Keep ‘Em: Slot Overview

It seems strange to think about it now, but Hacksaw Gaming originally concentrated on scratch card titles, with no slots to speak of. That shifted in September 2019 when the studio released Stick ‘Em, a light, charming slot starring the cheerful yellow character Canny the Can, and it offered only a small glimpse of the online slot powerhouse Hacksaw was about to become. Canny later returned in Stack ‘Em, then Canny the Can and the Book of Time, and also appeared in Drop ‘Em alongside his rodent buddy Mona the Mouse. Now he’s back again in Keep ‘Em, this time accompanied by his feathered friend Bob the Bird.

Visually, Stick ‘Em was fairly straightforward, though not in a negative sense—after all, it was the studio’s first slot. Later games expanded the scenery into a richer outdoor backdrop with a dense forest vibe, and Keep ‘Em uses that same approach. Canny bounces around on one side of the screen with Bob the Bird on the other, so at a glance it strongly resembles Drop ‘Em or Stack ‘Em. The mechanics, however, are a different story, and rather than a quirky jazz soundtrack, Keep ‘Em plays an epic Oompah-style tune.

Keep ‘Em runs on a 6-reel, 5-row layout and uses a 15,625 ways to win system. Wins start from the leftmost reel and require 3 to 6 matching symbols landing on consecutive reels. The volatility is rated medium (3 out of 5), although being a Hacksaw Gaming slot, the ride can still be pretty unpredictable. There are four RTP setups available, with the standard set to 96.27%, and stakes range from 10 c to $/€100 per spin, while the feature buy menu includes four bonus modes.

The low symbols are coloured blocks marked J-A, paying 0.5 times the bet for a 6 OAK hit. Higher-paying icons include a snake head, a hand holding a lightning bolt, a skull, and Bob the Bird, paying 0.8 to 2 times the stake for a 6-of-a-kind combination. Somewhat unexpectedly, Keep ‘Em does not include wild symbols.

Keep ‘Em: Slot Features

Get ready for a heavy dose of ‘Em as we break down Cash ‘Em, Get ‘Em, Keep ‘Em, Keep ‘Em Comin’, Keep Your Friends Close…, Keep Your Canny Closer!, plus the feature buy options.

Cash ‘Em, Get ‘EM and Keep ‘Em Features

• Cash ‘Em – Cash symbols award a prize once they are collected. Cash symbols can be worth 1x to 1,000x.
• Get ‘Em – Cash symbols are collected when a Get ‘Em symbol lands on the grid at the same time as Cash symbols. If multiple Get ‘Em symbols appear, each one collects the visible Cash symbols once.
• Keep ‘Em – Reels 3 and 4 are the Keep ‘Em reels. When a Get ‘Em symbol, FS scatter symbol, and/or a Cash prize lands on the Keep ‘Em reels, the Keep ‘Em reels are activated, awarding 3 respins. Remaining spins are shown via a Heart Counter. The symbols that activated the Keep ‘Em reels stay in place until the respins finish. Any extra Get ‘Em, FS symbols, and/or Cash prizes landing on the Keep ‘Em reels also lock until the respins end. Cash prizes and Get ‘Em symbols pay on every new respin. During the 3 respins, Heart symbols may land, which resets the Heart Counter.

Keep ‘Em Comin’

Hitting 3 FS scatters in the base game activates this feature and awards 10 free spins. During the bonus, the chance of landing Get ‘Em symbols, FS symbols, and Cash prizes is increased. Landing 3 FS scatters adds +4 free spins, while landing 4 FS symbols adds +6 free spins.

Keep Your Friends Close…

Landing 4 FS scatters in the base game triggers this feature and grants 10 free spins. Here, any Cash prizes that land remain on the reels until they are collected by a Get ‘Em symbol. Once collected, the Cash prizes and the Get ‘Em symbol spin out at the start of the next spin. If a full row or full reel of Cash prizes appears, those prizes are automatically collected even without a Get ‘Em symbol, and they spin out at the start of the next spin. If one or more Get ‘Em symbols are present, they also collect the Cash prizes independently. Landing 3 FS scatters awards +4 free spins, or landing 4 FS symbols awards +6 free spins.

Keep Your Canny Closer!

Landing 5 FS scatters in the base game awards 10 free Keep Your Canny Closer! free spins. This feature follows the same rules as Keep Your Friends Close…, but with the added twist that 3 Cash prizes and 1 Get ‘Em symbol are guaranteed to land on every spin.

Feature Buys

These are Keep ‘Em’s feature buy choices, and each one is highly volatile:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins – each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. The cost is 3x the bet, RTP 96.36%.
• Cantastic FeatureSpins – each spin is guaranteed to land at least 1 Get ‘Em symbol and 1 Cash prize. The cost is 40x the bet, RTP 96.35%.
• Keep ‘Em Comin’ Bonus – 100x the bet, RTP 96.35%.
• Keep Your Friends Clos… – 200x the bet, RTP 96.37%.

Keep ‘Em: Slot Verdict

It’s always enjoyable when a familiar character returns (as long as they haven’t been overused), and it’s even more satisfying when the comeback happens in a well-built game. Keep ‘Em fits that bill, and although it initially looks similar to Drop ‘Em or Stack ‘Em, the actual gameplay is completely different. And while Keep ‘Em is, at its core, a Cash symbol collection slot, Hacksaw being Hacksaw has packed it with smart touches that are not only engaging but can also ramp up the tension fast when things start to go wild.

One of the early highlights is how Get ‘Em symbols and Cash prizes, when landing on the Keep ‘Em reels, both kick off respins and remain locked for the duration. Even more appealing is that locked Cash prizes can pay again and again on each respin, as long as at least one Get ‘Em symbol is also visible. It gets better still when both Cash prizes and Get’ Ems are held together on the Keep ‘Em reels. Adding another layer is the Keep Your Friends Close… Bonus, where every Cash prize stays put until collected, plus the full reel and full row auto-collection. It’s fair to say luck played a part in the positive test-session impression, but Keep ‘Em definitely had moments where it showed what it can do. The session didn’t manage to trigger the Keep Your Canny Closer! bonus, which also looks strong, but it can’t be bought, and landing 5 scatters is not always the simplest thing to pull off.

That said, don’t take this as a sign that Keep ‘Em hands out easy wins. Hacksaw Gaming isn’t known for making broken money printers. The point is that when Keep ‘Em does hit, it can be a real rush, and its 10,000x the bet max win is available in all game modes, which is a nice plus. Up to now, Canny has built a solid record of appearing in neatly designed, entertaining, and punchy slots—and Keep ‘Em can add itself to that list.