Break Bones

Break Bones Slot Review

NOTE: Screenshots on this page were taken whilst we played this game for real money at Casumo Casino

Game Scorecard

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Overall Score

8.0

A super-cool 3x3 slot. Simple, but still great fun when a run of Echo Spins and big global multipliers lands.

Game Information

  • Name: Break Bones
  • Game Suppplier: Hacksaw Gaming
  • Release Date: October 2022
  • Theme: Music
  • RTP: 96.22%, 94.12%, 92.21%, 88.39%%
  • Variance: Medium
  • Maximum Win: 3,333x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Reels: 3
  • Rows: 3
  • Paylines: 17
  • Features: Wilds, Multiplier Wilds, Free Spins, Echo Spins

About Break Bones

Hacksaw Gaming’s Break Bones is a 3×3 slot released in October 2022 featuring their unique Echo Spins re-play mechanic. The triggering spin re-plays over and over adding multiplier values onto a global multiplier again and again, potentially driving huge wins. Despite its name Break Bones is no horror-slot, but more of a minimalist skateboarder affair with edgy graphics and a cool breakbeat soundtrack. You can try it today to win up to 3,333x.

What We Liked

  • Echo Spins build up global multplier
  • Up to 100x wild multipliers
  • Super-cool skater theme
  • Medium variance gives regular wins
  • Enhanced odds in free spins round

What We Didn't like

  • Simple gameplay may become montonous
  • Low top payout by today's standards

About The Developer

  • Name: Hacksaw Gaming
  • Established: 2018
  • UK License: Remote 054059-R-331396-004
  • Total Games: 50 +
  • Known For: Dark, high variance output and bonus rounds driven by combining multipliers
  • Popular Slots: Hand of Anubis, Itero, Gladiator Legends, Break Bones

Theme, Artwork & Design 9/10

Break Bones is a very unusual slot. It makes you wonder where the idea comes from. It seems to have a musical inspiration behind it. Perhaps minimalist breakbeat or techno. Certainly, the soundtrack with its relentless but sparse beat which kicks on at winning moments, suggests so. When you load up the game you appear to be looking at a kind of TV screen housing the 3×3 reels that sit against a backdrop of a brick wall scrawled with graffiti describing the logo, Break Bones.

It’s not dark, or moody, just different. And whether you like the theme and design will very much depend on your tastes. Its certainly a long, long way from a traditional slot. But that is why we loved it.

RTP and Variance 7/10

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Break Bones has four RTP possible RTP settings: 96.22%, 94.12%, 92.31% or 88.39%. Which you play at is at the discretion of your casino. We checked the RTP at four popular sites and this is what we found:

None of these sites are offering Break Bones at the optimum RTP. However, of the four, Casumo and Slot Nite offer the game at the best RTP. We recommend you choose to play there if RTP is an important metric for you

Break Bones is a medium variance slot. It does not have the same high volatility as other games in the Hacksaw list like Hand of Anubis or Itero for example.

Maximum Win 7/10

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The maximum win on Break Bones is 3,333x. This is relatively low, even for a medium variance slot. Though it is not uncommon for Hacksaw Gaming slots to cap their wins at this level. The table below shows more games that run on a similar maths model.

Games With Similar RTP and Variance

If you like the numbers, here are some more games you might want to try.

Slot SiteSupplierRTPVarianceTop Payout
Frank’s FarmHacksaw Gaming96.31%Medium5,000xPlay Here
Fruit DuelHacksaw Gaming96.3%Medium3,333xPlay Here
Gronk’s GemsHacksaw Gaming96.22%Medium7,500xPlay Here
Valley of the Gods 2Yggdrasil Gaming%High6,423xPlay Here
Aztec Gems DeluxePragmatic Play96.5%Medium1,000xPlay Here

Paytable 8/10

On the face of it, Break Bones is a very basic slot. Just 3 reels and 3 rows and 17 paylines. The only way to score wins is to match 3 symbols across a payline. There is no room for 4 or 5!

You’ll notice as well that the symbol values are low.

Break Bones Paytable
Break Bones symbol values are low

The cards, Jack through to Ace, are valued at just 0.1x or 0.2x. The four skulls are valued at 0.5x, 1x, 2x or 4x. And the wilds, which are the letter W, are also worth 4x when three drop on a line. They also sub in to complete paylines when required.

Only TWO symbols (and the wild) from 8 return more than your bet.

More importantly, Wilds MAY have a multiplier of between 2x and 100x attached to them which activated if they form part of a win. If more than one is active, then the two are added together to form a global multiplier applied to your win.

Gameplay & Features 9/10

Playing Break Bones is challenging.

The game challenges you to stick with it whilst you wait for that next Echo Spins or Bonus Round even to trigger. Most of the time it won’t happen but what you do get is a pretty regular hit of very small wins, almost always lower than your stake, but wins nonetheless.

Whilst this is going on, keep your eyes out for the high values skulls which can at least trigger something better than a 0.1x. Or, wait for a Wild with a big multiplier to break the tension.

The main event though, is the Echo Spins, unlocked by the Skeleton Hand. Now, in our sessions we have rarely seen this, but on occasion it has landed so we know it does exist!

Break Bones by Hacksaw Gaming
Break Bones – The Elusive Skeleton Hand Signals Echo Spins!

So, what are Echo Spins? These are re-runs of the triggering spin. And you can get anywhere between 1 and 5. They don’t sound like much but think about how that might work when you have a couple of high value wild multipliers in the triggering spin. In Echo Spins, the global multiplier does NOT re-set between each spin. So, if it was 50x at the start of a run of 5 Echo Spins, then it would increase to 250x by the end of that feature.

Now we’re starting to warm to the game!!

And it gets better because you can also land 10 free spins when 3 bonus symbols land. During these free spins your odds of getting Echo Spins increase, and your odds of hitting 5 Echo Spins is better too.

And that is Break Bones in a nutshell!

Our Verdict 8.0/10

Break Bones is a fun slot with an original theme and artwork that will split opinion. It will certainly will appeal to those who prefer simple gameplay to the complex and feature-heavy action being put out by studios like No Limit City right now. They key to scoring big wins here is to land high value multipliers on the Echo Spins feature. A series of 50x or more multiplier wilds added together in the global pot could get you close to that 3,333x top win on a very good day!

And thanks to its medium variance this is also a game that will appeal to Hacksaw fans that find their other titles too volatile for their tastes.

Like the sound of Break Bones? Here are some more slot games you might enjoy...

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