California Gold by Next Gen
Next Gen is known for bringing out beautifully designed intricate slots with loads of detailed artwork that could justifiably be on a wall somewhere. Then they are known for the type of game that California Gold belongs to. This is a funny little cartoon style slot with loads of humorous sound effects and graphics. The game has five reels and twenty optional paylines which can be played for as little as 0.01 coins or as many as 2 coins. California Gold will appeal to many different kinds of slot players, as the graphics and the wagering margin make it great for beginners and the humour makes is a pleasant break for experienced players.
Fun Graphics
California Gold is a fun slot. It can never take itself seriously and neither can its graphic style. The characters and background to this slot look like they come straight from a Saturday morning cartoon with bright colours and big noses. The reels are set against a well designed backdrop of hills with gold mines in them. Blue sky and green grass complete the picture. The reels themselves are done to look like rustic wood as are the buttons at the bottom of the screen. The soundtrack is full of ‘yeehaaw’s’ and funny sound effects and really adds to the theme of the game.
There’s Gold in Them Hills
The California gold rush happened many years ago, but tales are still told of the people and the experiences that they went through. California Gold is a humorous take on this theme, with lots of gold mines and funny looking miners populating the reels. There are no poker card symbols in the game, and all other symbols are nicely theme related and well drawn. The pick axe and barrel are worth 100 times your stake for five of them. The map, lantern, dynamite and gold pan will pay 150 times your stake. The overloaded donkey and mining cart will pay out 200 times your stake for five of a kind. At the top of the scale we have the gold mine itself worth 500 times your stake, and a rather scary looking guy hiding behind a rock worth 5000 times.
Golden Spins
The free spins in California Gold are launched by the gold nugget scatter. Finding three or more of them anywhere on your reels will give you ten free spins which come with a three times multiplier. Three or more scatters during this round will retrigger them, and you can also launch the Mad Miner bonus game from here too.
Mad Miner Bonus Game
This is a little mini game that is triggered by landing three or more mad Miners on reels two, three and four. When this launches you will initially be presented with three mines. Once you have chosen your mine, your miner will zoom down its shaft on a mining cart. Along the way he will collect gold stars, or ounces of gold. At the end of the round you will be awarded with number of ounces multiplied by your total stake.
