Money Train 3

Money Train 3 is the third instalment in Relax Gaming's flagship franchise and one of the most revered high-volatility slots ever made. Released in 2021, it refines the formula that made Money Train 2 a phenomenon, blending a Wild West-meets-steampunk theme with the legendary Money Cart bonus round and a colossal maximum win of up to 100,000x your stake. For many high-variance enthusiasts, the Money Train series is the benchmark against which other bonus games are measured.

The base game is played on a 5x4 grid across 40 paylines, but in truth it is little more than a gateway to the bonus. Standard wins and a Respin feature occur here, but the entire experience is geared toward triggering the Money Cart — which is exactly how the series is designed.

The Money Cart bonus

Landing three or more bonus scatters triggers the Money Cart, a separate respin round on its own reels. You start with three respins, and every time a special symbol lands, the respin counter resets to three. The round only ends when no new symbols appear, so a hot run can continue for a long time.

The power of the feature comes from its many persistent symbol types: collectors, payers, multipliers, resetters, persistent symbols that upgrade with each respin, and more. As these interact across a long Money Cart, values can snowball dramatically, and filling the entire screen awards a substantial bonus — the path to that 100,000x ceiling.

RTP, volatility and stakes

Money Train 3 runs at a default 96.1% RTP, with some operators offering alternative configurations. It is a very high-volatility slot, and because the value is concentrated almost entirely in the Money Cart, the base game can be a long, quiet wait between bonuses. Stakes range from 0.10 to 100 per spin, and a Bonus Buy option (where permitted) lets you pay around 100x your stake to enter the Money Cart directly.

Tips and a word of caution

This is a slot for patient, disciplined players. The extreme variance means long losing runs are normal, so use a small stake relative to your bankroll and set a firm limit before you start. The Bonus Buy is tempting given how central the Money Cart is, but at roughly 100x per entry it can drain a balance quickly with no guaranteed return — budget for it carefully and never chase losses.

Strategy and bankroll tips

Everything about Money Train 3 is engineered around the Money Cart, so a successful approach treats the base game purely as a means of reaching it. Because that wait can be long and expensive at high volatility, a small stake relative to your bankroll is essential — it buys you more spins and therefore more chances to trigger the bonus before your balance runs low. Once inside the Money Cart, the outcome is entirely down to which special symbols land and how they interact; there is no decision to make, so the round simply rewards patience and a little luck. The Bonus Buy is especially tempting here given how central the feature is, but at around 100x your stake per entry it can drain a balance with frightening speed and offers no guarantee of a big return, so it demands a firm, pre-agreed limit. Confirm the RTP version on offer, never raise your stake to chase a bonus, and accept that long dry runs are an inherent part of one of the most extreme slots ever made.

Money Train 3 cemented the series' status and was later followed by Money Train 4. If you want one of the most celebrated bonus rounds in slots and accept the high-risk maths that comes with it, this is essential. Try it in free demo mode here before playing for real, and always gamble responsibly.

How Money Train 3 compares

At 96.1%, Money Train 3 sits below the 96.49% median of the 16 slots we have reviewed, on very high volatility. Return alone rarely settles the choice, though: volatility and the ceiling decide how that same percentage feels across a session. The table below puts Money Train 3 next to the closest alternatives in our catalogue.

Every figure is the studio's default configuration. Operators are free to run a lower RTP build of many of these games — our guide to RTP explains why that happens and where to check the version you are actually playing.