Buffalo Blitz

Buffalo Blitz Slot Review

Snow-capped ridges catch the last pink light at either edge of the reels, tall grass rises along the bottom of the screen, and a violet sky goes dark behind the gold-framed grid. Playtech’s Buffalo Blitz knows exactly what kind of slot it is: one idea, six reels wide, and not a single feature that doesn’t feed it.

That idea is the reel set. Six reels, four rows and 4,096 ways to win, carrying a free spins round that retriggers without limit and a wild that multiplies wins by x2 to x5 inside it. There’s no published RTP or volatility figure for this build, and the airbrushed prairie realism is a period look now. Sister titles like Hot Gems Xtreme and Buffalo Blitz 2 push the studio’s later ideas harder, but this one laid the ground.

Base Game & Features

The grid runs 6×4, boxed in a thin gold double-line frame over deep blue panels, with the logo’s lightning-bolt slash cutting through the wordmark up top. Behind the reels, a violet-and-pink streaked sky sits under dark cloud banks. Distant snow-capped mountain ridges peek out at either side of the grid, catching the last of the light.

It’s lush, warm and unmistakably of its era. The animals on the reels do the thematic lifting, and they pay in two tiers. The raccoon, shown as the cougar head, and a second animal head both pay from just two of a kind, which is unusual.

Below them sits the royal run of A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9. Those six fill out the lower end of the paytable and only pay from three of a kind upward. On a grid with four rows per reel, royals land often enough to keep the spin counter ticking over between the bigger animal hits.

Wins form across 4,096 ways, active on all six reels. Any run of matching symbols on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel pays, wherever those symbols sit on their reels. Only the scatter breaks the rule, paying anywhere on the grid.

There’s no published RTP or volatility figure for this build, so nothing to quote there. Each symbol’s returns as a multiple of stake are as follows:

• Raccoon (cougar head): 2 pays 37.5x, 3 pays 125x, 4 pays 375x, 5 pays 375x, 6 pays 625x
• Second animal head: 2 pays 25x, 3 pays 100x, 4 pays 200x, 5 pays 375x, 6 pays 500x
• A and K: 3 pays 50x, 4 pays 100x, 5 pays 250x, 6 pays 375x
• Q and J: 3 pays 25x, 4 pays 75x, 5 pays 200x, 6 pays 300x
• 10 and 9: 3 pays 25x, 4 pays 50x, 5 pays 200x, 6 pays 250x

Two details in that list reward a second look. The raccoon’s pay flatlines in the middle before the final jump, and the pair alone is worth more than most games pay for three royals. The wild appears on reels two to six only and stands in for every symbol except the scatter. That’s its whole job in the base game. The multipliers arrive later, inside the bonus round.

Buffalo Blitz Bonus Features & Free Spins

Free Games is the game’s one bonus feature, and it’s a generous one on paper. The trigger is 3 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the grid. The number awarded scales steeply with the count:

• 3 scatters award 8 Free Games
• 4 scatters award 15 Free Games
• 5 scatters award 25 Free Games
• 6 scatters award 100 Free Games

Inside the round, the wild changes character. Each substitution now carries a random multiplier of x2, x3 or x5 on the win it forms part of. The wild still can’t appear on the first reel, so every multiplier sits somewhere it can connect to a leftmost-reel start.

On a grid this wide, a spin with several wilds in the right places is where the game’s real potential sits. Multiple wilds in one win each apply their own multiplier, which is how a modest line of animals turns into something worth writing down. The animals pay the same inside the round as out; it’s the wilds doing the converting.

Retriggers run on their own ladder, with a lower entry point than the original trigger: 2 scatters inside the round are enough to add games. Landing scatters during Free Games awards more as follows:

• 2 scatters award 5 more Free Games
• 3 scatters award 8 more
• 4 scatters award 15 more
• 5 scatters award 25 more
• 6 scatters award 100 more

The round can retrigger indefinitely, so a run that starts with 8 free games can keep extending for as long as the scatters keep landing. That open-ended structure, rather than any stated ceiling, is what defines the win potential here.

There’s no maximum win figure for this one. What the paytable and bonus ladder establish is the shape of the potential: long, wide and uncapped, with the sixth reel and the multiplied wilds doing the heaviest lifting.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.1/10

This is a game of patience, dressed in prairie dusk. Somebody chooses Buffalo Blitz because they want 4,096 ways and a bonus round with no ceiling, and because the warm, slightly airbrushed herd-and-royals look is what they grew up on. It does one thing, quietly, for a long time.

The best thing here is that retrigger ladder: two scatters inside the round still pay five more games, so a bonus that starts small can keep growing well past its welcome, in the good sense. The worst thing is the base game between bonuses, where the royals pay small and there’s nothing else happening on screen worth watching.

It’s a good fit for players who enjoy a long build and an old-fashioned wildlife setting, and a poor one for anyone who wants features to chew on between scatters. For the patient, the grass on this prairie stays green.

Buffalo Blitz FAQs

• How many paylines does Buffalo Blitz have?

  Buffalo Blitz has 4,096 ways to win, active on all six reels. Any combination of matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right, starting with the leftmost reel, pays regardless of where the symbols sit, except the scatter, which pays anywhere.
• What is the grid size of Buffalo Blitz?

  Buffalo Blitz runs on a 6×4 grid: six reels and four rows.
• Who makes Buffalo Blitz?

  Buffalo Blitz is made by Playtech.
• How do you trigger Free Games in Buffalo Blitz?

  Landing 3 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the grid triggers the Free Games round. 3 scatters award 8 free games, 4 award 15, 5 award 25, and 6 award 100.
• Can Free Games retrigger in Buffalo Blitz?

  Yes, and indefinitely. During the round, 2 scatters add 5 more free games, 3 add 8, 4 add 15, 5 add 25, and 6 add another 100. There’s no limit on how many times this can happen.
• What does the wild symbol do in Buffalo Blitz?

  The wild substitutes for every symbol except the scatter and can’t land on the first reel. During Free Games, it also multiplies any win it helps to form by a random x2, x3 or x5.
• How many Free Games do 6 scatters award in Buffalo Blitz?

  Six scatter symbols award 100 Free Games, whether landed in the base game to trigger the round or during the round itself.
• What is the highest-paying symbol in Buffalo Blitz?

  The raccoon, shown as the cougar head, is the top payer. 6 of a kind returns 625x your stake, and even 2 of a kind is worth 37.5x.