAQs

What is the RTP of Break Away?

Break Away has an RTP of 96.29%, which is above the industry average for online slots.

How does the Rolling Reels feature work in Break Away?

When a winning combination lands, the winning symbols shatter and new ones fall to replace them. If the new symbols form another winning combination, the process repeats. This continues until no new wins are formed from the same spin.

What triggers the Smashing Wild feature?

The Smashing Wild is randomly triggered during the base game. An ice hockey player crashes into one of the middle three reels (second, third or fourth) and turns the entire reel wild for that spin.

How many free spins can you win in Break Away?

Three scatter symbols award 15 free spins, four scatters award 20, and five scatters award 25 free spins. The free spins round cannot be retriggered.

What is the multiplier during free spins in Break Away?

During free spins, Rolling Reels are active and each consecutive win in a cascade increases the multiplier by one. The multiplier can reach up to 5x during the free spins round.

How many ways to win does Break Away have?

Break Away uses a 243 ways to win structure rather than fixed paylines. Wins are formed by matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right, with bets ranging from £0.50 to £50 per spin.