Our rating:
Release date: 30th Aug 2024
1849 Gold Bonanza Slot - Screenshot
RTP: 95.99%
Max Payout: 10,000x stake
Volatility: Medium-High
Min Bet: 0.20
Max Bet: 100.00
Reels: 5
Paylines: 20
Theme: Wild West
Jackpot: No

1849 Gold Bonanza

Alyx Tzamantanis
Reviewed by Alyx Tzamantanis Last updated:

1849 Gold Bonanza is the new gun-slinging, whiskey-guzzling Wild West slot from Armadillo Studios. Mine for gold with your crew, the ‘49ers’, and see if you can dig yourself up a top prize of 10,000x.

Bust down the doors to the saloon and fight your way into the bourbon-fuelled free spins game for more chances to win. With wilds, scatters and gold nuggets awarding you cash prizes on the way, this lily-livered slot doesn’t stand a chance!

Full review continued below ↓

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Our Rating

“All that glitters is definitely gold!”

4.0 out of 5

Features
8/10
Design
7.5/10
Gameplay
8/10
Win potential
8.6/10

1849 Gold Bonanza Review

1849 Gold Bonanza is the latest slot release from the up-and-coming Armadillo Studios. Promising gold, whiskey, shoot ‘em ups and a top prize of 10,000x your stake, it's clear that the folks at Armadillo are trying to dominate the Wild West genre with this offering. 

But is this the new sheriff in town? Or will this game simply get thrown on the pile with all the other rootin’, tootin’ western-themed slots that have gone before it?

A screenshot of 1849 Gold Bonanza slot gameplay

Gameplay & Features

At first glance, 1849 Gold Bonanza is a pretty standard slot game. There are 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 paylines – about as textbook as you can get. 

You have 9 regular symbols. The letters A, K, Q and J are your lowest-paying symbols, followed by your dastardly crew of 49ers, of which the redhead saloon girl is the highest-paying. After these, you have a wild, a Free Spins scatter symbol and a Golden Nugget that awards instant cash prizes. 

After playing 1849 Gold Bonanza for a while, I noticed that there are some more interesting features that make this title stand out from many other Wild West games. One of those was the set of wooden saloon doors that sit at the top of the reels. With each spin, the saloon doors may or may not open to reveal a hidden reel which can spin and produce a random symbol which converts any identical symbols on the reels below into wilds. I've not seen this before, so this was quite an exciting little touch to discover.

Aside from the saloon door feature, the base game isn’t that much to write home about and the excitement lies in the free spins round. This also happens to be where you get your best chance to bag that 10,000x top prize.

A screenshot of 1849 Gold Bonanza slot feature gameplay

Free Spins Round

Land 3, 4 or 5 Free Spins scatter symbols in the base game to enter the free spins round with 10, 15 or 20 spins, respectively. Once there, you’ll see a meter with empty whiskey glasses appear. Every time you land a wild, the whiskey glass fills up, moving you along the meter towards multipliers. 

Every time you hit a multiplier, you also get an extra 5 free spins to use in this round. You can only get more free spins in this round via the multipliers, as the scatter symbols only appear in the base game.

1849 Gold Bonanza - Wild Transformation Feature

Wild Transformation Feature

Every time you spin, you could unlock the saloon doors that sit above the reels. Watch the door open to reveal an extra symbol. If this symbol matches any of the symbols on the reels, they will transform into wilds!

1849 Gold Bonanza - Golden Nugget Cash Prizes

Golden Nugget Cash Prizes

Get instant cash prizes in the base game with Golden Nugget symbols. If you can match these symbols with a wild, you collect all the Gold Nugget prize amounts at the end of the round. You also use Gold Nuggets to fill your whiskey glasses in the bonus round and add multipliers to your winnings. 

1849 Gold Bonanza - Free Spins

Free Spins

Get up to 20 free spins when you land between 3 and 5 scatters. Fill up the whiskey glasses and watch big multipliers come your way! Extra spins are available.

Win Potential

With scatters, wilds, multipliers and the Gold Nugget symbols dishing out instant cash prizes, there's no doubt that 1849 Gold Bonanza has some serious win potential up its sleeve. While the RTP is a distinctly average 95.99%, the volatility is medium to high, meaning that this is not as highly volatile as many other big-paying slots on the market. 

A screenshot of a big win in 1849 Gold Bonanza slot

Design

I wasn't entirely bowled over by the look of 1849 Gold Bonanza. The typical old wood game board sitting on a backdrop of a dusty old town in the Wild West has been done to death, and the characters and animations are just a little bit muted for my liking. 

Having said that, there's absolutely nothing offensive about this slot; it just feels like yet another Western-themed title that’s been churned out for the masses. I can't be too down on it though as the gameplay was more exciting than I've experienced with other slots of a similar ilk, and the music is a rather jolly, if obvious, banjo-inspired soundtrack.

Our Verdict

Overall, I actually had a lot more fun with this slot than I’d bargained for. The graphics and animations are pleasant enough, but it's the gameplay that really makes 1849 Gold Bonanza stand out. 

I really enjoyed the wild transformation feature that comes with the saloon doors at the top of the reels in the base game, and the whiskey meter and multipliers are a truly exciting element to add to the free spins round.

Play 1849 Gold Bonanza at these slot sites

Jump straight into the action and play 1849 Gold Bonanza now at the following fully licenced UK slot sites. These slot sites have been thoroughly audited and reviewed by the team here at Slot Gods to ensure they offer an exceptional user experience, are trustworthy, safe, secure, and boast the best selection of online slots in their portfolio including 1849 Gold Bonanza...