On this page
- What changed versus The Dog House
- How a spin works
- Symbols and paytable
- Reel-wide wild multipliers
- Free spins and the 3x3 grid
- Bonus buys and the Royal Free Spins
- Royal Hunt or the original
- Practical checks before you play
- The Dog House Royal Hunt free demo
- The Dog House: all editions compared
- Frequently asked questions
What changed versus The Dog House
Royal Hunt keeps the frame of The Dog House and changes the details that matter:
| Feature | The Dog House | Royal Hunt |
|---|---|---|
| Release | May 2019 | 31 March 2025 |
| Grid | 5x3, 20 lines | 5x3, 20 lines |
| RTP | 96.51% | 96.53%, 95.51% when buying |
| Wilds | Each wild its own 2x or 3x | All wilds on one reel share 2x or 3x |
| Free spins count | 9 to 27 from a wooden machine | Sum of a 3x3 reveal grid |
| Buy options | None | 100x and 500x |
| Bet range | 0.20 to 100 | 0.20 to 240 |
| Max win | 6,750x | 8,000x |
If you liked the original but found the lack of a buy option frustrating, this is the edition built for you. Players who want a bigger grid should look at The Dog House Megaways instead.
How a spin works
- Choose a stake between 0.20 and 240. All 20 paylines are always active.
- Wilds can land on the middle three reels. On each spin, every wild on the same reel shares one multiplier, either 2x or 3x.
- Lines pay left to right. If a winning line crosses wilds on more than one reel, their multipliers add.
- Now and then a respin nudges the scatter reels down one position while the other reels spin again, giving a near miss another chance.
- Three scatters trigger free spins.
Symbols and paytable
The table shows five-of-a-kind values as multiples of your total stake:
| Symbol | Five of a kind |
|---|---|
| Royals | 1.25x to 2.5x |
| Bowl of biscuits | Up to 5x |
| Collar | Up to 7x |
| Four aristocratic dogs | 10x to 37.5x |
The top dog matches the rottweiler's 37.5x from the original. Shorter combinations are listed in the in-game paytable in cash values at your stake.
Reel-wide wild multipliers
The wild rule is subtle. A stacked reel of wilds no longer draws a separate value for each wild; the whole reel shares one 2x or 3x multiplier on that spin. Across reels, the values add on a line, so the maximum on one line in the base game is 3 + 3 + 3 = 9x.
Worked example at a 1.00 stake: the top dog on reels 1 and 5, a full wild reel 2 at 3x, wild reel 3 at 2x and wild reel 4 at 3x. That line pays 37.50, the wilds add to 8x, and the result is 300.00. Because reels 2 to 4 are fully wild, several other lines through them pay the same 8x too, as long as they start and end on the right symbols.
Free spins and the 3x3 grid
Before the round starts, a 3x3 grid appears and each of its nine cells reveals 1, 2 or 3 spins. The sum is your number of free spins, so the range is 9 (all ones) to 27 (all threes). For example, four cells of 1, three of 2 and two of 3 give 4 + 6 + 6 = 16 free spins.
During the round, wilds on the middle reels become sticky with a random multiplier. No scatters appear, and the round cannot be retriggered, so the grid total is final. As in the original, a wild that sticks early is worth far more than one that lands near the end.
Picture a 16-spin round. A wild that sticks on reel 3 during spin 2 takes part in the next 14 spins, while one that sticks on spin 15 gets a single chance. The exact multiplier range for sticky wilds in this round is listed in the game rules, so check it there rather than assuming it matches the base game's 2x or 3x. Since there are no scatters in the round, you can stop watching for them and focus on how many middle-reel positions are already covered.
Bonus buys and the Royal Free Spins
Royal Hunt offers two bonus buys:
- Buy Free Spins, 100x. The standard round with the grid and sticky wilds.
- Buy Royal Free Spins, 500x. Wilds carry x10 or x20. This mode exists only as a purchase and cannot be triggered by scatters.
At a 0.50 stake the two buys cost 50.00 and 250.00. Keep in mind that the RTP drops to 95.51% when buying, compared with 96.53% for normal play, so every purchase has a slightly worse long-run return than spinning for the feature.
Why the Royal round matters: two wilds of x10 and x20 on one line add to x30. A 37.50 top-dog line then pays 1,125.00 at a 1.00 stake, a scale the regular round cannot reach with 2x and 3x values.
Royal Hunt or the original
Both games share the grid, the line count and the adding wilds, so the choice comes down to a few concrete points. Royal Hunt has a higher top win (8,000x against 6,750x), a wider bet range up to 240 and two buy options, and its free spins count is built cell by cell instead of by a single machine spin. The original has no buy at all, so its RTP (96.51% in the standard build) is never cut by a purchase, while Royal Hunt's 96.53% applies only when you spin for the feature. If you never buy, the two are close in return; if you like buying, Royal Hunt is the only one of the pair that lets you.
Practical checks before you play
- Use the demo to trigger the grid a few times and see how much the total varies. It is a good lesson in why the spin count alone does not decide the round.
- Open the rules screen to confirm both RTP values of your build and the bet range.
- If you plan to buy, budget in whole purchases: ten 100x buys at 0.20 cost 200.00.
- Set a loss limit before the first spin. No stake pattern changes the odds, and 8,000x is a cap, not a forecast.
The Dog House: all editions compared
| Edition | Release | Max win | RTP | Pays | Bonus buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dog House | 2019 | 6,750x | 96.51% | 20 paylines | — |
| The Dog House Megaways | — | 12,305x | 96.55% | Megaways, up to 117,649 ways | 100x |
| The Dog House Megaways 1000 | — | 25,000x | 96.50% | Megaways, up to 117,649 ways | 100x to 2,500x |
| The Dog House Royal Hunt (you are here) | 2025 | 8,000x | 96.53% | 20 paylines | 100x / 500x |
Where to play The Dog House Royal Hunt for real money
Frequently asked questions
When was The Dog House Royal Hunt released?
Pragmatic Play released The Dog House Royal Hunt on 31 March 2025. It returns to the 5x3, 20-line layout of the 2019 original with new wild and free spins rules.
What is the RTP of The Dog House Royal Hunt?
The RTP is 96.53% in normal play and 95.51% when you use a bonus buy. The rules screen inside the game shows the values for the build you are playing.
How do the wilds work in Royal Hunt?
Wilds land on the middle three reels. On each spin, all wilds on the same reel share one multiplier of 2x or 3x. When a line crosses wilds on several reels, their multipliers are added together.
How is the number of free spins decided?
Three scatters trigger the feature. A 3x3 grid then reveals 1, 2 or 3 spins in each of its nine cells, and the sum is your total, anywhere from 9 to 27 free spins. The round cannot be retriggered.
What are Royal Free Spins?
Royal Free Spins is a bonus mode available only by purchase at 500x your stake. In it, wilds carry x10 or x20 multipliers, far above the 2x or 3x of the regular round.
What is the max win in The Dog House Royal Hunt?
The maximum win is 8,000x your total stake, confirmed on the game's splash screen. Bets range from 0.20 to 240 per spin.
How much does the bonus buy cost?
The regular free spins buy costs 100x your stake and the Royal Free Spins buy costs 500x. Buying lowers the RTP to 95.51%.
