High volatility Gunspinner slot will spin to a Sergio Leone style Wild West tune

There have been a couple of very good Wild West Slots come out over the years, and the new Gunspinner slot from Booming Games, one of the company's part of Microgaming's content aggregator group, is certainly looking like it could well be the equal of even the best of those games.

A 5x3 reel slot that has 20 pay lines, some interesting bonus features and a very high variance, it is a game which does need plenty of respect and a decent sized bankroll to enjoy to the full. So we decided to pop the ten gallon hat on our head, strap on our spurs and mosey on down to Gunspinner town to see whether this slot is a hotshot, or whether it's dead wood.

Let's now take a look at what we found out about the game.

Overview

• Game: Gunspinner
• Developer: Booming Games for Microgaming
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 20 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.20
• Maximum Bet: 400.00
• Jackpot: 50x
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: High

Presentation

It is quite surprising that there are not a greater number of western-themed slots as it is a great genre that offers plenty of scope for developers to come up with something original. Booming Games have gone all out on the Spaghetti Western theme for their April release slot Gunspinner, which went on a wider, more general release in mid-May.

The western town backdrop for the slot with the gunslinger to the left of the reels looks excellent and then you add on a fantastic soundtrack which captures the style of the slot perfectly. It could have even been written for the game by the great Ennio Morricone. On front of the backdrop are the five reels with the main controls of the slot on the right-hand side of the screen. This is a mighty-fine looking game and one that captures the ambiance of the slot perfectly.

What is on the reels?

There are ten different symbols on the reels, three of which are the two different Wild symbols plus the Scatter, which link in with the main bonus features of the slot (which we explore in more detail below).

The other symbols are split into two groups in the game. The minor symbols are the three playing card symbols which, for once, fit in nicely with the Western theme. There are the Ace, King and Queen and wins start at 0.15x your bet and go up to 5x your bet for five Aces on one of the pay lines. Three symbol wins though are very small with the best in the minor symbols offering just a quarter of your bet.

The Major Symbols offer much better value for the player and these are the bottle of whisky, the gun, the bag of gold coins and lastly the bar of gold, which is the highest paying standard symbol in the game. Wins on these range from 1.25x your bet up to 37.5x your bet.

The Gold Bar symbol also has one additional feature, which is a symbol that has two gold bars on it instead of just one. This symbol counts as two gold bar symbols when landed, which means you can win on up to six of these symbols across the reels.

Wild features

There are two Wild symbols in the game although one can only be landed on the Random bonus wheel which we will explain in more detail below. The main Wild can be found right across the reels and it is a Wanted poster. It serves as a substitute for all symbols apart from the Scatter and can help land some valuable wins.

The Random Bonus wheel occurs on any spin and when it does, the Gunspinner chap on the left of the reels will light a stick of dynamite and throw it onto the middle reel. This will then turn one, two or all three positions on that reel into either a Double Gold Bar symbol, a Scatter symbol, a standard Wild or a Wild Multiplier, with a 2x multiplier on any wins that it is part of. Unfortunately, you can trigger this bonus and still not land a win.

You can also win the base game jackpot of 50x your bet by landing five of any of the Wild symbols across the reels.

Free Spins features

The sheriff's badge is the Scatter symbol in the Gunspinner slot and it can appear anywhere across the five reels, as well as appearing as a bonus symbol on the Random Bonus reel when it is triggered. To trigger Free Spins you need to land three Scatters on the reel.

During Free Spins, there are a number of differences to the base game in play. First of all, all Wilds landing on the first, second, fourth and fifth reels will remain in place for the duration of the Free Spins bonus round. Furthermore, you can trigger the Random Bonus wheel and in this bonus, you can land a double gold bar symbol, a 2x Wild Multiplier or a +1 or +2 Scatter, the latter two symbols offering you an additional spin or additional two spins in the bonus round respectively.

It is the combination of those locked Wilds, allied to the Random Bonus wheel triggers that can see some very big wins landed in the Free Spins bonus game on the Gunspinner slot.

Best feature of the Gunspinner slot

Although the Random Bonus reel is a nice touch, it does have limited value in the base game and in truth, the only real chance you have of landing a big win on this high volatility slot is by hitting the Free Spins bonus and then landing a good value win with those Sticky Wild symbols and, hopefully, a trigger of the Random Bonus reel. If you can do that then some of the far better value wins available in this slot can be landed and that is when the game really starts to pay out.

Conclusion

Booming Games are a relatively new company to me and I have to say that I am impressed with this first offering from them that I have reviewed. The slot is very nicely presented and the soundtrack is superb. The game though is a tough one, it is most definitely suited to players that prefer a much higher variance of slot than usual. If that is you, then there is plenty to like here, especially when you can trigger that Free Spins bonus, but players that prefer a less volatile game may find this slot a bit too rich for their liking. Having said that, if you like spagetti westerns, you should give Gunspinner a try!

Where to play the Gunspinner slot?

You can play the Gunspinner slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.