Introduction
What better place than the Wild West to start your search for gold? This is a popular theme with pokie developers, so irondog has risen to the challenge and come up with a new take on the genre. Get ready to saddle up and head for the hills to dig for gold - or perhaps you could just stage a hold-up?
Theme, graphics & soundtrack
There have been a few pokies covering the American Gold Rush, and even more based on cowboys scratching a living in the mid-western states. The latter tend to be quite darkly themed, but Iron Dog has decided to go in the opposite direction. Western Wilds has a fun and almost cartoon-style to the graphics.
The reels are filled with gold prospectors, boots, hats and - of course - gold. There is a suitably western theme tune playing to add to the overall vibe and it all adds up to a fun-looking game that quickly draws you in.
Western Wilds RTP and variance
The RTP of 95.8 per cent is about average for an online pokie, suggesting that there are some good returns to be seen for lucky players. Be cautious, however, as this is a medium-high volatility pokie.
Theoretically, the game should deliver the free spins bonus feature every 200 spins, but this is only a rough guide. We recommend a lengthy session playing in demo mode here at Online Pokies 4U to gain the best idea of the overall gaming mechanics.
How to play Western Wilds
Take a little time to familiarise yourself with the controls for Western Wilds. We have put together a useful step-by-step guide to help you get started:
1. Set your limit for the game - even if you are only playing for fun - as this is a great habit to get into. Now divide this amount to cover at least 200 spins. Although this won’t guarantee that you will manage to hit the free spins bonus round, it should give you the best chance of doing so.
2. Set the cost of your spin by tapping the coin icon.
3. Before you get down to the gaming, it is worth taking a look through the game rules and paytable so that you know what might lie ahead. Tap the question mark symbol to access this information.
4. Press the spin button once to play one game at your selected wager.
5. Settle in for a lengthier gaming session with the assistance of autoplay, which plays hands-free spins for you. You can set win and loss parameters and can claim back control by tapping the button again while the feature is active.
6. Toggle the game sounds on and off from the speaker icon.
Bet sizes & paytable wins
The cost of spinning the reels of Western Wilds ranges from 0.10 to 50.00 a spin. You will need to land matching symbols on at least three adjacent reels, starting from the left, to win a prize. Awards are paid according to the number of winning symbols multiplied by the number on each reel. The awards for three, four and five matching symbols are:
- Ten, jack, queen, king, ace = 2x, 4x, 7x
- Boots = 4x, 6x, 10x
- Hat = 4x, 6x, 10x
- Railway truck = 5x, 8x, 12x
- Bearded man = 6x. 12x. 25x
- Gunman = 8x, 20x, 40x
- Sack of gold = 10x, 25x, 50x
Western Wilds bonus features & free spins
- Wild
The wild symbol doesn’t appear on reel one, so it doesn’t feature on the paytable; however, it can substitute for all other paying symbols.
- Reel modifier
There is also a reel modifier in the base game in which reels two, three and four can randomly become expanded wild reels, either singly or together.
- Expanding wilds
Bundles of TNT explode to reveal up to three wilds or an expanding wild. Each explosion is recorded on the meter to the right of the reels - fill the meter with three explosions from a single spin and you will activate the free spins bonus round.
- Free spins
The feature round opens with eight free spins on a new set of reels. Two rows of locked symbols appear at the top and bottom of the grid, with an extra horizontal reel added above them. The horizontal reel is filled with different coloured safes, each of which awards a modifier. With every winning cascade, the safes move one reel to the left, awarding their modifiers when they reach the final space.
Blue safe = awards up to 3 wilds
Orange safe = adds up to 3x to the multiplier
Green safe = gives up to 5 extra free spins
Red safe = explodes up to two locks revealing additional symbols
If you are lucky enough to unlock the entire grid, you will benefit from 7,776 winning ways in total.
Western Wilds review: our verdict
We love a Wild West-themed game here at Online Pokies 4U, so we couldn’t wait to get started at the reels of Western Wilds and have to say we weren’t disappointed. Iron Dog has created a fun game with some great bonus features and some very generous cash payouts. The downside, of course, is that wins don’t come along very often. You will need to trigger the free spins bonus, unlock the reels and open multiple safes to walk away ahead of the game, so be sure to try it for free before risking your cash.
FAQs
About the Author
