The Wild West remains a popular theme in popular culture. And if it’s popular in popular culture then you can bet slots players are going to get an eye-full of it too. The Wild West was a lawless and dangerous time in American history, and gambling is a big part of the mystique of the west in the US mind – partly because it’s largely illegal in modern America.
It’s not gamblers who star in Sticky Bandits slot though, it’s no-good bad men (and women), who are carrying out the archetypal Wild West crime – robbing a train! (Many train robbers were unemployed for decades, waiting for the train to come to the States, and unable to steal from stagecoaches because of restrictive union rules. It’s tragic really.)
Trains were travelling banks in the days before wire transfers, and the wide-open spaces of the American west gave famous outlaws plenty of opportunities to stage an ambush and vanish into the plains, mountains or forests.
Quickspin’s main visual gimmick here is a 5-by-5 grid of symbols. Giant wilds liven up the gameplay, and there are plenty of bonuses too.
This is a good looking game from a top-quality designer, but is it worth saddling up and loading your six-shooter for?
Let’s dive deeper and find out more in this Sticky Bandits slot review.
Quickspin are Swedish developers (with, as is common, a base in Malta too), who set their reels spinning for the first time back in 2012.
The company has a slew of awards to its name, and some giant casino companies amongst its client list, including LeoVegas, Unibet, Vera&John, Casumo, and many more.
Quickspin games specialise in very high-quality visual design, and their games look fabulous.
The company has more than 60 titles in the UK market at the moment, covering all genres and styles.
Their current top sellers are: Sakura Fortune, Eastern Emeralds, this title, Wild Chase: Tokyo Go, and Joker Strike (one of a set of themed games based around the joker card).
Quickspin are licensed both in the UK, by the UK Gambling Commission, and by the authorities in Alderney too. You can play their games confident that they are legal and fair.
This Sticky Bandits slot game was launched in August 2018, but its figures are still very generous. A theoretical return to player of 96.58% is at the top end of the currently fashionable range. The volatility – the ratio of prize size to prize frequency – was medium to high. Both of these measures are long-term assessments of how a game will operate throughout its lifetime, and you will probably not notice a great deal of difference in your own play.
The top prize is 54,000 coins. Check coin value, top pay-outs, and other financial information on the game you are playing, and be sure you always play safely.
The minimum bet of 15p makes this game friendly for a dabbler, while a top stake of £90 will unlock those really big wins.
We’ve mentioned the 5-by-5 grid (most games are 5-by-3), and you’ll see an above-average 30 pay-lines on the reels.
You need Flash, JavaScript, and HTML5 on your device to play this game. Make sure you have updated versions of Flash installed.
This is a very cleanly designed and modern-looking game.
From the left of the control panel, you’ll see a three-line menu control, and a cog control to open up a full menu and settings controls.
To the right of this are stacked the balance window and the bet-lines display. To the right of that, you set your total bet. Information and wins are in the central window, and to the right of that is the spin control, with smaller auto-spin and turbo controls to its left.
Be sure to check out the rules before you play any game.
Bring up the pay-table so you know what to expect when you hit a win.
The bottom of the pay-table is made up of the familiar cards. Jacks and queens both pay 1x-stake for a set of five. Kings and Aces pay 1.33-times stake for full houses.
Then we see the character and themed symbols.
The sticks of dynamite boom out double your stake for a set of five, as do the gold dollars. Three bandits top the table: the blue guy pays 2.66-times stake for a full house. The purple bandit coughs up 3.33-times stake. And you’ll get 6.66-times stake for the gal at the top.
The bonus symbol has no monetary value. Wilds show bandits and sub in for all symbols and double up as a bonus symbol.
The wilds double as bonus triggers, which is unusual, so you’ll need to see a bonus symbol on reel one coupled with a wild to trigger the free spins bonus round. Spins come in sets of seven and cannot be retriggered.
The wild will remain locked throughout your free spin round, bringing up some big wins. New wilds are also sticky and stay on the reels until the end of the round.
This is a good value bonus round, and the advertised top prize can only be won in this round.
Quickspin’s achievement engine also runs on this game where it’s featured, allowing you to trigger the bonus round by completing base-game tasks.
If you like the Wild West then the Sticky Bandits slot is a decent entrant to this genre.
The theme is nicely put together and the ambience feels true to the spaghetti western sound that plays while you spin the reels.
Nice design runs through Quickspin’s catalogue, and we liked the look and feel of this game.
The bonuses are quite standard, with just wilds and free spins, but there’s a lot of value to be found if you hit the free spins. The achievement engine adds an extra level of engagement that makes the gameplay a little bit more special.
We had a great time robbing this train and you’d be advised to join the gang at your favourite Sticky Bandits casino site.