ALL ABOUT GAELIC GOLD SLOT
Leaving behind the feature-packed high variance mayhem of games like Punk Rocker and Barbarian Fury, Nolimit City head into the idyllic Irish countryside to chase the pot of gold under an arching rainbow. Sound like a familiar scene? If you are a regular slots player then of course it does. The Irish theme has been plundered time and time again by every game developer from Barcrest to Yggdrasil. Classics like Rainbow Riches (now a Megaways™ game too) and the ludicrously-titled Wish Upon a Leprechaun have an evergreen appeal but there always appears to be room for one more. Here at The Slot Buzz we are not too enamoured of these games but we are enjoying Nolimit City’s current output and this simple pared-back slot which despite its basic 5 line set up still offers a very decent 9,000x + potential is one we think might last the distance and become something of a cult classic over time.
So, get ready for some medium variance action and another chance to visit Nolimit’s xNudge Wilds and free spins features.
GAME SET-UP, SYMBOLS AND GRAPHICS
Gaelic Gold is a simplistic slot with cartoon graphics, set in the Irish countryside, with a lake and misty, rainy hills in the background. The reel set is just 3×3 with Irish clovers wrapped around the edges. The production is a fairly high quality and not unlike the kind of design you’d find in a game by rivals Thunderkick.
Low value symbols on the reels are the cards Jack through to Ace. You’ll see the premium symbols displayed down the left side of the reel set – the lucky leprechaun shoes, his hat, pints of guiness (presumably), lucky horseshoes, and of course, lucky clovers. The 4 leaf clover is the highest paying symbol at 15x for three on a payline. Remember, the maximum payline is just three symbols.
Look out as well for the stacked Leprechaun Wild symbol – it subs for all others as well as paying out 15x for three on a payline. He also brings the xNudge wild feature into play – one which Nolimit City fans will be familiar with.
Finally, there is also a Pot of Gold Bonus symbol, needed to trigger the free spins round.
NOTE: in the free spins round the paylines increase to nine.
THE IMPORTANT STATS
Nolimit City have been pushing out some pretty scary high variance slots in recent months, but Gaelic Gold is a little easier on the player with a medium rating. The top payout is still a very decent 9,837x and the Return to Player comes in at 96.15% – also reasonable. This all makes for a slot that will have a wider appeal than games like Barbarian Fury – one for casual gamers as well as serious slotters.
GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES
There are two simple features in this game – the xNudge Wild and the Rainbow Free Spins. They work as follows:
xNudge Wild
The friendly leprechaun symbol is the wild and he comes in a 3-high stack on any reel. Should he land partially visible then he will be nudged up or down until he occupies the full reel. A multiplier comes into play here, applied to any win involving the wild stack, and the number of nudges required to put the stack into position becomes the value of the multiplier.
Rainbow Spins
The free spins feature here is called Rainbow Spins. It is triggered by landing the Pot of Gold bonus symbol in the center of the reel set. This gives you a base level of 5 spins. However, you will get enhancements to your bonus round which come from a Pick Me feature that comes into play before the spins start. Here you get 9 coins to choose from, each revealing one of the following:
Additional Spins – up to 25 revealed behind a coin.
Rainbow Lines – 2 additional paylines come into play. Its possible to play with up to nine paylines during Rainbow Spins.
Additional Win Multiplier – up to 5x multiplier applied to each win.
In the mix is a START coin – so keep picking coins until this one is revealed and the free spins round begins. The xNudge Wild feature is still valid in the free spins round. When it comes into play the multiplier from your wild stack is multiplied by the value of the win multiplier from the Rainbow Spins.
It doesn’t take a slots genius to see that these enhancements have the potential to turn what starts out as quite a modest little slot into a beast where multiplier enhancements and additional paylines drive the win potential much, much higher than in the base game.
OUR VERDICT
At first site Gaelic Gold looks like a very straight forward 3×3 Irish slot, something that most of us wouldn’t spend much time on. But look again and you’ll find that there is much more to this game than meets the eye. It looks pretty and delivers very simple base game play, but once you get into that bonus round there are is some serious potential. It also delivers this on a medium variance game engine which means it’s not one that’s just built for the high-risk fanatics. Casual gamers who want a shot at the big time will also get a kick out of Gaelic Gold, which is why we think it will get some serious attention across the board in 2020.
