Cowboy Coins: Slot Overview

However fast someone is on the draw, however sharp their aim, and however quickly they can reload, sooner or later there’s always someone out on the Old West plains and through the canyons who can outshoot them. We mean that in a figurative sense, but it fits plenty of situations—online slots included. In the world of Western-themed hold ‘n wins, Relax Gaming’s Money Train series may be the reigning force, though rivals are closing in. Enter Pragmatic Play with Cowboy Coins, bringing plenty of punch and a more developed feature set. Is it enough to knock the leader off its perch? Let’s see.

On the surface, Pragmatic Play knows its way around this kind of theme, and Cowboy Coins is another title that looks pleasing. The dusty frontier-town backdrop isn’t especially standout, but the vivid art style and oversized characters create an attractive, if slightly familiar, scene. One of the most notable elements is Cowboy Coins’ game grid. It’s built in a 3-4-4-4-4-3 formation, delivering 2,304 ways to win and placing certain feature symbols on specific reels.

For bonus buy fans with sizeable bankrolls, Cowboy Coins comes with a handful of tempting choices. Before jumping into any of them, players need to set a base stake of 20 p/c to $/€100, and they can do it on any device. With five bonus buys available, RTP may differ, but as a reference point, the default maximum when playing normally is 96.08%, and the volatility is classed as high.

Standard symbols pay left to right starting from the first reel, with ten in total. The low end is 10-A royals, followed by card icons, a pistol, and three character symbols as the five premium tiles. A six-symbol royal combination returns 1.25 to 2 times the bet, while six premium symbols pay 3 to 10 times the bet. There are no wilds included to assist with forming wins in Cowboy Coins.

Cowboy Coins: Slot Features

Additional symbols to watch for in the base game include Money, Collector, Payer, and scatters. Money symbols can appear on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5, carrying values of 1-10 times the bet. Payers appear only on the first reel, also valued at 1-10 times the bet. When a Payer lands, it adds its value to any Money symbols on screen, then pays out its value plus the Money symbol values. If a Collector lands while Money symbols are present, its value plus all Money symbol values are paid.

Free Respin Feature

Hitting 3 scatter symbols in the base game activates this feature. At that point, players receive 3 respins, and only Money symbols or special symbols can land. Money symbols appear on the main grid, while special symbols drop onto new reels added around the edges. Symbols lock when they land and reset the respin counter back to 3. The special symbols are as follows:

• Payer – on the leftmost reel, Payers add their values to the Money symbols. Super Payers do this on every respin.
• Multi Collector – on the top reel, Multi Collectors pay their value plus a random Money symbol value. Super Multi Collectors do this on each respin.
• Collector – on the rightmost reel, Collectors pay their value plus the value of all Money symbols in view. Super Collectors do this on each respin.
• Double Booster – on the bottom reel, Double Boosters double the value of 2 to 5 random Money symbols. Super Double Boosters do this on each respin.

Once the edge reels are filled, +1 additional position is added – only a single time. Finally, the round begins with a number of Money symbols equal to the number of triggering scatters.

Buy Free Respins

Where offered, players can choose one of five selections from the feature buy menu. These include standard respins for 100x the bet, or for 500x the bet, players can purchase respins where the Super version of their chosen Special Symbol is guaranteed after the first respin. RTPs for each option are shown clearly in the paytable, ranging from 95.99% to 96.27%.

Cowboy Coins: Slot Verdict

Cowboy Coins makes a solid attempt, but in our view it doesn’t quite do enough to unseat the current leader of the Western hold and win niche. Still, there’s a lot more to like than to criticise. One place where Cowboy Coins drops a little is its fairly familiar look and feel. It’s perfectly fine, but the typical frontier town and its typical lineup of characters don’t push the imagination much. It’s also hard not to compare it to a steampunk-styled train, all chrome and skulls, barreling along like an unstoppable force.

That’s not a major issue—Pragmatic Play chose a classic approach, and it works. In any case, Cowboy Coins really stands out because of its features, and having Money symbol collection mechanics in both the base game and the bonus round adds extra weight to the experience. It moves from a more straightforward base setup into a more intricate respins feature. None of the special symbols feels wildly groundbreaking, but each one has a clear role and can meaningfully enhance a round. Enough so that being able to buy the one you want will surely appeal to some players. It could have been interesting to see an ultra option that included all four super special symbols, though the cost would likely be huge. As it stands, the respins round has what it takes to be both thrilling and potentially rewarding, with a top prize of 30,000 times the bet.

So once the shootout ended and the dust settled, it was clear Cowboy Coins didn’t quite edge past the champion for the number-one Western hold and win position. That certainly doesn’t make it a poor game—far from it—as the way Cowboy Coins goes about building toward potentially big wins shows a strong level of creative quality. It also arguably offers a more engaging base game, though you’re welcome to argue that one.