Old Gold Miner Megaways™

Old Gold Miner Megaways™ Slot Review

Slot Provider: Pragmatic Play

RTP: % | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 5,000x

Our Score: 7.2

Play at Casumo Casino
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About Old Gold Miner Megaways™

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 12th October 2022

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.

Pragmatic Play take Megaways™ back to its roots with a gold mining slot built on the expanding reels engine from Big Time Gaming. Just like the most famous Megaways™ game of all time, Bonanza, Old Gold Miner uses mining as a metaphor for gambling. But where Bonanza was set on a cheery hillside with relentless hillbilly music in the background and fixated on the need to spell out the word G-O-L-D in scatters, Old Gold Miner takes us deep underground into the mineshaft itself, cranks up the paylines to 200,704, but removes one of Megaways™ best-loved features, the progressive multipliers.

The graphics are typically striking from Pragmatic Play and a wheel of fortune feature is a compelling addition to the standard features, but a lower than average 5,000x top payout means Old Gold Miner might struggle to compete against more extreme slots this winter.

This slot will be available at all slot sites with Pragmatic games from November 10th 2022.

Old Gold Miner Megaways™ Game Information

  • Release Date: November 2022
  • RTP: 96.56%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 5,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: Up to 7
  • Paylines: Up to 200,708
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: Mining
  • Features: Wilds, Tumbling Wins, Free Spins, Multipliers

What We Liked

  • Up to 25x multipliers
  • Tumbling Wins with every winning spin
  • High number of paylines

What We Didn't like

  • No new features
  • Low top payout

Old Gold Miner Megaways™ Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 8
  • Maximum Win 6
  • Symbols and Paytable 7
  • Features and Gameplay 7

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A run of the mill Megaways™ slot with strong artwork but un-original features"

Overall Score: 7.2

RTP and Variance

Our Score 8

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.

The RTP of this game is 96.56% which puts it about average for a Pragmatic Play slot. For higher returns you could try a game like Gold Train (97.16%) or The Catfather (98.1%).

Like most good Megaways™ games, Old Gold Miner is a very volatile beast, so expect an uneven win distribution. The engine is set up to deliver some pretty spectacular mixes of free spins, multipliers and tumbles in the bonus round, but Megaways™ fans will be disappointed to see that these are NOT enhanced by the usual progressive multipliers.

The top win is also a somewhat disappointing 5,000x. Pragmatic Play don’t generally produce games with the 50,000x potential that you find in rival games from studios like Big Time Gaming or Blueprint, but you can find a 10,000x top payout on their recent release, Smugglers Cove.

The minimum stake here is 20p per play.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 7

Old Gold Miner Megaways™ has an earthy set of graphics, all wooden frames and deep subterranean mine shafts. The symbols on the reels reflect the theme too with a set of miners tools.

Here are the highlights of the paytable:

  • This is a Megaways™ game with the standard 6 reel set up and between 2 and 7 rows per spin. Atop reels 2 to 5 is another 4 reel and 1 row set. The whole reel set is framed by the edges of a mining cart with the wheels visible beneath it.
  • In total there are 200,704 win ways available on one spin when all reels are fully expanded.
  • Low payer symbols are the cards, 10 through to Ace. These pay out up to 1.25x for six on a payline.
  • The premiums are the mining tools and helpers. They are represented by an old miner’s gas lamp, a set of spades and pick axes, a small cart of gold, a dog and a very pink mole! The top value here is 20x for six on a line, not a bad return considering the potential of the multipliers too.
  • Look out for the games Wilds too – these sub in for all others to form wins AND apply a 2x to any win they are part of.
  • Scatters do the usual thing and unlock the free spins round. They are also paying symbols as we see below.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 7

Old Gold Miner Megaways™ utilises the classic Megaways™ features of tumbling reels, free spins and multipliers with a Wheel of Fortune to decide how many of each you get. It’ll be familiar stuff to anyone who has played one of these expanding reels games before.

Tumbles After EVERY Winning Spin

After each win, winning symbols are removed from the reels and new ones drop in to replace them. This process keeps repeating until no more wins are triggered.

Free Spins With Multipliers

Just like Bonanza and all those that came after it, Old Gold Miner Megaways™ is all about unlocking the free spins round to unleash the bigger wins. You’ll need scatters to do this and they give you the following prizes:

  • 3 scatters gets you a 5x win and entry to free spins
  • 4 scatters gets you a 10x win and entry to free spins
  • 5 scatters gets you a 20x win and entry to free spins
  • 6 scatters gets you a 100x win and entry to free spins

Free spins come with a win multiplier. The quantity and value of these are determined by a spin of a huge prize wheel. The outer ring will indicate your multiplier whilst the inner ring will indicate your free spins total. You can earn up to 10 free spins and a 25x multiplier*. Landing three more scatters will re-trigger the free spins round and give you another spin of the wheel.

NOTE: Multipliers are FIXED in this game – they are not progressive.

More Games Like Old Gold Miner Megaways™ Slot

Bonanza – if you enjoy gold mining slots with a high variance rating then of course there is no greater game to go to than BTG’s stunning Bonanza slot. With 117,649 paylines it beats Old Gold Miner for potential – 26,000x – and also includes the infamous progressive multipliers in conjunction with tumbling wins. Epic stuff.

Chili Heat Megaways™ – If you want to stick with Pragmatic Play and try another Megaways game then Chili Heat is a good option. It also comes with 200,704 paylines and a top payout of 5,000x. There is also an innovative re-spins round with money bag collects and 10x multipliers. 

Where to Play Old Gold Miner Megaways™ Slot – Further Recommendations

You can play Old Gold Miner Megaways™ at both of these Pragmatic Play slot sites.

Duelz – This SuprPlay casino is excellent for slots fans with its ‘dueling’ feature that allows you to go up against any other Duelz player to battle for points and bonuses, like a 2-player tournament. There are over 1,000 games on the site and new players are entitled to 100 Book of Dead spins with their first deposit. You can play Paypal slots here too.

Kassu – This Genesis Global Casino comes with 300 free spins for first time depositors. It has over 2,000 slots and table games to choose from, including a full suite of Megaways™ titles and lots more high variance slots too. The cashier is fast and reliable and accepts deposits with Paypal as well as Skill and Neteller.

The Final Verdict

Creating a really good gold mining Megaways™ slot is never going to be an easy task when you consider the competition. Pragmatic Play have done a fairly decent job of steering clear of attempting anything too close to Bonanza, but it does feel like there is not enough innovation to really make this game stand out from the crowd. The Wheel feature to choose free spins and multipliers is OK, but it soon loses its spark, whilst the lack of progressive multipliers is a big miss in our opinion. And the decidedly low top payout will disappoint Megaways™ fans too.

Perhaps we are being a bit harsh. Where Old Gold Miner is strongest is in its artwork which at least evokes the age of prospectors in the Wild West of the 1900s. If that’s to your taste, then there is something for you here. If not, check out more options on our slot game reviews page.

Who Made Old Gold Miner Megaways™?

  • Name: Pragmatic Play
  • Established: 2015
  • UK License: Remote 046683-R-325951-014
  • Total Games: 500 +
  • Known For: Wide range of themes and styles, live casino including gameshow formats, and bingo
  • Popular Slots: Fruit Party, Dog House Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Release the Kraken
Find More Pragmatic Play slots

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