DonKey & the GOATS: Slot Overview

If your first assumption was that DonKey & the GOATS would be a goofy farm-themed slot packed with funny animals, you weren’t the only one. In a complete curveball, the DonKey part points to iconic promoter Don King, while the GOATS portion is about some of boxing’s biggest legends. People will always argue about who the true GOATs are, but since this is AvatarUX’s game, we’ll go with their lineup for now. The theme twist was unexpected, yet the bigger surprise was learning that DonKey & the GOATS is not—definitely not—a PopWins title. Yes, the studio can make slots that don’t pop. It’s just been a while, so let’s see how well DonKey & the GOATS can… pop. Sorry—old habits.

There’s a lot happening the moment DonKey & the GOATS appears on screen, and the paytable adds even more to digest. Maybe it’s just us, but DonKey & the GOATS still gave off a faint PopWins-ish feel—probably because we’ve reviewed so many AvatarUX releases in that style that it’s hard not to see echoes of it. Either way, DonKey & the GOATS fills the play area with symbols, alongside a reward row and a multiplier, while a shadowy crowd and the ring set the scene as fighters go at it. Nothing here screams “standard slot,” and anyone who enjoys surprises, extra mechanics, or a feature-heavy setup should be curious to see how it all comes together.

Once you’re ready to start throwing punches, you can choose a wager of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin, and there’s also a lengthy list of optional bet modifiers to consider. As a highly volatile game, DonKey & the GOATS comes with a return to player return value of 96%, which appears to hold regardless of how you choose to play. Although the grid can grow during free spins, the standard base game layout is 6×4 + a ZapReel, with 15,625 ways to win in play.

Winning combinations are formed by matching symbols from left to right starting at the far-left reel, and there are 12 standard pay symbols. The low-value set is made up of 5 assorted boxing items; the mid-tier includes symbols reading Rumble!, Thrilla!, and Brawl!; the high pays are 3 boxing action scenes, plus one extra super-high action symbol. A 6 OAK win returns 2x for lows, 3x for mediums, 4x for highs, and 10x the bet for the super high. Any winning symbols are removed via a cascading wins mechanic. Also, a dog smoking a joint(?) acts as the wild, replacing any regular pay symbol.

DonKey & the GOATS: Slot Features

AvatarUX has packed DonKey & the GOATS with a hefty set of mechanics, including the Vegas Reel Multiplier, the Vegas Reel, Vegas Reel Rewards, the ZapReel, free spins, a Champions Wheel, and a range of bonus buy options.

Vegas Reel Multiplier

Whenever cascade wins land, they light up an arrow beneath the multiplier on the Vegas Reel. Once all arrows are lit, the multiplier value is added to the global win multiplier. After that, the arrows reset. If that new value is collected again by achieving 3 wins on a single spin, the added amount stacks onto what’s already there. In the base game, the multiplier persists throughout cascades on a single spin. In free spins, any won multipliers remain as a global multiplier for the entire feature.

Vegas Reel

Any time a Donkey symbol lands, it triggers a random Vegas Reel Reward. In the base game, the reward arrives with 1 to 3 lives, which tick down across the following paid spins. In free spins, rewards come with 1 to 5 lives, activating on each subsequent free spin until the counter hits 0. Also, in free spins, unlocking a Vegas Reel Reward grants additional free spins equal to the number of lives attached to that reward. Multiple rewards can run simultaneously. If you unlock the same reward again while it’s still active, it receives extra lives. The rewards are:

• Wild Bombs – while active, a random spread of wilds is dropped across the reels.
• Synced Reels – while active, 2 or more reels are synced, landing the same set of symbols.
• Low Pay Removal – a random quantity of low pay symbols is removed from the spin.

ZapReel

The ZapReel is an extra row of symbols positioned above the main reels. Regular pay symbols that appear here can contribute to standard ways wins. On top of that, when an Uppercut Wild lands on the ZapReel, its reward activates – if a winline forms in any position directly beneath it, the Uppercut Wild turns into a full reel wild.

Free Spins

Hitting at least 3 scatter symbols activates the free spins feature. Once triggered, the Champions Wheel spins to award a specific number of free spins and a starting number of ways, which determines the grid size for the duration of the round.

XPRESS

Inside the XPRESS menu, players can switch on the following options:

• Ante bet – increases the chance of triggering free spins by doubling it, for an added stake cost of 25%.
• Wild Flurry – 5x the bet for a spin that guarantees at least 1 Uppercut Wild.
• First Strike – 15x the bet for a spin that guarantees a Donkey symbol triggers a reward.
• Buy Bonus – 60x the bet for up to 8 free spins with up to 30,625 ways.
• Buy Bonus Plus – 120x the bet for up to 10 free spins and up to 44,100 ways.
• Buy Bonus Premium – 180x the bet for up to 12 free spins and up to 60,025 ways.
• Buy Bonus Ultra – 240x the bet for up to 14 free spins and up to 117,649 ways.
• Buy Bonus Max – 500x the bet for 15 free spins and 117,649 ways.

DonKey & the GOATS: Slot Verdict

So, there’s no PopWins in sight, but DonKey & the GOATS does carry a bit of a Pop Art-style vibe. We could take the cynical route and claim DonKey & the GOATS is essentially a PopWins game minus the popping and the reel/ways expansion that usually comes with it—but we won’t. Instead, it’s worth noting AvatarUX showed some restraint by stepping away from its go-to mechanic and attempting something different. That can’t have been easy, considering how many poppin’ games the studio has released. Then again, perhaps the designers were simply excited to build something outside their usual template. Either way, they’ve succeeded, and DonKey & the GOATS feels like a project where the team enthusiastically loaded in features they genuinely wanted to experiment with.

A few elements are familiar from earlier titles, like the ZapReel, which appeared in LooneyPop, while others feel more distinctive for the studio. And although winning symbols don’t expand the reels, the reels do expand during free spins depending on what the Champions Wheel delivers. As expected, bigger is better, and when the grid is fully opened up, things can get chaotic thanks to how many mechanics are interacting at once. It never felt truly confusing, and DonKey & the GOATS didn’t leave us asking what on earth was happening in the way a Nolimit City slot sometimes can. It is quick, though—possibly too quick for some players. Still, a fast-paced slot can be a good thing, and this one handles its moving parts smoothly. Also worth noting is DonKey & the GOATS’ 20,000x the bet maximum win. Testing produced solid outcomes, so it’ll be interesting to see DonKey & the GOATS out in the wild and hitting its ceiling.

That brings us to the end of an AvatarUX review that didn’t require the PW word. The end result is distinctly entertaining, and even if it never reaches GOAT status itself, it would be a positive outcome if DonKey & the GOATS encourages AvatarUX to keep making games that don’t depend on the PopWins mechanic.