Winning Wolf Slot Machine
This is not the only Ainsworth slot to feature Native American wildlife – Eagle Bucks covers the same theme in a very similar way. There are enough differences to want to check out both games – especially if you are already a fan of the genre. This particular game has 50 win lines, and a bonus round which includes sticky wilds (the wolf of course). You will also find the solid game-play that Ainsworth are famous for. Once again, this game does have the feel of a live favourite which has been adapted for online use.
The symbols are beautifully produced for this game, with an attention to detail and colouring not often seen for online slots. There are some quirks, though the main symbols of a wolf, buffalo, eagle and mountain are impressive enough to warrant taking a look. The odd one out for me is a squirrel. Now, squirrels are nice enough creatures I’m sure, it is just the size of this and the fact that it is sat between much ‘tougher’ animals that makes seeing it on the reels somehow ‘wrong’. There are some animations on the screen, for example the wolf will zoom out onto a clichéd ‘standing on a rock’ scene and howl when involved in a win.
Audio is more standard, and is made up of the same winning jingles you’ll find from Ainsworth – along with the distinctive clicking sound when the reels stop. For me some background effects would add to the atmosphere of many of their games.
The free spins bonus did not trigger often for this game (at least for me), though the sticky wilds did result in a lot of winning combinations – especially for the final few spins.
Setup and Play for Winning Wolf
There are a maximum of 50 lines to play, though you are welcome to select 1, 10, 25 or 40 instead if you wish. I prefer all 50, in particular because this makes maximum use of the sticky wilds during the free spins game. The minimum bet is 2c per line, so you can play all 50 lines from a dollar and up. The maximum on the version I played was $6.50c per line, or $325 per spin. Auto-play and gamble after win are both included – these are standard features for all Ainsworth slots.
Eagles are the symbol with the biggest prize from the regular symbols list. These are worth 1000 coins for 5 and 100 for 4. Next comes the buffalo (300 coins for 5), then the owl and squirrel (200) followed by the deer (150). Playing cards make up the smaller wins – ace down to nine are included.
The wolf is the wild symbol, and will often appear stacked – sometimes covering all 3 rows on a reel. This can create multiple winning combinations. The wolf does not substitute for the scatter symbol (the Mountain View). This scatter pays 100x your total bet for 5 anywhere on the reels (10x for 4, 2x for 3). What is more 3+ of these will trigger the free spins bonus feature.
Winning Wolf Free Spins Feature
When you start this game you get 8 free spins, and go to a set of reels with a darker background. The main difference compared to the main game is with the wolf symbols. These now appear on reels 2, 3 and 4 only. When a wolf hits the reels it stays in place for the remainder of the bonus round. Since these are wild, you will get progressively more wins as you go through – as more wolves appear on those middle reels. There is a different pay table in play (smaller wins for the best combinations). You can add 5 more spins to your total with 3+ mountains during this bonus.
I liked this bonus round, by the time you get to your last few spins you can have a lot of wolves in place – which make up 3 and 4 of a kind with just about any symbol landing in reel 1, and if you are lucky a few 5 of a kind symbols too.
Winning Wolf – Conclusion
An enjoyable slot which managed to overcome my initial reaction of ‘oh no, not another American wild animals game’. The solid game-play shared by all Ainsworth slots is added to by the sticky wilds in the feature. Graphics are very nicely created for this game too. The Native American animals theme is very crowded; this slot manages to hold its own with the competition. If you enjoy this theme, then make sure you check out Winning Wolf soon.
