Piggy Riches Begins (Red Tiger): The Prequel That Out-Pays The Sequels

The Evolution Group has officially declared 2025 the "Year of the Pig".

In a rare move for a major franchise, we have received two mainline entries in a single calendar year. NetEnt dropped the traditionalist Piggy Riches 3: Hog Heaven in August 2025, and just four months later, yesterday, on December 11, Red Tiger casinos see the release of Piggy Riches Begins​.

Narratively, Begins is a prequel. It takes us back to when Mr. Piggy was a "young, blue-eyed dreamer" with a small 1x1 footprint. However, the math tells a different story. Red Tiger has engineered this "origin story" to be the heaviest hitter in the 15-year-old franchise, capping the win potential at a massive 21,285x.

Building The Volatility

Piggy Riches Begins stands alone in the series as the only title where the volatility profile physically changes as you spin.

In every other Piggy Riches title, the pigs are static billionaires. In Begins, you play through Mr. Piggy’s career. He starts as a 1x1 Wild. As you trigger the Hold and Respin feature, he levels up into a 1x2, 1x3, and finally a towering 1x4 Wild.

That fundamentally alters the hit frequency and payout density as you progress. You are literally building the volatility. As Mr. Piggy evolves through the 4 levels, not only does his Wild symbol grow, but the available Cash values and Multiplier values also increase significantly. For instance, at Level 1 multipliers range from x2 to x10, but by Level 4 they can reach up to x1000.

Structural Shift: The "Hybrid" Grid

The franchise has now fractured into three distinct mechanical philosophies.

• The Purists (NetEnt): The Original (2010) and Hog Heaven (2025) rely on 15 and 20 fixed paylines respectively. They are low-line, high-value hit games.
• The Expanders (Red Tiger): The Megaways entries (2020, 2024) rely on dynamic rows and 117,649 ways.
• The Hybrid (Begins): This game bridges the gap. It uses a fixed 5x4 grid but swaps paylines for 1,024 ways to win.

This 1,024 ways setup is significant. It allows for a higher hit frequency (5/5) compared to the "all-or-nothing" nature of the original 15-line game, while still retaining enough variance to support that 21,285x max win.

Mrs. Piggy’s Role Pivot

If you played the original Piggy Riches, you know Mrs. Piggy (Lady Pig) as the Scatter symbol that triggers the Free Spins wheel. In Begins, her role has completely changed.

She is now a Collector symbol. She no longer triggers a traditional free spins round. Instead, she functions identically to the fisherman in Fishin' Frenzy (Reel Time Gaming, 2014). When she lands on reel 5, she vacuums up all Cash and Prize values on the screen, including the Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega cash prizes which go up to 20,000x. This pivots the game's core loop away from "line hits" and toward "symbol collection".

Franchise Comparison

Red Tiger has corrected the "RTP dip" seen in the Megaways versions. Begins offers an RTP of 96.17%, nearly restoring the generosity of the 2010 original.

• Piggy Riches (Original): 5x3 Grid, 15 Lines, 2,400x Max Win, 96.4% RTP.
• Piggy Riches Megaways: 6x7 Grid, 117,649 Ways, 10,474x Max Win, 95.71% RTP.
• Piggy Riches 2 Megaways: 6x7 Grid, 117,649 Ways, 20,000x Max Win, 95.71% RTP.
• Piggy Riches Begins: 5x4 Grid, 1,024 Ways, 21,285x Max Win, 96.17% RTP.

Hold & Respin vs. Free Spins

The most controversial change for long-time fans will be the bonus round. The franchise has abandoned the "Free Spins with Multiplier" mechanic that defined the original.

Begins uses a Hold and Respin bonus triggered by 6+ Cash/Prize symbols. It is a streak respin feature (3 spins, resetting on new symbols). This aligns Begins with modern "Hold & Win" trends, but it alienates players who loved the "Pick a Multiplier" strategy of the original game.

Verdict

Piggy Riches Begins is a prequel in narrative only. Mathematically, it is the most aggressive game in the series. Red Tiger has sacrificed the classic "Free Spins" soul of the IP, but they replaced it with a Collector mechanic and a 21,285x ceiling. Therefore, it is the superior choice for high-variance players, while the 2010 original remains the king of raw RTP.

Read Next

If you miss the traditional 15-line setup of the original Piggy Riches, then check out our review of Piggy Riches 3: Hog Heaven, which kept the classic paylines but added a 5x5 colossal grid.