Clumsy Cowboys

Clumsy Cowboys is a Wild West-themed video slot developed by Backseat Gaming, release on October 29, 2024. This 5-reel, 4-row game features 20 paylines and offers a medium volatility experience with an RTP range of 94.22% to 96.22%. Players can bet between 0.10 and 100 credits per spin, with the potential to win up to 12,500 times their stake.

The slot is set in a cartoon-style Wild West environment, featuring a sleepy settlement as the backdrop. The main characters are unconventional for a Western theme – a hippopotamus named Harry and a rhinoceros called Ryan, both portrayed as clumsy cowboys. This quirky choice of protagonists adds a humorous twist to the traditional Wild West setting.

The game's visuals include wooden structures that appear fragile enough to be blown away by a strong wind, creating a comical atmosphere. Despite the cartoonish elements, an ominous tolling bell in the background adds a layer of seriousness to the overall tone.

Core Game and Mechanics

The base game is played on a 5×4 grid with 20 paylines. Symbols include classic Western-style 10 to A card royals as lower-paying symbols, along with fruits like plums, oranges, and watermelons as mid-value symbols. The two cowboy characters serve as the highest-paying symbols, offering 20x to 50x the bet for five of a kind.

Wild Multiplier symbols appear on reels 2, 3, and 4, always coming with multipliers of x2, x3, or x5. When multiple Wild Multipliers contribute to a win, their values are added together, potentially leading to significant payouts.

Bonus Features

Clumsy Cowboys offers several engaging bonus features:

Stick Them Up Bonus:

• Triggered by landing 3 scatter symbols in the base game
• Awards 10 free spins
• All Wild Multipliers become sticky during this feature
• Landing scatters on the leftmost and rightmost reels grants 2 additional free spins and removes the lowest available paying symbol from the reels

Sheriff's Showdown Bonus:

• Activated by hitting 4 scatter symbols in the base game
• Grants 10 free spins
• All low-paying royal symbols are removed from the reels at the start
• Wild Multipliers are sticky
• Landing scatters on the outer reels awards 2 extra spins and removes the next lowest paying symbol

Bonus Buy Options:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins: 2x the bet, increases free spins trigger chance by 3 times
• Bandit's Grab FeatureSpins: 25x the bet, guarantees 3 to 12 wilds and removes a random number of lowest pay symbols
• Outlaw's Steal FeatureSpins: 75x the bet, guarantees 3 to 12 wilds and removes all low-pay symbols
• Stick Them Up: 100x the bet to directly trigger the bonus
• Sheriff's Showdown: 200x the bet to directly trigger the bonus

An interesting aspect of Clumsy Cowboys is its symbol removal mechanism. During bonus rounds, landing scatters on specific reels not only awards additional spins but also removes low-paying symbols from the game. This progressive removal of lower-value symbols significantly increases the potential for high-value combinations, especially when combined with the sticky Wild Multipliers in the bonus games.

This feature, particularly prominent in the Sheriff's Showdown bonus where all royal symbols are removed at the start, creates a dynamic and potentially lucrative bonus experience. It effectively balances the game's medium volatility with the possibility of substantial wins, making Clumsy Cowboys an engaging option for players who enjoy a mix of regular payouts and high-win potential.