Wicked Grin by Hacksaw Gaming: Coin Multipliers, Stash N Stack and Coin Craze Explained
Wicked Grin is a video slot developed by Hacksaw Gaming and released on 8 October 2026. Its black-and-white cartoon setting features Boney Bill, a mischievous skeleton whose sinister smile fits the game’s unusual Coin mechanics. Instead of relying solely on matching symbols, Wicked Grin introduces expanding reels, Coins worth up to 500x and Multipliers reaching x20. Two free spins features, Stash N Stack and Coin Craze, handle these values differently: one increases the rewards available on individual reels, while the other collects Coins throughout the bonus round. Understanding how these systems interact is particularly important because the position of a Multiplier can be just as significant as its numerical value.
How Wicked Grin Works: Game Rules and Coin Multipliers
Wicked Grin uses a 5×5 playing grid with an All-Scatter winning system. Unlike traditional slots, where matching symbols must appear along specific paylines, this arrangement awards wins when enough identical symbols land anywhere on the screen. At least six matching regular symbols are required to form a winning combination. Successful combinations are removed, allowing replacement symbols to fall into the empty spaces. This cascading process can produce additional wins during the same paid spin. The ordinary symbols include playing-card suits, fruit, bells and the familiar blue seven, but the more distinctive payouts come from the special symbols that transform entire reels into Coins and Multipliers.
The most important symbol is Wicked Grin, which activates when it appears on the bottom row of the grid. Once activated, it expands across its reel, converting the positions into Coin or Multiplier symbols. This creates a separate opportunity for rewards beyond ordinary matching combinations. A Super Wicked Grin symbol introduces an additional effect: when it expands, Wicked Grin symbols on neighbouring reels can also expand from their existing positions. A single activation may therefore affect several columns rather than just one. The resulting Coin arrangement matters considerably because not every Coin receives the same multiplier treatment, and neighbouring reels can influence one another.
Hacksaw Gaming assigns Wicked Grin a volatility rating of 3 out of 5 and a maximum possible win of 10,000 times the total stake. The developer publishes four return-to-player configurations: 96.27%, 94.32%, 92.28% and 86.28%. These figures represent different mathematical versions of the game, rather than guaranteed returns from an individual session. For example, a theoretical RTP of 96.27% does not mean a player staking £100 will receive £96.27 back. Actual results can vary substantially, especially over short periods. The RTP selected by an operator should be checked in the game’s information menu, as the highest published setting is not necessarily the one available at every casino.
Coin Values, Multiplier Positions and Expanding Reels
Coin symbols represent values expressed as multiples of the original stake. They range from smaller Bronze Coins to more valuable Diamond Coins, with the latter capable of reaching 500x. A Diamond Coin showing 500x would therefore represent £500 at a £1 stake before any additional applicable modifiers. However, the largest Coins are not guaranteed to appear during a Wicked Grin expansion. The number and value of Coins depend on the outcome of the spin. The purpose of the expanding symbol is to convert a reel into a special arrangement, not to promise a particular payout. Even a reel filled with Coins can produce a relatively modest result when the revealed values are low.
Multipliers can reach x20 and operate according to their positions. A revealed Multiplier applies to Coins located above it on the same reel and to qualifying Coins in higher rows on immediately adjacent reels. It does not automatically multiply every Coin visible on the screen. Consider a x5 Multiplier appearing below a 10x Coin on its own reel and a 6x Coin on the neighbouring reel. If both Coins are within the Multiplier’s affected area, their values can be increased to 50x and 30x respectively. A similar Multiplier placed near the top of the grid may influence fewer Coins simply because fewer positions remain above it. This positional rule is one of the defining characteristics of Wicked Grin.
Multiple expanding reels can produce more complicated outcomes. When a Super Wicked Grin activates neighbouring symbols, additional Coins and Multipliers may appear across several columns, creating opportunities for overlapping effects. The final calculation depends on which Coins qualify for each Multiplier and how the game resolves the resulting combinations. Players should therefore distinguish between the value displayed on a Coin and its eventual contribution to a payout. A relatively small Coin affected by several qualifying effects can become more valuable, while a high-value Coin outside the relevant positions may receive no additional boost. These same principles remain important in both free spins features, although each bonus introduces a different way of handling accumulated value.
Stash N Stack: Growing Reel Multipliers During Free Spins
Stash N Stack is the first of Wicked Grin’s two bonus games. It activates when at least one regular FS symbol expands from the bottom row. Rather than awarding a fixed number of free spins, the game calculates the initial total from the values revealed across the expanded FS positions. Each position contributes a numerical amount, and the combined result determines the length of the bonus. The initial award ranges from 5 to 30 free spins, so two activations of the same feature can provide substantially different playing time. This variation matters because Stash N Stack relies on building reel-specific multipliers across successive spins, making the number of available opportunities an important part of its structure.
During Stash N Stack, a separate Stash appears above each of the five reels. Every Stash begins with a multiplier of x1 and operates independently of the others. Whenever a Wicked Grin symbol expands, the Coin values created on the corresponding reel are multiplied by that reel’s current Stash value. The Stash then increases by one for subsequent free spins. For example, a reel beginning at x1 can progress to x2, x3 and higher values after repeated qualifying expansions. However, this progression is attached to the particular reel, not shared across the entire grid. A reel with a well-developed Stash can therefore become considerably more valuable than another that has experienced few activations.
Stash N Stack retains the underlying Wicked Grin mechanics, including Coin generation and positional Multipliers. This means a Coin can benefit from the normal effects of the expanding symbols while the Stash provides an additional reel-specific boost according to the feature rules. The important distinction is that the Stash multiplier develops over time, whereas ordinary revealed Multipliers are associated with specific symbol positions. Additional qualifying FS symbols can extend the feature by awarding between 5 and 15 extra spins per symbol, subject to a maximum of 30 additional spins. Retriggers create more opportunities for the existing reel multipliers to become useful, but neither an extension nor a high Stash value guarantees a substantial payout.
How Stash Multipliers Build and Influence Coin Rewards
The easiest way to understand Stash N Stack is to follow a single reel through several qualifying activations. Imagine that the third reel begins with its Stash at x1. A Wicked Grin expansion creates Coins with a combined eligible value of 12x, which the initial Stash multiplies by one. The Stash then increases to x2. If another expansion on the same reel produces eligible Coins worth 12x, the Stash would apply x2, giving 24x before considering any other effects. After this activation, the multiplier rises again. This simplified illustration shows why repeated expansions on one reel can become increasingly valuable. It does not describe a predetermined sequence or suggest that identical Coin values will appear on successive spins.
The location of each activation is especially important. Suppose the first reel has developed a x6 Stash while the remaining reels have multipliers between x1 and x3. A Coin expansion on the first reel could receive a noticeably larger Stash boost than a similar expansion elsewhere. However, the higher multiplier offers no independent reward without the qualifying Coin event. The game can display an impressive Stash value that contributes little to the final result if the relevant reel does not produce useful Coins during the remaining spins. Likewise, a lower Stash may still contribute a significant amount when a valuable Diamond Coin appears. The outcome depends on both the accumulated multiplier and the Coin values to which it applies.
Stash N Stack also differs from a conventional free spins feature in which one global multiplier increases after every win. Here, each reel has its own progression, and a Wicked Grin expansion is the event that advances the relevant Stash. The feature does not simply raise every multiplier at the end of each free spin. This distinction helps explain why bonuses of equal length can behave very differently. One may contain frequent expansions spread across several reels, while another concentrates them in just one or two columns. Because Coin payouts are resolved during the feature, players can see the effect of growing Stash values as qualifying events occur. The result is a bonus primarily concerned with increasing the value of future Coin events rather than saving all rewards for one final calculation.
Coin Craze: Coin Collectors and the Differences Between Both Bonuses
Coin Craze is activated through an expanding Super FS symbol rather than a regular FS symbol. Its initial free spins award follows the same general calculation as Stash N Stack, providing between 5 and 30 spins based on the values shown by the expanded symbol. The crucial difference appears once the bonus begins. Instead of placing a growing Stash multiplier above each reel, Coin Craze introduces five Coin Collectors. These Collectors retain qualifying Coin values generated during Wicked Grin expansions and preserve them until the bonus finishes. The feature therefore concentrates on accumulation, allowing the collected amounts to develop throughout the round rather than treating every expansion as a separate completed Coin payout.
Each Coin Collector belongs to an individual reel and records the values gathered from that reel’s qualifying expansions. The normal Coin and Multiplier mechanics remain relevant, but Multipliers in Coin Craze can also affect values already stored in eligible Collectors. This creates a different relationship between early and late events. A Coin collected near the beginning of the round can remain part of the accumulated total while subsequent qualifying Multiplier effects alter the stored amount. As a result, a later Multiplier may have an impact beyond the Coins revealed on the current spin. Once the bonus ends, the Collector values are combined and converted into the final award according to the total stake. The displayed accumulated amount is therefore central to understanding the feature’s progress.
Coin Craze can also award additional free spins when qualifying Super FS symbols expand during the feature. As with Stash N Stack, the extension can add between 5 and 15 spins per qualifying symbol, with a maximum of 30 extra spins. More spins provide further opportunities to collect Coins and apply Multipliers, but the extra time does not guarantee that the stored values will grow dramatically. The game still uses randomly determined outcomes, and some spins may contribute relatively little. The Collector totals are useful indicators of what has already been accumulated, not of what will happen next. This distinction becomes particularly important when a round develops a large stored value early, since the remaining spins do not become more favourable simply because the current total is high.
Stash N Stack vs Coin Craze: Payout Timing, Multipliers and Bonus Value
The principal difference between Stash N Stack and Coin Craze is how the two features develop and retain Coin value. Stash N Stack uses reel-specific multipliers that increase after qualifying Wicked Grin expansions. A higher Stash makes subsequent eligible Coin values on that reel more rewarding, provided additional expansions occur. Coin Craze does not use this same growing Stash system. Instead, it records Coins in individual Collectors, allowing eligible Multiplier effects to influence accumulated amounts. In practical terms, Stash N Stack focuses on improving the value of later Coin events, while Coin Craze preserves earlier Coin values and can increase their contribution through subsequent qualifying Multipliers. Both features retain the importance of symbol positions, Coin values and the number of free spins awarded.
A simple comparison illustrates the difference. Suppose a reel in Stash N Stack has reached a x4 Stash and then reveals Coins with an eligible combined value of 20x. The Stash would boost that amount to 80x before any other applicable adjustments. In Coin Craze, imagine a Collector already contains 80x from previous qualifying events. If a subsequent x3 Multiplier applies to that stored value, the Collector could increase to 240x under the feature’s rules. These are separate hypothetical calculations, not equivalent game events or typical bonus outcomes. Stash N Stack requires a qualifying Coin expansion to take advantage of its developed reel multiplier. Coin Craze can make an existing collected amount more valuable when an appropriate Multiplier appears, which gives previously accumulated Coins an ongoing role in the bonus.
Wicked Grin also offers optional FeatureSpins and bonus purchases in markets where these functions are permitted. Published purchase options include BonusHunt FeatureSpins at 3x the stake, Grinny FeatureSpins at 50x, direct Stash N Stack access at 80x and Coin Craze access at 200x. These are costs rather than expected returns: for instance, purchasing Coin Craze at 200x a £1 base stake costs £200, and the resulting feature can still return less than that amount. Availability, RTP configurations and purchase conditions can differ between operators and jurisdictions. Neither feature can reliably be described as the more profitable choice without considering its actual mathematical settings and the uncertainty of individual results. The most useful way to distinguish them is through their mechanics: Stash N Stack rewards repeated expansions on reels with growing multipliers, while Coin Craze builds and potentially enhances stored Coin values before the final payout. Understanding that difference makes Wicked Grin’s bonus results easier to follow without mistaking a large multiplier or accumulated total for a guaranteed win.
