Le Cowboy Slot Review
After disguising himself as one of the most powerful Greek Gods in Le Zeus, Smokey brands himself the new Sheriff in town…but he’s all hat and no cattle. It seems that this bandit has entered his Cowboy era, where gun holsters & bandanas are the latest fashion trends, and eating BBQ rattlesnakes is apparently a delicacy in these parts.
With nimble paws and a silver tongue, Smokey will charm the pants off every lawman he meets and vanish before they can say ‘draw’. Saddle up and explore the dusty Wild West in Le Cowboy, courtesy of Hacksaw Gaming.
When Smokey made his first debut in Le Bandit, we couldn’t have imagined how far Hacksaw Gaming would take the series, but we’re certainly glad they did. With each release, Smokey has found himself in sticky situations, mimicking Egyptian Gods in Le Pharaoh, turning tricks in the Viking age of Le Viking, and taking on the persona of the ‘King of Rock’n Roll’ in Le King.
It seems our dear old friend, Smokey, is showing no signs of retiring just yet, but can he outsmart the citizens of a small Wild West town, or has he finally met his match? With a fixed RTP of 96.28% and a medium volatility score, Le Cowboy can produce wins worth up to 25,000x your bet.
With a skip in his step and a devious look in his eye, Smokey is ready to play his role as Sheriff, but will he finally get caught in the act? Let’s find out…
Base Game & Features
Le Cowboy is a 6-reel, 5-row Video Slot with a Cluster Pays mechanic. Winning combinations are constructed when 5-14 matching symbols land in adjacent cell positions, either horizontally or vertically on the grid.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Sheriff Badge, followed by Animal Skulls, Pistols, Cactus, Hats, and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card ranks. After a winning cluster has been determined on the grid, a fixed payout between 0.2x and 200x your bet is awarded.
Furthermore, Wild symbols, in the form of Wanted Posters, appear on all grid positions and substitute for all symbols as part of a winning combination. Other symbols include FS Scatters, which trigger a Free Spins session when 3+ land in view. FS Scatters cannot land in the same spin as Revolver Cylinders.
Lastly, the Avalanche Feature causes all winning clusters to be removed from the grid, including non-winning instances, allowing new symbols to land in the empty cell positions. This continues until no new winning clusters are formed in the same spin.
Revolver Reveals
During gameplay, whenever a winning cluster is created using a Wild symbol, it will transform into a Revolver Cylinder symbol, awarding 2-6 Shots. Once the grid has settled, the Revolver cylinder triggers, firing its respective shots at random symbols on the grid.
If there is more than 1 Revolver Cylinder available, they will trigger in order, from top to bottom & left to right. Revolver Cylinders may shoot the same symbol position multiple times, and once they transform into a Revolver cylinder, they no longer act as Wilds on the grid.
Each symbol the Revolver Cylinder hits will reveal 1 of 5 special symbols: Coin, Diamond, Clover, Loot Bag, or Reload Scatters. Once the chamber is empty and all shots have been fired, the Reload Scatter, if available, will fill the chamber with an additional 2-6 Shots.
If a Coin Scatter is shot again, it will upgrade to the next available Coin Scatter, each of which reveals a random value:
- Bronze Coins: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x
- Silver Coins: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x
- Gold Coins: 25x, 50x, 100x
- Diamond Coins: 150x, 250x, 500x
Alternatively, if a Green Clover is targeted again, it will instantly upgrade to a Gold Clover Scatter. Please note that Gold Clovers, Diamonds, Loot Bags, & Reload Scatters cannot be shot at by the Revolver Cylinder again.
Once all shots are fired from the Revolver Cylinder, each Coin & Diamond Scatter will reveal its value, after which, the Green & Gold Clovers, if available, will activate. Green Clovers will multiply Coin, Diamond, & Loot Bag Scatters on adjacent cell positions with a Multiplier of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, or x20. Otherwise, Gold Clovers award a Multiplier between x2 and x20 to ALL Coin, Diamond, & Loot Bags on the grid.
Once Green & Gold Clovers are completed, Loot Bag Scatters will gather all Coin, Diamond, & additional Loot Bags and store their total value, activating from top to bottom & left to right. After activation, Clover & Reload symbols will disappear, and all shot cell positions will reveal further Coin, Diamond, Clover, or Loot Bag Scatters to complete the process.
At the end of the process, all Coin & Loot Bag Prizes will be added together and paid out accordingly.
Le Cowboy Free Spins
The High Noon Saloon Bonus is awarded when 3 FS Scatters land in the same base game spin, awarding 10 Free Spins. Once active, a special Gamble Mode appears, where players can choose to play this Bonus or gamble for a Bonus Upgrade.
Choosing to gamble will cause a Revolver to land on 1 of 4 outcomes:
- Outcome 1: Instantly awards the next Bonus Upgrade (Trail of Trickery).
- Outcome 2: Awards an Instant Prize of 1x, 2x, 3x, or 4x your bet.
- Outcome 3: Awards an Instant Prize between 5x and 20x your bet.
- Outcome 4: Awards an Instant Prize of 25x, 50x, or 100x your bet.
The High Noon Saloon Bonus continues to maintain the same base game mechanics, with an increased chance of triggering Revolver cylinders. Lastly, when 2 or 3 FS Scatters land in a spin, an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins are awarded, respectively.
Trail of Trickery
Landing 4 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the Trail of Trickery Bonus, awarding 10 Free Spins. Like the previous Bonus, once active, players will enter a special Gamble Mode, where they can choose to play the current Bonus or gamble it for a chance to win the Hidden Bonus, Pistols at Dawn.
- Outcome 1: Instantly awards the Bonus Upgrade (Pistols at Dawn).
- Outcome 2: Awards an Instant Prize between 5x and 20x your bet.
- Outcome 3: Awards an Instant Prize between 25x and 100x your bet.
- Outcome 4: Awards an Instant Prize between 150x and 500x your bet.
In the Trail of Trickery Bonus, the session maintains the same mechanics from High Noon Saloon, with the addition of a Bullet Collector outside the grid, where +1 Bullet is added for each winning cluster.
On the last spin, the Bullet Collector will activate, causing Smokey to shoot onto the grid. The affected cell positions will reveal Coin, Diamond, Clover, or Loot Bag Scatters. Once all the bullets are fired, the Revolver Reveal process continues as normal. Please note that FS Scatters cannot appear when the Bullet Collector is active.
Finally, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters will award a further +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Pistols at Dawn
Activating the Hidden Bonus, Pistols at Dawn, requires 5 FS Scatters to land in the base game, awarding 10 Free Spins.
Following in the footsteps of previous bonus modes, Pistols at Dawn maintains the same mechanics from Trail of Trickery. In addition to this, the Bullet Collector is progressive and will begin at 5, triggering on every spin once all Revolver Cylinder & Reload symbols are complete.
Once the Bullet Collector has activated, it will reset to its previous value before the next spin. The Bullet Collector will continue to gather winning clusters for the next spin, with Silver Coins being the lowest available value in this feature.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players may purchase any of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 3x your bet per spin
- Wild West Featurespins: Each spin guarantees a minimum of 2 Wild symbols per spin for 75x your bet
- High Noon Saloon: Awards 10 Free Spins and a chance to land more Revolver Cylinders for 65x your bet
- Trail of Trickery: Awards 10 Free Spins and a Bullet Collector Feature for 250x your bet
Each of the above options has a High Volatility rating, except High Noon Saloon, which is classified as Medium in volatility.
Le Cowboy has a maximum win potential of 25,000x your bet. If a single session exceeds this figure, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
With each new ‘Le’ release, Smokey has gotten more brazen & methodical, as have Hacksaw Gaming with the types of features & mechanics they incorporate into gameplay. In true Smokey style, we find ourselves ripped from the skies of Mount Olympus and brought to the dusty roads of the Wild West.
Le Cowboy marks the 6th release of the series, each leaving us pretty well-versed in a variety of popular slot themes. With the gap between each release shrinking fast, it won’t be long before Hacksaw Gaming runs out of themes to choose from, unless they start getting really creative.
Next on Hacksaw Gaming’s list is the timeless Wild West genre, where Smokey takes on the appearance of a Sheriff, but will his mask finally slip? In the base game, the Mystery Reveal Feature comes in light of a Revolver Reveals function, which involves Smokey firing bullets at individual cell positions to reveal a series of Coins, Diamonds, Loot Bags, Clovers, or Reload Scatters.
However, to get there, you will need to access Revolver Cylinders, which require a little more finesse to achieve. It’s not like Le Bandit, where all you need is a Rainbow symbol to land on the reels. Instead, you need to connect at least 1 winning cluster with a Wild symbol to activate 2-6 Bullets, though it’s not as difficult as it sounds, given the Cluster Pays mechanic.
In keeping with tradition, Le Cowboy has 3 tiers of Free Spins modes, with two offering a unique Gamble Mode before the session begins. Before now, none of the ‘Le’ series has been lucky enough to receive a Gamble Mode. Players may be tempted to gamble their current Bonus for a chance to win the Hidden Bonus, but there’s also a high chance of receiving one of several Instant Prizes, too.
Given how difficult it is to achieve the Hidden Bonus in any Hacksaw Gaming release, this option will go down well with daredevil players who have been chasing the 5-Scatter dream for far too long, but it’s slim at best. Finishing the review on a high note, Le Cowboy has a sizable max win potential of 25,000x your bet, serving as the highest-paying game in the series…so far.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
