Slot machines with Buffalo themes are some of the most popular casino games online. I’m thinking of titles like Golden Buffalo and a few others.
What makes it interesting is that it’s a Hot Drop Jackpot. Buffalo Bounty XL from Dragon Gaming is a bold retake on a familiar theme.
The new online slot has 5 reels, 4 rows, 20 paylines, medium variance, and a special Spin & Lock feature. You can trigger four different jackpots for a life-changing payout. Moreover, the “side jackpot” is 5,000x your stake.
The RTP of 95.22% of Buffalo Bounty XL is steep since it’s a medium volatility game. I’ve seen high-variance slot games with higher payback rates.
Heading into the symbols there are a bunch of them. The “Big Three” of the North American plains populate the reel set. They are the Bald Eagle, Cougar, and Buffalo.
The remainder of the symbols are the puma, deer, fox, and low-value cards. The Buffalo is also responsible for initiating the special jackpot feature, keep an eye on it.
The premium symbol is the Buffalo when 5 pitch you’ll bag a hefty win. I couldn’t play the slot for free since Dragon Gaming didn’t offer a free-play option when I wrote this review.
Bonus Rounds
Spin & Lock and Free Spins
Once you fire up the slot you’ll notice the four jackpots to the left of the reels. To win any of the jackpots you need four buffalo symbols.
You’ll also trigger the free spins feature when three or more scatters appear. It gets better. The Spin & Lock feature triggers when 4 or more buffaloes land awarding 3 respins.
Every time a buffalo symbol shows up it resets the re-spin counter to three. Each buffalo symbol has a multiplier value of 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 10x.
The multiplier values correspond to the Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand jackpots. Once the re-spin counter reaches zero it totals up all the values offering a final payout.
You also have a shot at triggering one of the following Free Spins features:
Instant Win offers a win of 50x.
Ultra Spin is where wilds expand on reels 1, 3, and 5.
Jumbo Symbol offers big wins when it appears as a 3×3 symbol.
Buffalo Bounty XL Tips and Strategy
My tips won’t guarantee a win on every spin, but they’ll improve your chances of winning.
Test the slot with free credits before you sign up at an online casino. You get to experience the payouts in the main game and bonus rounds. Take down notes when you play and refer to them often.
Play with a bonus but check the bonus terms and the minimum deposit.
Use the Auto Play function. Set deposit limits and play the slot for 50-100 spins.
Choose an online casino that cashes out slot wins on the same day or within 24 hours.
Verdict
Looking at the ingredients on the tin can, Buffalo Bounty XL looks like a promising slot. The medium variance volatility means it won’t smash your bankroll outright.
The Hold & Lock and free spins bonus rounds potentially make it a cash cow. Not to mention the 4 jackpots of which the Grand jackpot offers a life-changing win.
What concerns me is the “lowish” RTP of 95.22%. That tells me the game could play like a high-variance slot. With that in mind, the bonuses can take a bunch of spins before they trigger.
Then there’s the free spins feature offering multiplier wins of up to 10x. It appears that Dragon Gaming delivered another stellar slot machine. It’s an ambitious game with powerful special features.
Once they’ve added a demo version of the slot I’ll update the review again.
Until then, play sensibly by keeping the brakes on the bankroll. Check out Hot Hamster from True Lab Games the jackpot it offers is 12,000x and an Expanding Wild.
It’s a simple slot with no special features yet it does pack a punch.