Wanted Dead or a Wild is an online video slots game developed by iSoftBet, a renowned provider in the gaming industry. Released in 2016, this 5-reel slot machine has been gaining popularity among players worldwide due to its captivating theme, engaging gameplay play features, and generous payouts.
Theme and Design
The game’s theme revolves around the Wild West era of the United States. The setting is a dusty town with wooden buildings, horse-drawn carriages, and rugged cowboys riding through town. The slot machine has an immersive atmosphere, complete with sound effects such as rustling leaves, creaking wooden doors, and the occasional gunshot in the distance.
The game’s design is simple yet effective, with a background image that changes depending on the reel combination landed during gameplay. The symbols used are classic representations of Western culture: cowboy hats, lassos, guns, horses, whiskey bottles, wanted posters featuring different characters, and playing card suits (jacks to kings).
Symbols
The symbol paytable for Wanted Dead or a Wild is divided into three categories:
- Low-value Symbols : Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces are worth the least amount in the game, paying out between 2x and 5x the initial bet per winning combination.
- Medium-value Symbols : Horse-riding cowboys and lassos pay out between 10x to 20x the initial bet for a five-of-a-kind win.
- High-value Symbols : The whiskey bottle, gunslinger, cowboy hat, horse, and horse-riding cowboy with the lasso are worth significantly more, paying up to 100x or even 200x the initial bet in some cases.
Payouts
As mentioned earlier, payouts can be significant for certain symbol combinations. The highest-paying symbols offer rewards as follows: whiskey bottle (100x), gunslinger (50x), cowboy hat (30x), horse-riding cowboy with lasso (20x to 200x). Wanted posters also pay out handsomely when appearing three or more times on the same reel, offering up to 5000x for five of a kind.
Wilds
The Wild symbol in this game is represented by the sheriff’s star. It can be used as a substitute for any regular playing card suit (Jack, Queen, King, Ace) and high-value symbols, including whiskey bottles, gunslingers, and horse-riding cowboys with lassos. The sheriffs star can appear on all five reels and is active during the base game.
Scatters
Wanted posters serve as scatter symbols in this slot machine. They activate free spins when three or more are landed anywhere on the screen (during the base game). A single scatter can also trigger a small cash reward based on the initial bet.
Bonus Features
A bonus round called "The Sheriff’s Showdown" is triggered by landing two Wilds and one Scatter simultaneously during the main reels. This rewards players with up to 200 free spins, which feature an increased multiplier (up to x5). A separate scatter symbol represented by a sheriff on horseback can appear at random during this bonus round and will be used in place of other scatters.
Free Spins
As mentioned earlier, the "The Sheriff’s Showdown" is the main trigger for free spins. However, when three or more scatters are landed simultaneously (during base game) a mini-bonus called Free Spins triggers between 10-50 freespins, which also features up to x5 multiplier.
RTP and Volatility
According to the official documentation from iSoftBet, Wanted Dead or A Wild has an RTP (return-to-player percentage) of 96.8% for both online casinos operating with and without a license by virtue of being available at sites that have various licenses held on them by operators whose site software is provided from developers such as Microgaming etc.
Volatility-wise the slot machine rates slightly below mid-range volatility levels but above average ones in terms its payouts over time which will tend towards giving less money if compared against slots offering higher overall payouts frequency.