Black River Gold is an ELK Studios video slot that was launched in 2020. The game is set during the Wild West’s last days, offering one final hoorah for the brigands and bandits of the world.
Symbols in the Black River Gold slot include stylised playing card royals, pins, sheriff badges, whisky, guns, emeralds, gold nuggets, diamonds, and cowboys. A rose represents the game’s wild icon, while a safe is the scatter.
Black River Gold Slot Basics
The Black River Gold slot uses a 6×4 grid with 4,096 ways to win. It has high volatility and an RTP of 96.1%, so you’re more likely to score big payouts on an infrequent basis. You must bet between £0.20 and £100 per round. The game’s jackpot is 5,000x your total stake. You need to land at least three matching symbols from left to right on adjacent reels to earn a payout.
The cowboy is the most valuable icon in the Black River Gold slot. At the highest bet level, he grants £180 for three symbols, £200 for four, £250 for five, and £300 for six icons. The next highest-paying symbols are diamonds, gold nuggets, and emeralds, all of which award up to £200. Guns, whiskey, sheriff badges, and pins pay up to £80 each. Finally, four playing card royals are the least valuable icons, worth up to £30.
Special Features
The avalanche feature in the Black River Gold slot explodes all symbols that form winning combinations. Existing icons fall into the empty spots, while new symbols appear from the top. In addition to that, the game adds one more row of icons up to a maximum of eight. The bonus feature continues as long as you keep landing payouts.
Paying symbols and wild icons can appear as 1×1, 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4 icons. Big symbols with empty spaces beneath them will absorb smaller icons until the gap disappears. This forms the revolver wild symbol, which can create wins with all symbols it collects and is removed once all of its symbols form a win.
If two icons match across a wild compass, they transform into wild icons. If a wild compass reaches the bottom of the reels, it also becomes a wild icon.
The free drops feature activates when three or more bonus icons land on the reels; three symbols award 10 free drops, four symbols award 15 free drops, five symbols award 20 free drops, and six symbols award 25 free drops. Landing more bonus icons during the feature re-triggers more free drops.
All wild icons are collected and moved to the bottom of the reels during the bonus feature. These sticky wild icons remain in place until they help form a win. The free drops feature also uses the safety level mechanic, starting at level four and increasing by one level with each winning free drop.
Games Similar To Black River Gold Slot
The Dead Or Alive slot by NetEnt is considered by many to be the best Wild-West-themed game ever made. It uses a 5×3 grid with nine fixed paylines, while its RTP is 96.82%, miles ahead of other video slots. The paytable consists of playing card royals, whisky, cowboy boots, cowboy hats, gun holsters, and sheriff badges. The title boosts your odds with features like wild icons, scatter symbols, sticky wild icons, and a free spins mode.
Another must-play cowboy adventure is Wild West Gold by Pragmatic Play. It uses a 5×4 layout with 40 paylines, while its RTP is 96.51%. Available symbols include playing card royals, revolvers, sacks of gold, bandits, cowgirls, and the sheriff. You can take advantage of several bonus features, such as wild symbols, multipliers, a free spins mode, and more.
Black River Gold Slot Summary
While it’s not an instant classic, the Black River Gold slot will find a loyal audience. Setting it in a colder climate than most Wild West games makes it visually distinct. However, what sold us on this title was its gameplay. Its many bonus features are fun and work well with each other. As such, we are happy to recommend Black River Gold to our readers.
The Black River Gold slot’s high variance and feature-packed gameplay primarily target high-rollers and experienced players. Casual players can also try their luck but must keep a close eye on their budget. If you’re new to video slots, we suggest to first try playing something else.
