Wild West Themed Slots
Barely a day passed without a shootout in the Wild West, making the place both tough and rough for any visitor. In a nutshell, the Wild West described an epoch in American history when loads of cowboys, saloons, bounty hunters, bandits, headhunters, outlaws, and gold prospectors occupied the Western territory.
The historical Wild West remains one of the most reminiscent places and periods for many. It served exciting, thrilling, and chilling memories in equal measure. While a glimpse of the Wild West is shown in Hollywood movies, comics, and TV shows, the theme has crossed over to the gaming industry. There are several classics, and video slots themed on the Wild West. For example, these are the perfect slots for those wishing to ride alongside the Sheriffs or join the thieving groups. Simply put, the developers look to bring the era closer to people’s imagination.
One slot might let you get your horse to ride into town, get into action and win, grab a reward, and later have a beautiful woman with a lace blouse, corsets, and jackboots as you ride back while enjoying the Wild West sunsets. While the plot may center on imagination, slot lovers will also be looking at real-money prizes, including big jackpot prizes. On a high-risk Wild west slot, the player can expect huge rewards, should they survive.
Brief History of the Genre
The Wild West is a historical place that existed a long time ago. Loads of recreational facilities were set up, promoting different activities on the American frontier. One of the activities was gambling. The residents would walk to the brothels, saloons, or gambling halls to gamble.
Before the civil war, gambling flourished on the frontier, with the bluffing game (later American poker) being among the popular gambling games. Vingt-et-un was another game introduced and would be popular in the region. The game is now referred to as blackjack. As the games kept coming, the gambling popularity would keep rising.
The slots have no exact timeframe when they debuted into the Wild West. But with the gambling advancements globally, the slots would come up later in this order: classic slots, video slots, and online slots. With online slots, it was about themes, besides the improved reels, paylines, and bonus features. And with how nostalgic the Wild West was, many providers had the Wild West inspire their themes. Today, not only are there plentiful options available, but more releases are being made.
What Defines Wild West Slots Slots
These are slots inspired by the Wild West era, where players reminisce bandit battles, battles to fight for their money, women, and survival, and grabbing a reward while at it.
The plots on these slots are different, where on one, a player might be a noble sheriff looking to maintain law, while on another, the player might be a bandit who is being tracked down. In a nutshell, the stories on Wild West slots revolve around good v evil, revenge tales, lawmen v outlaws, and settlers v predators.
Symbols also define the western slots. The most common symbols include cowboys, sheriffs, boots, saddles, pistols, rifles, whiskey, saloons, horses, money bags, smoking pipes, horseshoes, wanted posters, and beautiful women.
Software Providers offering Western Slots
The theme has seen the dominance of software providers who look to create games that bring the nostalgic feeling of the frontier. Unlike other themes with limited providers, one will come across a massive library of Wild West slots from the top and reputable providers, in addition to a few startup providers. The following are some of the providers with Wild West slots on their portfolio:
- Novomatic: The provider from Austria is a reputable name in the industry, thanks to its products with crisp graphics and sound effects. In addition, the provider has a collection of 3-reel and 5-reel slots, with most having a gamble feature. Besides that, a couple of Novomatic slots provide a jackpot feature.
- Microgaming: The provider launched in 1994 is another big-name player with a strong reputation for its casino games, including slots. Slot lovers will come across slots boasting the latest game mechanics and technology that ensures playability on mobile devices. In addition, there are bonus features such as progressive jackpots to activate while playing. Microgaming passes as the most popular provider with an extensive collection.
- NextGen Gaming: NextGen Gaming is another leading provider offering slots guaranteeing top-notch entertainment to players. The award-winning provider uses the latest technology, including 3D technology, on some of the slots. In addition, the games offer exotic graphics, animations, sound effects, and a hub of features.
- NetEnt: With a wide variety of slots (classics and video slots), the provider launched in 1996 also has the games in high RTP and top features such as progressive jackpots. Accessibility is easier through sleek animation, crisp graphics, and captivating sounds.
Popular Wild West Slots Slots
What do you look for in a slot? Whether you look for the design through graphics, animations, and sounds, or for gameplay where aspects like RTP, volatility, hit frequency, and bonus features matter, there is a slot to match your interest. The Wild West theme features several slots, with many matching both design and gameplay aspects. Below are some of the highly-rated Western slots:
- Wild Wild West: The Great Train Heist: The slot from NetEnt features five (5) reels, ten (10) paylines, and has a betting range of between 10p and £100. There are loads of features to activate on the slot, including the Pick and Click feature, free spins, multipliers, expanding, multiplier, and spreading wilds. The slot has an RTP rate of 96.74%.
- Dead or Alive II: This is yet another product from NetEnt. The popular slot features five (5) reels, nine (9) paylines, and a betting range of between 9p and £9. Join outlaws such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Apache the Kid, and Bell Star, and benefit from features ranging from sticky wilds, free spins, and multipliers. The slot has an RTP rate of 96.8%.
- Sticky Bandits: The slot from Quickspin features five (5) reels, 30 paylines, and has a betting range of between 15p and £90. Sticky Bandits is based on desperadoes looking to rob a runaway train, and while at it, players can activate features such as free spins, multipliers, and sticky wilds. The slot has an RTP rate of 96.58%.
- Deadwood: Deadwood is a slot from NoLimit City featuring five (5) reels, 576 ways to win, and has a betting range of between 20p and £100. Symbols featured on the reels include the Sheriff badge, gold bars, gold watches, and whiskey bottles. Players can activate several features, including free spins, xNudge, and Shoot Out. The slot has an RTP rate of 96.03%.
Other popular Western slots include:
- Money Train
- Wild Wild Quest
- Gunslinger Reloaded
- Tombstone
- Mustang Gold
- Big Buck Bandits Megaways
- Money Cart 2
Features of Western Slots
The advantage of having video slots with multiple reels and paylines is that players can activate improved bonus features. It is worth noting that there also exist Wild West classic slots, and while the bonus features are limited, there is a decent collection of standard features to expect. Here is a list of the popular features on Wild West slots:
Return to Player
One of the highlights about Western slots is that most have a high RTP in the range of 96%. With high RTP comes high payouts when the slots hit. The rate is an estimate of what the developer looks to pay out to the winner. Many slot lovers are comfortable with an RTP of above 95%. For example, in a slot with 97% RTP, the 3% deficit is the house edge. In gaming language, a high payout constitutes of high RTP and low house edge.
Are Wild West Themed Online Slots Available for Mobile Devices
Gaming has gone beyond desktops, and presently, many are playing for real money directly on their Android and iOS mobile devices. Most developers with Wild West slots create games using different technologies to ensure mobile gaming is possible. Firstly, the providers use HTML5 format while creating the games. This enables the compatibility of games with multiple devices and allows accessibility on different browsers such as Chrome and Safari. The next factor is ensuring the games are in instant-play mode. Thus, players will not require to download any plug-in to launch the games. Instead, the games launch instantly on browsers.
Why Play Western Slot Machine Games?
Wild West slots are in plenty, and there is more to them, with providers releasing more slots based on the theme. But, while the market floods with other themes, what makes Western slots stand out among the crowd? There are several reasons for this, including:
- Top providers create the slots: You will likely find a Wild West slot on any reputable gaming platform. This is because most top providers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Quickspin, and Playtech have such slots in their arsenal. The big names brew confidence to slot lovers.
- Nostalgic and reminisces the old times: The slots take the gambling fan back to the Wild West period, where it was all about battles between Sheriffs, cowboys, bandits, and so on. The plots behind the slots bring back memories, bringing up another reason slot lovers play Wild West slots.
- Playable on mobile devices: Increased accessibility and convenience breed traffic. Most Wild West games are playable on mobile devices instantly without additional download. Both Android and iOS users can access the slots.
