The Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys Slot Review

Slot Provider: Hacksaw Gaming

RTP: 96.41% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 25,000x

Our Score: 8.2

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WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About The Bowery Boys

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 8th March 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.

The Bowery Boys is a high variance Scatter Pays slot from Hacksaw Gaming, released in February 2022. Its theme is built around gangs from the New York in the 1800s and it has a dark, cinematic feel to it. As well as Avalanche Wins, payouts are enhanced in the bonus game by Strongboxes which hold multipliers of up to 100x but only unlock when they land at the same time as a Key symbol. There are also Blasting Bombs which unlock multipliers when 2 or more combine. The highlight of 3 free spins rounds is the Bowery Savings Bank where all wins are stored in a vault. Dice symbols multiply their value and dollar signs release them.

You can win up to 10,000x per spin on The Bowery Boys. Spins start at 20p per play.

The Bowery Boys Game Information

  • Release Date: February 2022
  • RTP: 96.41% | 94.30% | 92.19% | 88.45%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 25,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: 5
  • Paylines: Scatter Pays
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: Historical
  • Features: Scatter Pays, Cascading Wins, Strongboxes, Multipliers, Blast Bombs, Bowery Savings Vault

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played The Bowery Boys

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 200 spins on The Bowery Boys for real money at Pub Casino to test the game and this is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £0.2
  • Start balance: £37.09
  • End balance: £17.95
  • Biggest Win: 42.4x
  • Free Spins rounds: 1
  • Session Time: 20 minutes 10 seconds

The Bowery Boys was as brutal as its gang members in testing and it’s a harsh reminder of just how tough Hacksaw’s most volatile games can be. Over 200 spins I only saw a strong box-key combination on 4 occasions. However, I did unlock the Strong Box Storage free spins round and although it’s the tamer of the 3 it did give me a 42.4x win and the thrill of building up a box collection and waiting for a key to drop cannot be denied. The base game was littered with wins, but they always very small and rarely enhanced by multipliers which was this session’s downfall.

Small Win in the Strongbox Storage round
A small win in the free spins round

What We Liked

  • Dark and atmospheric New York gang theme
  • Scatter Pays mixes with Avalanche Wins
  • Superb Bowery Bank Free Spins option
  • 10,000x stake top payout
  • Strong Boxes are saved in bonus round

What We Didn't like

  • 20p min stake is high
  • Super volatile so tough to break

The Bowery Boys Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 8
  • Maximum Win 8
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 9

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A twisted and thrilling journey into New York's dark past with a very clever and innovative selection of features to look for."

Overall Score: 8.2

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

I love the darker, edgier Hacksaw Gaming slots – their moodiest games like Hand of Anubis or Rotten create brilliant atmosphere and The Bowery Boys is similarly grim. Under a full moon and skittish clouds we find the 6×5 reel set against the backdrop of a back alley populated by silhouettes and slumped drunks, or in the bonus rounds a dark cellar corridor with boxes of explosives lying around.

The Bowery Boys by Hacksaw Gaming
The Bowery Boys by Hacksaw Gaming

Meanwhile the paytable is filled with dangerous looking gang members wielding frightening weapons. The result is an intriguing combination of danger, romance and crime. The game could have benefited from a more compelling soundtrack – its sparse to say the least – but still its very well produced.

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 Bowery Boys has five available RTP settings at 96.41%, 94.35%, 92.19% or 88.45%. Which you play at is at the discretion of your casino. We have verified the RTP of this game at five UK slot sites. This is what we found:

For The Bowery Boys MrQ offers the best return on your wagering and if RTP is important to you then we recommend that you play there.

The Bowery Boys is a high variance slot from a developer who specialise in this kind of game with slots like Itero and Outlaws Inc also in their back catalogue. The win distribution will be unpredictable but it has the potential to drop some thrilling win sequences from time to time.

Maximum Win

Our Score 8

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 top payout in The Bowery Boys is 10,000x. This is good and in line with most Hacksaw Gaming high risk slots. However, if you want bigger potential there are much greater prizes on offer out there. Check our list of the highest max win slots for games with payouts of 100,000x and more.

Explore Games With Similar RTP, Variance and Maximum Win

Like the numbers? Here are some more games you might want to try.

Slot SiteSupplierRTPVarianceTop Payout
RottenHacksaw Gaming96.27%High10,000xPlay Here
Hand of AnubisHacksaw Gaming96.24%High10,000xPlay Here
Beast BelowHacksaw Gaming96.29%High10,000xPlay Here
Gladiator LegendsHacksaw Gaming96.31%High10,000xPlay Here
Alpha EagleHacksaw Gaming96.26%High10,000xPlay Here
Buffalo Stack n SyncHacksaw Gaming96.36%High10,000xPlay Here

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

The Bowery Boys is a Scatter Pays slot which means wins are triggered by landing 8 or more identical symbols ANYWHERE on the reels. There are NO paylines. Other Scatter Pays slots include Bee Hive Bonanza and Wisdom of Athena by Pragmatic Play.

As far as the paytable goes, you will need to land high numbers of identical symbols to score any significant wins in the game BUT typically for a Hacksaw Gaming slot there are plenty of high value multipliers to help boost those payouts.

The Bowery Boys Paytable
The Bowery Boys – 100x wins for 15 or more top premiums

Low value icons are represented by the cards 10 through to Ace which deliver payouts of between 0.1x to 20x for up to 15 matched symbols on the reels. The premium symbols are a dubious man with a moustache, a lady holding a bomb, a fight scene, a gun, canoodling couple, strongbox, gold key, bonus symbols and high cards. These nicely-drawn picture symbols can award from 1x to 100x your bet for 8–15 of a kind.

There is also a powder keg symbol which acts as the Wild, substituting for all the other symbols in the game to complete winning spins.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 9

What I love about Hacksaw Gaming is that this studio are no shirkers when it comes to producing interesting and original features in their games. The Bowery Boys does not disappoint in this regard and there are more than a few clever and inventive ways to unlock the big wins.

Scatter Pays and Cascading Wins

First up, always remember that this is a Scatter Pays game, so as long as there are 8 or more identical symbols ANYWHERE, you are getting paid!  Alongside this simple payout mechanic are Cascading Wins one – after each win, any winning symbols are removed, and new ones drop in to replace them. If more wins are formed, the process repeats.

Strong Boxes and Blasting Bombs

One of my favourite parts of this game is the STRONGBOXES. They may land anywhere but in a cool twist you will need the KEYS landing anywhere else on the same spin to unlock them. Inside you’ll find multipliers of 2-5x, 10-25x or 50-250x depending on the size of the box.

Unlocking Strongbox Storage in The Bowery Boys
Strongbox Storage Free Spins Bonus where strongboxes are saved rather than discarded

Blasting Bombs

Just as effective, but not quite as clever is this other way to unleash multiplier action on the reels –BLASTING BOMBS. They reveal 2x to 100x multipliers that combine if two or more are present.

Free Spins Where Strong Boxes Are Stored

The free spins round in The Bowery Boys takes things to another level. It comes in THREE formats set up when 1, 2 or 3 bonus symbols drop onto the reels.

The first is 10 Free Spins with STRONGBOX STORAGE – a clever twist as strongboxes that land without a key aren’t lost, they just go into storage! A key that lands on a later spin will unlock them ALL. I love this – it gives you more chance of capitalising on those multipliers.

Next up is 10 Free Spins with DAISY’S DYNAMITE – Dynamite symbols come with multipliers of 2x to 100x and are placed in the storage box until a detonator lands to unleash them. Multipliers are then applied to your win.

Finally, we get 10 Free Spins with BOWERY SAVINGS BANK – now, after EVERY win during your spins the win value is paid out AND stored in a vault. Any DICE that lands will multiply the total value in the vault from 2x up to 12x. But if a POLICE BADGE lands then a bribe is required to get you off the hook – 10% up to 50% of the total value of the vault. BUT wait … if a DOLLAR SIGN lands, the vault is unlocked and all the accumulated cash is paid out!

This last bit is genius (and potentially cruel as you can lose your stash!) and another illustration of why Hacksaw Gaming are such a popular provider for high variance fans.

The Final Verdict

The Bowery Boys is an atmospheric and edgy slot with a creative theme and interesting Bonus features. From the moment I loaded up the game there was a strong and pervading air of menace from the shadowy figures populating the background and the crime theme. But there is also a touch of romance in the characters on the reels which adds intrigue and glamour.

As far as gameplay goes, this is an original and fun slot to play. The All-Scatter Wins mechanic is quite unusual and leads to unexpected payouts whilst the use of a combination of keys and strongboxes to unlock multipliers is clever too. My favourite part of all however is the Bowery Savings Bank feature, which gives you huge potential when lots of wins are accumulated and a few lucky dice throws are added into the mix. But of course, this dark slot has an added layer of jeopardy which is another brilliant twist – just when you think you are about to unlock big wins, the police can come in and rinse you for 50%!!! So, if you like tension, you’ll love The Bowery Boys!

To finish, a word on stake. The 20p minimum here is higher than some other Hacksaw slots and it means you can burn balance faster than on other slots. So keep this in mind and play safely. Overall, its worth a few plays just to witness the imaginative features and get a proper dose of 19th century Hell’s Kitchen!!

Compare The Bowery Boys With Similar Slots Picked By Us

Here are more games like The Bowery Boys compared on configuration and features. Click through to read a review of each one.

Slot GameProviderThemeMin. StakeMax. RTPVariancePaylinesTop PayoutJackpot
Hacksaw Gaming£0.1096.29%1010,000xNo
Hacksaw GamingHorror£0.1096.27%High3510,000xNo
Hacksaw Gaming£0.1096.19%1010,000xNo
Hacksaw GamingAnimals£0.1096.23%High2610,000xNo
Hacksaw GamingFantasy£0.1096.19%High1610,000xNo
Hacksaw Gaming£0.1096.23%Win Ways10,000xNo
Hacksaw GamingAfrican£0.1096.3%High2010,000xNo
Hacksaw GamingCartoon£0.1096.22%Medium2512,500xNo

Useful Tips When Playing The Bowery Boys

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Play At Casinos With Maximum RTP

If you want the best chance of getting a positive return on your wagering then play at a slot site where the game runs at the optimum RTP level – in this case 96.41%. In our tests MrQ runs the game at this level.

2. Play In Demo Mode First

With high variance slots we recommend that you play the game in demo mode first to get a feel for it and understand the features. Casumo Casino allows you to play all slots for free.

3. Bowery Savings Bank Bonus Has Best Potential

The hardest part will be to unlock this bonus round which is potentially the most exciting and rewarding. All wins are paid out AND stored remember. It’s all down to luck but it is where those epic wins can be found.

4. Find A Licensed Slot Site and Play With a Good Bonus

Choose a good slot site from our lists – one that has Hacksaw Games and offers a good value slots bonus for you based on your deposit size. For example, Barz Casino offers a 100% match from £20 up to £300.

Who Made The Bowery Boys?

  • Name: Hacksaw Gaming
  • Established: 2018
  • UK License: 54059
  • 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
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