With Cool Buck 5 Reel, the team at Microgaming has taken one of their classic games to the next level. This five reel, nine payline slot expands on the previous three reel, five payline mobile classic – while there are no aspirations to break new ground with regards to design, gameplay is straightforward, the free spin system novel, and the overall experience unyielding.
Theme
Cool Buck is a simple mascot: a rolled up dollar bill with arms, legs, and a big happy-go-lucky smile, he (or she?) stands as the game’s main character, namesake, and scatter symbol. Though the scale of the slot is somewhat larger than Microgaming’s usual titles, the company’s signature spare design remains intact. Game symbols include playing card icons valued ace through nine, the Cool Buck title logo (which acts as a wild), stacks of dollar bills, bar symbols in triplicate, a golden dollar sign with coins around its base, and the mascot himself. A simple green background stands behind the reels, fading to black as it lowers to the bottom of the screen, and cheerful synthesizers provide an uninteresting soundtrack. In these respects, the expansion of a three reel slot into a five reel one was merely a change of scale – it’s essentially the same as its predecessor, but bigger.
Betting Options, Functions and Features
The clean, streamlined gameplay that Cool Buck 5 Reel inherits from its three reel cousin is a major asset. Betting size can be varied and there is an autospin feature, but aside from that, gameplay rolls on at a fast pace with minimal interaction from the player. There are no bells and whistles to take away from the flow of the game.
Nonetheless, Microgaming has managed some innovations here. For one, the lower-value gaming symbols (with playing card values) occasionally appear on the reels with a purple star encircled by gold. Each time one such star appears, the free spin total at the top right of the screen increases by one. If and when three scatter symbols appear on the reels, free spin mode is triggered, with the number of free spins equaling the total listed in the upper hand corner (there will be at least five free spins, no matter how many stars have appeared at that point). In this way, the lowest-value symbols can still trigger the biggest wins.
Also, there is another way to trigger free spin bonus play. If 30 free spins should accrue, free spin mode will be triggered automatically, whether scatter symbols appear or not. Good things will come to persistent players! Free spin mode itself looks very similar to base play, though there is a somewhat spicier soundtrack to accompany it, and all spins gain a doubled win total. Both free spin mode and base play also feature wilds that can appear on any of the five reels, and often appear stacked, taking up the entire reel.
Our Take
This slot won’t be for everyone – players who favor a variety of bonus modes, bold design, and painstakingly-made graphics may tire easily, while old-school players who like direct, unadorned slot play may have a new classic on their hands.
Slot data and features
- 5Reels
- 9Pay lines
- $6,000.00Max cash jackpot
- 95.29Payout Percent
- YesWild Symbol
- YesMultiplier
- $0.09 - $45Betting Range
- 0.01 - 0.3Coin bet range
- 20Coins per line
- NoProgressive
- 24000Max coins jackpot
- 180Max coins
- YesScatter Symbol
- YesFree spins available
- NoBonus Game
- NoBuy feature
- Luxury Game theme
- Medium Volatility
