Cowboys & Aliens
Cowboys & Aliens is a 105-page graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and published in 2006. Then came the movie version in 2011 and then followed in December 2012 with the Playtech online slot. The premise is the same with the western town needing to be defended against the Alien Horde.
Cowboys & Aliens by Playtech is a 5-reel and 3-row video slot with 9 fixed pay lines. As with the majority of Playtech slots, you will find recognisable features such as wild symbols, scatters that can activate mini games and also a free spins bonus round. There is plenty going on with Cowboys & Aliens and the top prize in a single spin is 10,000x your coin bet.
How to play Cowboys & Aliens Video Slot
When the game has loaded you will find that it is created in a comic book style with the information on the game even being in a storybook mode. The backdrop of the game is the old western town that plays the main part of the story. With old wooden buildings and a dusty street, the scene is set for an epic battle against the aliens.
The game makes use of some standard card type symbols, these being 10, J, Q, K and A. These form the lower value symbols for the game. The higher value symbols are made up of one of the aliens, our hero who will hopefully save the day, the leading lady, the preacher and a native American. The wild symbol for the game is an alien spaceship while the scatter symbol is the game logo. There’s also a gun symbol on the first reel which can trigger a special feature plus there are bonus symbols on reels one and five. You can also win from left to right and right to left with this particular online slot.
Before playing the Cowboys & Aliens online slot you should set your cost per spin. You can do this by using the + and – symbols under the line bet option. You can set this from 1p all the way up to £100. This means you can set your cost per spin from 9p up to a maximum of £900. However, we always recommend that you set the cost per spin to a value you are comfortable with.
To start playing Cowboys & Aliens you just need to select the wooden looking button on the right-hand side of the bottom part of the game screen that says ‘Spin’. You will also see an ‘Auto Play’ button. Clicking this option allows you to have the game spin the reels automatically. You can set the number of spins to 10, 25, 50 or 99 spins.
The base game of this slot is straight forward as you will be looking to match symbols on a winning pay line and this can include the wild. The main difference is that as long as 3 symbols match and are adjacent to each other across 3 reels, then you will win the relevant cash award.
During the base game if the space gun lands on reel one, it will choose to fire between one and 4 phaser like rays at that number of standard symbols on reels 2, 3, 4 or 5 and change those symbols into wilds. You will then receive a cash reward for any wins produced from these extra wilds.
You are also looking to land what looks like a space scooter on reels 1 and 5 which will then activate the Alien Attack Bonus. You will get to choose one of 3 characters, each who have better abilities at killing the aliens. However, a character with better accuracy has fewer shots than a weaker one so choose carefully. You then have to shoot a horde of flying aliens. Those that you destroy reveal a cash prize.
The last remaining feature is the free spins bonus round that includes comic wilds. If you land 3 of the game logo scatter symbols then you will be awarded a total of 8 free spins. During this feature, you will have blocks of symbols merged into a single wild with an animated scene from the battle with the aliens playing inside. This block can be up to 4 symbols in size. Once your free spins are complete you are returned to the base game.
Cowboys & Aliens Video Slot Tips
On the bottom left of the game screen, you will see a button with the word ‘info’ in the middle. Selecting this will allow you to view a series of 6 screens that give information about the game including the main features as discussed above. You can also view the coin payout levels for the number of matching symbols on a pay line along with a grid view of how the wins are generated. These screens help familiarise you with the game and what you need to do to get the best wins possible.
If you are new to playing the Cowboys & Aliens video slot, then you should initially try out the game in Freeplay or demo mode at one of our recommended online casinos. This means you can spin the reels as many times as you like for fun without having to spend your own cash. You will see how the gameplay works and then if you want to play for real you can switch to real cash play at any time. If you would like to play Cowboys & Aliens for free then you can at Titanbet Casino.
Is Cowboys & Aliens the right video slot for you?
The Cowboys & Aliens video slot has a theoretical RTP (return to player) of 94.01% giving a house edge of 5.99%. We tested the game over 100 spins at a 90p cost per spin and found the game to be an entertaining low variance slot. Wins were frequent and we never had a dry spell of more than 8 spins without a win.
You will enjoy Cowboys & Aliens if you like branded slots that offer an extended gameplay plus novel bonus features and mini-games, especially arcade style ones such as the shooting of aliens here. If you have a free casino bonus at hand then this video slot would help to turn it over and meet the wagering requirements.
