Extra Chilli More Chilli Q&A (Big Time Gaming)
With Big Time Gaming (BTG) recently announcing the return of a cult classic in Extra Chilli More Chilli, we sat down with pioneering software provider’s CEO, Nik Robinson, to learn more about how the new Mexican-themed slot is adding an extra dash of spice to an established fan favourite.
1) Extra Chilli More Chilli is effectively the return of a BTG cult classic. With the original game already being a pretty firm fan favourite, how does the new slot improve on its predecessor?
We were careful not to touch the bits people fell for in 2018 – the reactions, and that multiplier climbing all the way through the Free Spins. The original had a really strong, focused core, and that gave us plenty of room to build around it without losing what made Extra Chilli so distinctive. The four Chilli Bonuses are the big addition. They can appear in the base game or run right through the Free Spins, and each one meaningfully changes how the game plays rather than simply adding something on top. We’ve also raised the ceiling: where the original capped out at 20,000x, this one goes all the way up to 30,000x.
2) The addition of Chilli Bonuses seem like they’ll have a big impact in both the base game and the Free Spins. Can you tell us more about the four different incentives that are on offer?
Each of the four does something quite different. Duplicate Wild takes a Firework Wild and adds Purple Chilli Wilds in a random direction. Increased Ways forces at least four symbols onto every reel, including the Extra Reel underneath, so you’re pushing towards the full 117,649 MegawaysTM. Double Multiplier starts your multiplier at x2 and bumps it up by two on every reaction, rather than one. And Chilli Wild turns all the Green Chillies on the middle reels into Green Chilli Wilds. Each one can make a real difference on its own, but things get especially interesting in Free Spins, where multiple Chilli Bonuses can be active together and their effects start to combine.
3) Extra Chilli More Chilli again features both Power Play and Buy Bonus options. Does having these help broaden the game’s appeal to players with differing bankrolls and risk appetites?
They’re there to let people play on their own terms. Buying into Free Spins for 100x is the direct route – if you don’t want to wait for the Scatters, you can go straight into the Free Spins. Power Play offers something different: you pay five times your stake, it increases
the frequency of Chilli Bonus Respins in the base game, giving you a better chance of experiencing the new Chilli Bonus system while still playing through the game naturally. Not everyone wants the same thing from a session, and we’ve been building buy-in options into these game s since the original Extra Chilli helped popularise the mechanic back in 2018, so giving players a couple of ways in felt natural.
4) The feature includes a gamble mechanic where players can unlock up to four of the Chilli Bonuses. How does this optional risk/reward aspect help make the slot even more exciting?
The Gamble Wheel has been part of Extra Chilli since the very first game, so bringing it back wasn’t really up for debate – it’s one of the things that made the original such a rollercoaster. The twist this time is what you’re gambling for. Rather than just extra spins, you’re pushing your luck to add more Chilli Bonuses, up to all four, and anything you win stays active throughout the Free Spins. There’s still real risk involved, as a failed gamble can cost you the Free Spins you’ve already banked, so every turn of the wheel becomes a genuine decision about how far you’re willing to push it. The final wheel adds one last twist, with a safety net that guarantees 10 Free Spins and one Chilli Bonus even if the gamble doesn’t come off.
5) From chain reactions to growing multipliers and persistent bonuses, Free Spins get more rewarding the longer they last. Was this a deliberate design choice to keep players engaged?
That sense of progression is the whole point of the Free Spins. The multiplier starts at x1 and climbs with every reaction, with no cap on how high it can go, so there’s a real sense of momentum as the feature develops. Add the persistent Chilli Bonuses on top – Double Multiplier, for example, means it starts at x2 and increases by two with every reaction – and that potential can build even faster. You can also extend the feature by landing more Scatters on the Extra Reel, giving you more opportunities to keep that momentum going. So yes, it was absolutely deliberate. We wanted Free Spins to have that feeling of building towards something, where the longer they continue, the more exciting the possibilities become.
6) By adding new bonuses to a familiar theme, is Extra Chilli More Chilli mainly intended to appeal to fans of the original, attract new audiences, or find a sweet spot between the two?
A bit of both, and I’m not sure you can really design it any other way. Anyone who loved the original will recognise it instantly – the Mexican market, the reactions and the Gamble Wheel are all present and correct. But the four Chilli Bonuses give More Chilli an identity of its own and introduce a new layer to the experience that doesn’t rely on any familiarity with the 2018 game. You want to celebrate that nostalgia without relying on it, while still keeping enough of what people loved to make it unmistakably Extra Chilli. The job was making both audiences feel like it was built for them.
