Mental slot
Mental is a Nolimit City horror slot from August 2021, set in a psychiatric hospital. Its five reels form a 3-2-3-2-3 shape, and Fire Frames split symbols in two to add ways on each spin. Enhancer Cells and the xWays, xSplit and xNudge symbols reshape the grid further, while scorpion and spider scatters open three tiers of free spins, the top one called Mental Freespins.
Editorial note: this guide explains how Mental works. Rules, features and payout figures are set by the studio and can differ between operators and game versions, so check the game’s information panel before you play. Slots are games of chance, and nothing here predicts results. Availability at Fortune Games can change.
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Mental: key facts
| Studio | Nolimit City |
|---|---|
| Released | August 2021 |
| Reels | 5 reels in a 3-2-3-2-3 shape; Fire Frames, xWays and xSplit add ways during a spin |
| Fire Frames | Base game: 1 to 13 random positions a spin, each framed symbol splitting in two. Free spins: up to 5 positions a spin, and the frames are sticky |
| Enhancer Cells | At the bottom of reels 2 and 4: 4 Fire Frames open the cell on reel 2, and 6 open the cell on reel 4 |
| What a cell reveals | One of: a character symbol, a multiplier symbol, xWays, xSplit, a wild or an xNudge wild |
| Multiplier symbols | Two landing together can put a random multiplier of 5x to 9,999x on a character symbol |
| Mental Transform | A spider on reel 2 or 4 in the base game turns into a character symbol, a multiplier symbol, a wild, xSplit or xWays |
| Free spins | 3 scorpions: 8 spins. 3 scorpions and 1 spider: 9 spins. 3 scorpions and 2 spiders: 10 spins of Mental Freespins |
| Extra free spins | One for each scatter that lands inside a Fire Frame during the round |
| Autoplay and turbo | Not available at sites licensed in Great Britain; UK rules require at least 2.5 seconds between the start of one game cycle and the next |
| Stakes | From 20p a spin in the studio’s range. UK rules cap online slot stakes at £5 a spin, or £2 if you are 18 to 24 |
| RTP | Shown in the game’s information panel |
All values (Bet Levels, Maximum Wins etc.) mentioned in relation to this slot game are subject to change at any time.
How Mental plays
The reels alternate between three rows and two. On every base-game spin, between one and 13 random positions get a Fire Frame, and a framed symbol splits into two, adding ways for that spin. Five character symbols pay the most. Three special symbols change the grid: xWays reveals a stack of one matching symbol and makes its reel taller, xSplit splits the symbols to its left in two and then turns into wilds, and an xNudge wild nudges until it fills its reel, adding 1 to its own multiplier for every step it moves.
Two multiplier symbols landing on the same spin can place a random multiplier on one of the character symbols, with the range shown in the key facts table.
Fire Frames and the Enhancer Cells
Fire Frames also unlock the Enhancer Cells, which sit at the bottom of reels 2 and 4. Four frames on one spin open the cell on reel 2, and six open the cell on reel 4. Each open cell reveals one extra symbol: a character symbol, a multiplier symbol, xWays, xSplit, a wild or an xNudge wild. In the free spins the frames work differently, as up to five positions get one on each spin and every frame stays where it landed.
Mental Transform
The spider is a scatter with a second role. When one lands on reel 2 or 4 in the base game, Mental Transform changes it into a character symbol, a multiplier symbol, a wild, xSplit or xWays. In the free spins the spider matters more: it is sticky in the second tier and runs Mental Transform on every spin there, and in Mental Freespins both spiders stay in place for the whole round.
The three free spins tiers
Three scorpion scatters start the first tier, 8 free spins with sticky Fire Frames. A spider landing with the three scorpions starts the round a tier higher, with 9 spins, and a multiplier from a multiplier symbol carries over to a character symbol. Three scorpions with two spiders open Mental Freespins: 10 spins, in which that multiplier never goes down. In any tier, a scatter that lands inside a Fire Frame adds one spin: for example, a first-tier round in which two scorpions land in frames lasts 10 spins rather than 8.
Mental compared with San Quentin xWays and Tombstone RIP
Mental shares its main mechanics with two other Nolimit City games that have guides here. San Quentin xWays, released in January 2021, also has Enhancer Cells, but they sit above and below every one of its five reels and open when one or two bonus symbols land, not when Fire Frames do. Tombstone RIP, from January 2022, uses the same xNudge and xSplit wilds on a 2-3-3-3-1 layout, with its xNudge wilds on the three middle reels and its xSplit wilds on reel 5 only.
| Game | Released | Reel layout | Signature mechanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Quentin xWays | January 2021 | 5 reels, 3 rows | Enhancer Cells above and below every reel, opened by 1 or 2 bonus symbols |
| Mental | August 2021 | 5 reels, 3-2-3-2-3 | Fire Frames that split symbols; Enhancer Cells on reels 2 and 4, opened by 4 or 6 Fire Frames |
| Tombstone RIP | January 2022 | 5 reels, 2-3-3-3-1 | xNudge wilds on the middle reels and xSplit wilds on reel 5 |
Mental at Fortune Games
Mental is played here without autoplay, which sites licensed in Great Britain cannot offer, so every spin, with its Fire Frames and any Enhancer Cells they open, is one you start yourself. The studio’s range starts at 20p a spin, and the UK caps in the key facts table decide the most Mental can be played for. Fortune Games has an app on the App Store and Google Play.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Mental free spins round move up a tier?
Yes. Spiders that land while a round is running upgrade it: one spider lifts the first tier into the second, and two lift it into Mental Freespins. Nolimit City’s own rules list the first tier as upgradable straight to Mental Freespins, and the second tier as upgradable to it too.
Does a multiplier symbol multiply the whole win in Mental?
No. The random multiplier is placed on one character symbol, not on the total for the spin, and it pays out only if that character symbol becomes part of a winning combination. It needs two multiplier symbols to land on the same spin, and the Enhancer Cells and Mental Transform can each supply one.
Is Mental II a sequel to Mental?
Yes. Nolimit City released Mental II on 25 March 2025 as the follow-up to this game, and it opens on the same 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement of reels. It is the first tile after Mental above, and both games are in our lobby; this guide covers the 2021 original, with its Fire Frames, Enhancer Cells and three tiers of free spins.
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Checked on 1 November 2026 against Nolimit City’s game pages for Mental, San Quentin xWays and Tombstone RIP, its Mental and Mental II launch announcements, the OLBG, Slotsjudge and VegasSlotsOnline game records, the SlotCatalog Tombstone RIP record, and the Gambling Commission’s stake-limit guidance and remote technical standards. How we research and check our guides: our editorial policy.