Game 4 of 9 · Pragmatic Play · 2023
The Dog House Multihold Review
Free spins on up to four grids at once, 9,000x max
Our score: 8.0/10
Quick verdict: Multihold keeps the original's base game but rebuilds the bonus around grids. Free spins start on one grid, and every three scatters you collect unlock another, up to four, each one inheriting the sticky wilds from the last. It's the most inventive bonus in the series and great fun to watch. The price is the series' lowest RTP, 96.06%.
- RTP
- 96.06%96.08% with the buy
- Volatility
- MediumThe game's own rating
- Max win
- 9,000xRound ends at the cap
- Bonus buy
- 100xYour total bet
The game
What is The Dog House Multihold?
The Dog House Multihold arrived in . It's back in the original back yard, with the same four dogs, the same 5×3 grid with 20 paylines and the same dog house wild with 2x or 3x on reels 2, 3 and 4.
The name comes from the bonus. "Multi" is for the grids: free spins can spread across up to four 5×3 grids at once. "Hold" is for the wilds: any wild that lands on the newest grid is held in place until the round ends, and it's copied onto every grid you unlock after it.
The barrels are gone. Every round starts with 7 free spins, and you earn more by unlocking grids. A 100x bonus buy is available if you'd rather skip the wait.
Paytable
Symbols and paytable
| Symbols | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 25x | 5x | 2x |
 | 17.5x | 3.75x | 1.5x |
 | 12.5x | 2.5x | 1x |
 | 7.5x | 1.5x | 0.75x |
| Collar | 5x | 1x | 0.6x |
| Bone | 3.75x | 0.75x | 0.4x |
| A, K | 2.5x | 0.5x | 0.25x |
| Q, J, 10 | 1.25x | 0.25x | 0.1x |
Look closely and you'll see the top symbols pay less than in the original: five Rottweilers pay 25x here against 37.5x there. That money has moved into the bonus, where several grids can pay at once. Three Bonus paws on reels 1, 3 and 5 pay 2x the bet, not the original's 5x.
Bonus round
Free spins on up to four grids
Three Bonus paws on reels 1, 3 and 5 start the round with 7 free spins on the top-left grid. The other three grids are locked, shown as wooden boards with crossed bones. Here's how the rest works, straight from the rules:
- Collect scatters. Scatters only appear on the newest unlocked grid. Above the next locked grid there are three paw slots; fill all three and that grid opens.
- Unlock in order. Top left, then top right, then bottom left, then bottom right.
- Extra spins. Each unlock adds 1, 2 or 3 free spins, picked at random by a small barrel.
- Sticky wilds. Any wild that lands on the newest grid stays there to the end of the round.
- Copied wilds. A newly opened grid starts with every sticky wild from the grid before it already in place.
- Every grid pays. Each grid has its own 20 lines, and wins on all grids are paid separately.
If two grids unlock on the same spin, you get the extra spins twice and the wilds are copied to both. The longer the round runs, the more grids you have spinning, each with the same wilds stacked up: that's how Multihold reaches its 9,000x cap.
Tested
Our demo round: three grids
We bought the free spins for 100x ($200 in demo credits at a $2.00 bet) to see the grids in action.
- Three Bonus paws paid $4.00 (2x), and the round began with 7 spins on one grid.
- A 2x wild stuck on grid 1. Scatters trickled into the slots above grid 2.
- The third scatter opened grid 2, and a barrel added 2 free spins. Grid 2 started with grid 1's 2x wild already in place, and a 3x landed next to it.
- Both grids now paid on every spin, and the best spin of the round paid $34.45.
- Near the end, a third set of scatters opened grid 3 and added 1 more spin, with the wilds from grid 2 copied in.
- The round ended at $86.50 from 11 free spins: 43.25x the bet.
43x back on a 100x buy is a loss, but the round was never dull: each unlock changed the game. With a fourth grid and a few more 3x wilds, it's easy to see how this bonus can run into four figures.
The maths
RTP, volatility and max win
RTP: 96.06%
The demo's rules list 96.06% for normal play and 96.08% when you buy the bonus. That's about half a percent below the rest of the series. It isn't a dramatic difference over a session, but over thousands of spins it means Multihold keeps a little more of your money than its siblings. The real-money casino we checked shows the same 96.06%.
Volatility: medium
Rated medium. The base game behaves like the original's; the bonus is where the swings are, since a round that never unlocks a second grid pays little.
Max win: 9,000x
The cap is 9,000x your bet. If a round reaches it, the round ends immediately and the remaining spins are lost.
Family resemblance
Multihold vs the original
What changed from The Dog House
- Free spins can run on up to four grids at once.
- A fixed 7 spins to start, plus 1–3 per unlocked grid, instead of 9–27 from barrels.
- Sticky wilds are copied from grid to grid.
- Lower pays on the dogs, and 2x instead of 5x for the Bonus symbols.
- A 100x bonus buy.
- A higher cap, 9,000x, but a lower RTP, 96.06%.
If you love the original's base game but find its bonus a bit one-note, Multihold is the most interesting next step. For a bonus that builds in a different way, look at Dog or Alive, where wild multipliers double.
Mobile
Multihold on your phone
On a phone, the base game uses the familiar portrait layout, with the Buy free spins sign next to the spin button and the same bottom bar as every Pragmatic game.
Free spins are a different story: the bonus fits four 5×3 grids on one screen, arranged two by two on desktop. That's a lot of symbols for a phone, so this is the one Dog House game we'd rather play on a tablet or computer, where every grid is easy to follow.
Our take
Pros and cons
What we like
- The most original bonus in the series
- Sticky wilds copied to every new grid
- Every unlock adds spins and a new grid of wins
- A 100x buy, and a 9,000x cap
What we don't
- The lowest RTP in the series, 96.06%
- Only 7 spins to start
- Lower line pays than the original
- Four grids are cramped on a phone
Bottom line
Our verdict: is Multihold worth playing?
Our score: 8.0/10
Yes, for the bonus alone. Watching a second, third and fourth grid open, each carrying the wilds you've already won, is the most satisfying moment in any Dog House game. It's a genuinely new idea, and it works.
The lower RTP keeps it out of our top three: 96.06% against roughly 96.5% for its siblings. If the grids appeal to you, play it and enjoy it, but set your budget with that in mind.
- Gameplay
8 out of 10 8- Features
9 out of 10 9- RTP and maths
6 out of 10 6- Win potential
8 out of 10 8- Looks and sound
9 out of 10 9
Quick answers
Multihold FAQ
How do you unlock more grids?
Land 3 scatters on the newest grid during free spins. Grids open in order: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right.
How many free spins do you get?
7 to start, plus 1, 2 or 3 for every grid you unlock. We finished with 11 after opening two extra grids.
Why is the RTP lower than other Dog House games?
Pragmatic doesn't say. The rules list 96.06%, or 96.08% with the buy, against about 96.5% for most of the series.