San Quentin X Ways
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When it comes to classic themes for slot machines, options usually include pirates, Egyptians, wolves, and leprechauns. However, in the dark, twisted, minds of online casino software developers NoLimit, it appears that prison life is the slot machine theme that escaped (ironically) detection. To right this wrong, Nolimit bring us the gloriously grim San Quentin xWays; five reels of hardcore, shower-dodging, action from California’s most infamous prison. This celebration of incarceration is a delightfully dark dip into life behind bars.
- Extreme volatility offers huge win potential from low max bet.
- Lockdown Spins delivers madcap wins.
- Split Wilds split symbols and expand the reelcase for more Ways to Win.
- Extreme volatility makes for lower base game payouts.
- Only one bonus feature.
- Split Wild animations slow down gameplay.
If you like online slots, where soap and shivs are the order of the day, San Quentin xWays is worth a stretch. Johnny Cash and BB King have both performed there. It’s got its own gas chamber, just off Death Row. Serial killers are two a penny. What’s not to love? Are you ready? Right: strip, spread, touch your toes, and get ready to spin. We’re going in.
San Quentin xWays Look and Feel
San Quentin xWays has got an old school graphic novel vibe to it. Heavily tattooed cons grace the screen. Either side of the reels are security cameras, lookout towers, and prison walls. The tongue is planted firmly in cheek. It’s fun.
When you launch the game, you are introduced to a variety of San Quentin residents, including the likes of Heinrich 3rd, Loco Luis, Biker Bill, and Beefy Dick. The play area is a five by three grid, with another two horizontal rows both top and bottom. These are locked Enhanced Cells and only come into play when certain symbols hit.
The game adopts the xWays format. The default base game, in the 5 x 3 grid, has 243 potential win lines. You need adjacent matching icons to win. If you break open the extra horizontal rows, or hit wilds, the payline win potential increases significantly. Facial tattoos, shower gags and rioting prisoners – all beautifully animated, as well as a soundtrack that mixes Santana, Metallica, and Ice T. What’s not to like? As one lonely prisoner said to another: let’s go deeper.
How To Play San Quentin xWays Slot
San Quentin xWays is wild – in every way. On the main screen, you can adjust your bet. You play all the paylines with every spin. You can set up autoplay and – in some cases – you can select turbo play. This option is restricted in certain territories.
There are lots of bonus symbols in San Quentin xWays. Wilds come in three formats: regular, jumping, and split. Split Wilds double up the symbols. If you hit two Split Wilds on a single spin, the amount of possible paylines jumps from 243 to 675. Jumping Wilds, as the name suggests, skip from reel to reel. If they hit a Razor Split enhancer, the multiplier is doubled. If you land the xWays symbol, you get a four-high stack of matching symbols. You also have the Razor Split symbol; this splits/doubles all symbols on the corresponding reel.
It all sounds complicated because, frankly: it is. You need to play it, to get it. But it’s worth the struggle. The key objective of San Quentin xWays is to land the Lockdown Spins. It’s the bonus round where prison life suddenly gets very rewarding. More on this to follow. Throw in animated cutaway scenes from prison life, like showers for two, games of cards, and psychopaths staring at the CCTV, and you get the basic picture. It’s a game with a lot going on!
San Quentin xWays Slot Symbols
Prison life is summed up beautifully by the graphic design team at Nolimit. The five base game icons, and key components for a stay in Chokey, are: toilet paper, handcuffs, a shiv fashioned from a brush and screwdriver, a lighter, and a bar of (undroppable) soap. Sounds spot on.
Next up, are the aforementioned cons: Luis, Beefy, and co. Beefy is the daddy of the block, paying 5x for five in a row. Other symbols in play include the bonus – a prison watchtower, assorted wilds, xWays, and a razor blade which splits/doubles icons.
In Summary
What can you say about a game that puts one of the world’s most infamous prisons front and centre, with a crazy cast of characters? San Quentin xWays is a blast. If you’re idea of fun is hanging out in the prison yard, clutching a shiv, and watching out for Mr Big, do some time with this online slot.
It’s laugh out loud funny, complete with swearing, showers, and some truly entertaining game play. Putting the prison theme to one side, it’s also a great online slot, packed with features, extras, wilds, and a riotous and rewarding Lockdown Spins bonus round.
If you’re done with pirates, fed up with Cleopatra, and can’t face another wolf, take San Quentin for a spin. It’s definitely not one for the faint-hearted but it’s a game that can hold its own in the prison canteen. Just don’t make eye contact.