Gold Rally

Gold Rally is without a doubt one of the most exciting three reel video slots out there and you will quickly see why. These kinds of slot machines are usually lacking in the special features department, which is exactly why the Playtech title stands out of the crowd. The 2004 release is not only equipped with a progressive jackpot, but also houses a special bonus round and Scatters wins that can multiply your total bet up to 500 times.

Bet one and bet max buttons are in place to help you select the preferred number of lines, whereas spin obviously starts the game. Pressing the paytable button located in the bottom left corner will take you to the second screen where you can see expected payouts for different winning combinations. Bar one symbol that pays out even when one or two appear on an active payline, three matching icons are usually required for a payout.

While Wild icon is not supported, Gold Rally still has two special symbols used to trigger the two extra features. Gold Scales act as Scatter, awarding Scatters wins as well as activating the progressive jackpot, whereas Dynamite icons will unlock the bonus round provided they appear in a certain combination.

The only thing that could potentially put off players from this particular video slot is the fact that coin value is fixed at $2, which is unlikely to appeal to casual gamers. They could try and select just one payline to wager $2 per single spin of the reels, whereas the total bet increases to $16 when you activate maximum eight paylines.

When we take into account that players are only wagering up to eight coins per spin, the payouts in the main game are pretty neat. Game logo is the highest paying symbol, awarding 500 credits for three matching icons on a payline, whereas horseshoes and pickaxes pay out 200 and 100 coins respectively.

Game symbols nicely fit the general theme that revolves around a group of gold prospectors. The reels are, therefore, populated by horseshoes, pickaxes, lanterns, pistols, mine carts, sacks of gold, gold scales and dynamites, with game logo also appearing as the high value icon.

Five, six, seven and eight Gold Scale Scatters appearing anywhere on the screen multiply the total bet 5, 10, 50 and 200 times. Meanwhile, dynamite icons occurring in all four corners trigger the bonus round. Players are then required to pick one of the four symbols to reveal instant prize.

Progressive jackpot is clearly the biggest stand out feature and while it does not strike at random, it is not that easy to trigger. You need to get all nine individual panels to be populated by Gold Scale Scatters in order to win the top prize. Bear in mind the progressive jackpot can only be won when all eight paylines are activated.

As of 2009, Gold Rally is also available on the go, with the mobile version compatible with all the latest handheld devices, including those running on iOS and Android. The interesting thing is that graphics as well as the paytable are somewhat different from the original game, but the payouts as well as the special features are exactly the same.