Gold
Gold is an online slot from the games developer Microgaming and was released way back in January 2013. They say that all that glitters is not gold. However, this slot certainly gives a very good impression of being the real deal with so much of the glittering yellow stuff you may need to wear sunglasses to play.
Gold by Microgaming is a 5-reel video slot with 20 pay lines. These are not fixed like many newer slots from this games developer so you can adjust them from 1 up to 20. The game incorporates a standard wild symbol which can substitute for all other symbols except the scatter symbol. Landing the scatter symbols will activate the bonus round which will award you free spins. The Gold video slot offers a top prize of £5,000.
How to play Gold Video Slot
When the game first loads you could be forgiven for being a bit taken aback by how Gold the Gold slot actually is. With a glistening gold background, gold buttons, gold symbols and a gold logo, you certainly get the message that the theme of this slot is most definitely Gold. There is the odd splash of purple to break up the game area slightly but it certainly looks a wealth based game.
The slot consists of some familiar card type symbols being 9, 10, J, Q, K and A alongside other more expensive items. These other symbols include a ring, a gold credit card, a gold watch, a gold limousine and a set of 3 gold bars. You also have a case full of gold which is the symbol that acts as the Wild for the game. Finally, you have a gold record which acts as the scatter symbol.
Before you start playing the Gold slot you should set your cost per spin. Make sure this is at a level you are comfortable to play at. Using the + and – buttons under the big coin value display which is at the bottom of the game screen, you can set the coin size at 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 25p and 50p. There is also a coin button so you can decide how many of the coins you wish to bet at a time. This can be anything from 1 to 5. As mentioned earlier you can then set the number of active pay lines. Adjusting these options will allow you to set the cost per spin to as little as 1p up to a maximum of £50.
To start playing the Gold video slot you just need to select the oval shaped button on the bottom far right of the game screen marked ‘Spin’. There is also an ‘Auto Play’ button along the bottom section of the game screen. Clicking the AutoPlay feature allows you to have the game spin the reels automatically. You can set the number of spins from 5 up to 100. You also have a bet max button which will spin the reels at the maximum cost per spin based on your current coin level.
As you play Gold you will soon realise that as this is not as feature rich as the newer Microgaming Slots and is quite simplistic in nature. In the base game, you are simply matching at least 3 identical symbols on any activated pay line. If a win includes a Wild symbol then that cash reward is doubled.
To achieve the bigger sized prizes you will be looking to land the scatter symbols across the reels. Two matching scatter symbols will simply produce a cash prize. You will require 3 or more to activate the free spins bonus round. During the bonus round, you will receive 15 free spins and all wins are tripled. If you land another 3 scatter symbols during the bonus round then you can re-trigger the 15 free spins. You can win up to 180 free spins in total. Once the free spins bonus round is complete you will simply return to the base game.
Gold Video Slot Tips
On the bottom left-hand side of the game screen, you will see a button labelled ‘View Pays’. This will reveal 2 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. These screens are useful and 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 Gold video slot, then it would be worth your while to try out the game for free at one of our recommended online casinos. This facility allows you to learn how the game plays and see the features in action before parting with your hard earned cash. You can switch to real cash play at any time. If you would like to play Gold for free then you can at Unibet Casino or Betbright Casino.
Is Gold the right video slot for you?
The Gold Slot by Microgaming has a theoretical RTP (return to player) of 95.5% giving a house edge of up to 4.5%. This is a slightly higher house edge than other Microgaming slots, although in our test of 100 spins at a £1 cost per spin we found it to still play well at times.
We seemed to get a sequence of more frequent wins of smaller value and then a long dry spell, up to 18 spins without a win and then a few higher valued wins. The game plays as a medium variance game and would suit you if you are looking to use a free casino bonus whilst getting a fairly good length of gameplay with the chance of bigger rewards if you are prepared to wait for the bonus round to hit.