Wanted Dead or a Wild

It’s not too rare for modern slot games to have 1-2 special features, but Wanted Dead or a Wild stands out with 3 bonus features – these do not include the VS expanding wilds or substitute symbols with multipliers.

I warmly recommend playing it because it’s as fun and as generous as they come. If you want to learn more, keep reading as I explain its core mechanics and background.

About Wanted Dead or a Wild

Wanted Dead or a Wild is a bit different from your average video slot. It features a 5×5 grid with 5 reels and 15 paylines, a stretched-out betting range, and dozens of bonus features. The betting range for this game at sweepstakes casinos is identical to real money casinos; the minimum bet is 0.20 SC and the maximum is 100 SC.

It was developed by Hacksaw Gaming, one of the fastest-growing i-Gaming companies with a global scope of operations. With licenses from UKGC, MGA, and IoMSC, Hacksaw is widely recognized as a reliable, trustworthy developer.

This is one of the most volatile slots by Hacksaw, rivaled only by titles like Tasty Treats, Xpander, and more recently, Chaos Crew 2, and Rotten. The fact that each bonus feature is activated with a different set of symbols plays heavily into this.

Even so, its theoretical return-to-player (RTP) percentage is quite exceptional, standing at 96.38%, leaving only 3.62% to the house.

Aptly named “Wanted Dead or a Wild”, this slot is set in the Wild Wild West, and all featured symbols point to stagecoach robberies and all the jazz surrounding them.

As for the payouts, winnings achieved in the base game can net you up to 20x if you connect 5 Wilds or Revolver Cylinders while the minor symbols will give you a respin’s worth of SCs for a set of five. The Bonus Features, however, pay almost as much as your average jackpots, with the top win being 12,500x of the current wager.

Theme and Graphics

Wanted Dead or a Wild is set in a very real historically-inspired universe when bank heists, robberies, and showdowns were commonplace.

The symbols are detailed and modern, at least to my taste, especially the “blanks” that exclusively appear when the Dead Man’s Hand feature is triggered. Even though there are no characters, I like that Wanted Dead or a Wild has a story to tell and you, as a player, get to be a part of it.

Wanted Dead or a Wild Slot RTP and Volatility

This is a high volatility slot with an RTP of 96.38%. Its RTP implies that you are (theoretically) supposed to cash in at least 96.38 coins for every 100 coins wagered.

Volatility describes the ratio between risk and reward. As a high-volatility game, Wanted Dead or a Wild slot doesn’t pay too often, but it pays extremely well when it does, largely thanks to its special features.

How to Play and Win

This slot has one extra row compared to an average slot game (5×5 grid). Wins are scored from left to right only, and there are 15 paylines. The only symbol that substitutes for every other (except scatters and bonus symbols) is the Wild symbol. Combos of symbols of different kinds can only be made if the paylines permit it and if there’s a wild at the right intersection.

The paytable is fairly simple, so excluding the bonus symbols, keep a lookout for these ones:

• Cards (10, J, Q, K, A): 0.10x for 3s, 0.5x for 4s, and 1x for 5s
• Skull and Bandit: 0.5x for 3s, 2.5x for 4s, and 5x for 5s
• Cash Bag and Liquor: 1x for 3s, 5x for 4s, 10x for 5s
• Revolver Cylinder: 2x for 3s, 10x for 4s, 20x for 5s
• Wilds: 20x for 5s

Wanted Dead or a Wild Bonus Features

Wanted Dead or a Wild has five unique features, three of which are bonus features while the remaining two relate to wilds (substitutes). Let’s have a quick breakdown of how they work.

Wilds

Wilds or substitutes are symbols that serve as a “combo” bridge between adjacent symbols on active paylines. At the same time, they substitute for any symbol that is required to form a winning combination except for Bonus symbols.

VS Symbols

VS symbols initially appear as a single symbol; if they could connect two symbols on adjacent reels, VS symbols will roll out and fill the entire column before applying a random multiplier of 2-10x, 20x, 25x, 50x, or 100x. These symbols appear far more frequently during the Duel at Dawn bonus round.

The Great Train Robbery

The first “scatter” symbol is the Train. Draw at least three anywhere on the table, and the graphics will change into a moving train, and all drawn Wilds will become “sticky”, remaining in the positions where they land while the bonus is active. Activating this bonus awards 10 free spins with the current wager.

Dead Man’s Hand

Arguably the best feature of Wanted Dead or a Wild, the Dead Man’s Hand is very similar to “Hold & Win” bonuses. This bonus round develops in two phases. During the first phase, you get three free spins and collect Wilds and Multipliers. Whenever you draw at least one of them, your free spins refill back to 3.

The second phase begins when you run out of 3 spins (no bonus symbols are drawn). You will then get an extra 3 non-refillable free spins, and all the Wilds and multipliers you’ve collected will be activated with each spin.

Duel at Dawn

In my opinion, Duel at Dawn is a better version of the Train Robbery bonus. In both, you receive 10 free spins, but instead of sticky wilds, you’ll get to see VS symbols far more often. This means more stacked wilds with multipliers. Whenever I played this game, I usually cashed out as soon as this bonus was done.

Our Experience with Wanted Dead or a Wild

I recently played Wanted Dead or a Wild at an online casino, however you can play this game on any social casino we’ve listed here. I started with 5,000 GC and a wager of 5 because I felt lucky. The first 20 spins were mostly empty hands, which I was perfectly fine with knowing that Wanted Dead or a Wild demands patience.

After burning through roughly 200 GC, I finally got my Duel at Dawn free spins. When I saw 3 VS reels rolling out, I knew I was looking at a major win, but I didn’t expect to earn a whopping 7,605 GCs; I literally won 1,521x of my current wager with a single spin and almost doubled my initial bankroll in one fell swoop. With so much extra cash in my balance, I raised the stakes to 20 GC per spin.

Even though I had dozens of empty spins again, I drew 3 Train Robbery symbols for the first time in a while. With Sticky Wilds, the high volatility of this game became significantly easier to manage. After just a few rounds, I was guaranteed at least a few minor wins with each spin; even so, I barely won 10x of my wager with this bonus feature.

Since I already managed to activate two of the three major bonus features, I felt that I probably wasn’t lucky enough to trigger the most elusive one – Dead Man’s Hand. I dropped my wager to 10 GC and used the Buy Bonus to pay 400x of my current wager to guarantee three DMH tokens on my next spin. I paid 4,000 GC and got around 2,300 back, which wasn’t too terrible.

At the end of the day, I played at 5, 10, and 20 GC wagers, started with 5,000, and left with 7,601.50 GC. That’s 2,601.50 GC of pure profit, which would’ve been 6,601.50 if I wasn’t greedy with the Buy Bonus.

In total, I played through roughly 250+ spins, most of which weren’t too brilliant, but a few huge wins were all it took to showcase how generous Welcome Dead or a Wild can be.

Reasons in Favor and Against Playing Wanted Dead or a Wild

Even though it’s one of my favorite games, I understand that Wanted Dead or a Wild might not be great for everyone. Let me summarize my experiences and findings related to this game:

In a nutshell, this is a perfect game for disciplined players who can remain patient through empty spins while waiting for big wins and bonus rounds. It’s not comparable to average slots and as such might not be ideal for beginners. Ultimately, it pays exceptionally well and I warmly recommend it.