Before European settlers expanded into North America, the American Bison, more commonly known as the buffalo, roamed the prairies and grasslands in massive herds. Today, the animal closely associated with this early history is the focus of one of the most popular games around, the Buffalo slot. First developed as a land-based machine, the slot Buffalo has become one of the most popular online titles.
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Overview: Buffalo Slot
The Buffalo slots machine was developed by the Australian company Aristocrat initially for real-world casinos. The game proved hugely popular worldwide, so an online version was developed. That version retains many of the original features, including the 5×4 reel setup and 1,024 ways to win, rather than paylines per spin.
You can alter the size of your bet by selecting or deselecting the Reel Cost button, which highlights more or fewer symbols based on how much you want to pay. Pay the 40x maximum to activate all 1,024 ways to win. Bet per reel starts at $0.01, meaning a minimum bet of $0.40 to play all reels, though you can increase that bet up to $50 per bet by wagering $1.25 per line.
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Who will the Buffalo slot appeal to?
Given that the Buffalo slot started life in real-world casinos and was hugely popular, this title will already have a strong following of players from casino play. However, the fact that this is one of the few 1,024-ways-to-win slots that can be played from as little as $0.40 per spin makes this game hugely attractive to players seeking a little extra value and who enjoy titles that allow greater flexibility with wins.
Seeing as the slot Buffalo is based on a real-world game, it has a more retro feel and style than many modern games in new online casinos. As such, fans who enjoy retro games will also find plenty to amuse themselves here and can find NJ casino sign up bonuses that can be used on the game. There’s also a Free Spins round, which awards you up to 20 free spins with a potential multiplier of up to 27x your win, which will certainly attract players who like bonus features with some potentially higher value payouts.
Buffalo slot gameplay
If the style of the Buffalo slot is more retro, then the good news for fans of more modern NJ online slots is that it packs in some features that you would associate with more modern games, too. Rather than paylines, there are 1,024 ways to win available (if you play the maximum number of reels per spin), and in addition, there is also a very enticing free spins bonus round, plus a 5×4 reel setup.
So essentially, what you have here is a creation that combines elements of retro gameplay with modern ones. Sometimes, these elements don’t really work together, but the good news with the Buffalo slot is that they do work together nicely.
The reel set consists of a number of playing card symbols, which are the lower-value symbols offering payouts of 2 to 100 coins if you land five across the reels. There are five higher-value symbols on the reels, all of which are based on the great animals of the American wildlands and plains, including an elk, wolf, cougar, bald eagle, and, of course, the Bison, which is the top-paying high-value symbol offering 300 coins for five landed across the reels. The Bison symbol is also the only symbol that is stacked across the reels.
Additional features
To help you land a win, there is a Wild symbol, which is the landscape sunset symbol, that substitutes for all the high and low value symbols above to create winning paylines. The Wild only appears on the middle three reels.
The key to the bonus features in the Buffalo slot, however, is the Scatter symbol, which is a gold coin. Land three or more of these across the reels, and you will win a small coin prize of between 2 and 20 coins, but better still, you will launch the free spins bonus round.
Land three scatters, and you win 8 Free Spins; four scatters trigger 15 Free Spins; and land five scatters across the reels, and you win 20 Free Spins. The bonus game then plays out, but every time you land the Sunset Wild on reels 2, 3, or 4, you receive a multiplier of either 2x or 3x your standard win.
Land three of these Wilds on the reels, and you can get a maximum 3x3x3 multiplier, which equates to 27x the standard win, and that is how you can land some of the biggest possible wins on this popular and well-designed title. Furthermore, land two more gold coins on any free spin, and you win a further 5 free spins. Land three Gold Coins in free spins and you retrigger the bonus feature in full.
Buffalo slot special features
1,024 ways to win
The Buffalo slot offers players the chance of 1024 ways to win, rather than paylines, for just 40x your stake, which is a great value bet as it offers you a greater chance of a win on every spin. This is important when there are as many symbols on the reels as there are in the slot Buffalo.
Free Spins
The Free Spins bonus can be very lucrative, especially when you trigger the Multipliers by landing Wild symbols on the reels. The ability to retrigger free spins is excellent too, and can lead to longer free spin sessions and a greater total win.
Wild
The Wild symbol is useful in the base game as a substitute for the high and low value symbols, but it is especially valuable in free spins, where it also serves as a multiplier of 2x or 3x the standard bet. Land three 3x Wilds on a free spin and you will receive 27 times your win (3x3x3) as the Multipliers will combine up to increase the value of your payout.
What works?
Faithful adaptation
If you enjoy the original Buffalo slot in person, you won’t be disappointed by the online version. All the key aspects of the title have been ported over to the digital version, and even the sound effects make it sound like you are playing in your favorite casino.
Good mix of retro & modern features
Many games have tried to mix retro with modern, and some have succeeded; others have failed. The Buffalo slot falls in the former camp with the retro styling complemented well by the 1,024 paylines, the potentially rewarding free spins bonus round, and the clever way the Wild serves as a multiplier during free spins.
Free Spins bonus
The Buffalo slot is a medium variance game, and so hitting that free spins bonus is important to achieve bigger wins. You can achieve big wins in the base game, but more frequent, bigger wins come in free spins due to the multipliers and the fact that you can retrigger more free spins from within the bonus game.
What doesn’t?
Very basic sound
If there is one aspect of Buffalo slot that dates it greatly, it is the sound. It is a very basic ‘generic’ gameplay sound, which is absolutely fine if you like that. However, in terms of presentation, Buffalo lags somewhat behind more modern titles.
No base game bonuses
Another key issue is that the base game isn’t particularly exciting to play. Wins are a decent size when landed with just a few very small wins, but other than trying to hit free spins and getting lucky with the stacked Buffalo symbols, there’s nothing else to trigger or aim for, and that does mean play can get repetitive at times.
Big wins hard to achieve
Big wins are easier to achieve in Free Spins, although you could, in theory, win the largest amount in Free Spins or the base game. However, the base game requires patience to work through, and you do not hit many bigger value wins as you play, which does affect the Buffalo slot play value.
Buffalo slot scores
Graphics & soundtrack 2/5
A mark of 2 may seem harsh, but Buffalo is dated, partly because it is a direct port from a game popular in casinos. In terms of being faithful to the original, the team at Aristocrat did well, but it just doesn’t look or sound as exciting as some of the more modern-day titles.
Originality & creativity 3/5
Although this is a retro game, it does boast some of the more modern features available, including 1024 ways to win and a fantastic and potentially rewarding free spins bonus round, with a Wild Multiplier, a feature that some modern games are just now adapting. However, the base game is somewhat repetitive.
Play value 2/5
This is a medium variance game, and you do get a nice balance of wins, but you also get times when it doesn’t offer you hardly anything, and other times when it pays out readily. Overall, though, it is hitting the Free Spins bonus, which will see you most likely to make a decent-sized win, but you need patience and a big bankroll to see it through to that at times.
Jackpot potential 3/5
You will trigger the big Buffalo jackpot when you land the Buffalo symbol stacked across all five reels. That is the biggest win, but achieving it in free spins or the base game is especially difficult.
Repeat play 3/5
Buffalo is very playable and enjoyable, even though sometimes it doesn’t pay much to players. However, there are times when good runs do occur, and it is these that will keep players coming back for more, as they have been doing in casinos for many years.
Total score: 13/25
Although it has a few drawbacks, the Buffalo slot is an enjoyable, faithful port from real-world casinos, which is why it has become a favorite at many NJ online casinos as well. If you played the game there, as millions did, you will enjoy this online version. More modern gamers may balk at the lack of features and retro style, but Buffalo slots is still a playable and enjoyable title in its own right.