Play Gold Rush for Free

As is the case with the vast majority of Probability Games slots, coin values range from 0.01 to 1 credit per line, which means the maximum bet is 25 when the player activates all 25 win-lines. The jackpot during the base game is 3,000, which isn’t too shabby, although this figure can actually double to 6,000 during the free spins bonus round. More on that later, though.

Gold Rush is nothing if not bright: the reel grid, which is mostly transparent, appears against a backdrop of desert, with rocky outcrops scattered roundabout and the entrance to a mine on the right-hand side. Cacti sprout from the sandy ground and a wagon loaded with gold sits just outside of the mine entrance. While the cartoonish graphics are nothing to write home about – the slot is a few years old now, to be fair – they impart a pleasant vibe.

The usual controls are present and correct, with buttons for Spin and Auto Spin (both of which appear upon a golden plaque) and also a tab for Lines/Stake. Running tallies at the top of the screen record your bank balance and total bet. Should you wish to mute the music, just click on the speaker icon in the upper right-hand corner. The home button returns you to the games lobby (if playing online), while the information tab leads to the pay-table, where you’ll see a detailed breakdown of values associated with three, four and five matching symbols.

Nothing (new) to see here: the game is very much conventional in that players are tasked with finding combinations of identical symbols. To win cash or free spins, you must find three, four or five matching symbols across the grid, starting from the far-left reel. Symbols include playing cards, from 9 through to A, an angry-looking Indian chief, a cacti bonus icon, a sterling silver sheriff’s badge, a bag of golden ore and a pair of golden bullets.

The best-paying icon of all is the aforementioned bag of golden ore. This pays out the jackpot of 3,000 coins for five in a line. The cactus, meanwhile, acts as the scatter: land three or more of these bonus icons to win free revolutions. The number of free spins depends on how many cacti you find at once, naturally enough. Find three and you’ll be rewarded with six free spins, find four for an allocation of eight and source five to win ten. All free spin winnings are doubled and the feature can be re-triggered endlessly.

Disappointingly, there are no further bonus games to be activated – and no wild symbols to be unearthed.

Given that you can play Gold Rush on any number of lines between one and 25, and with coins stretching from 0.01 to 25 per spin, it should appeal to a large number of gamers, at least from a financial point of view. With that being said, slots players tend to be attracted to games with a little more bang for their buck: we’re talking eye-popping animations, sublime sound effects, bonus rounds, stacked wilds, cascading reels… Gold Rush is a slot that’s defined by its limitations, and is consequently unlikely to satisfy your slots-lust for too long.