The Sherriff of Nottingham slot (iSoftBet): Overview

If you’re looking for a slot inspired by the legendary outlaw Robin Hood, you’ll find plenty to pick from. iSoftBet adds another entry to the list with The Sheriff of Nottingham, and fans of the man in the hood will likely be pleased. But does the market really need one more Robin Hood-themed game, and how well does it compare to the rest?

Much like many other iSoftbet titles we’ve reviewed, The Sheriff of Nottingham is an attractive-looking slot. It keeps that familiar cartoon style, though this time the humour is pushed a bit more. The backdrop fits the theme perfectly, showing a wooded Sherwood Forest scene. The forest also doubles as a neat transition screen when moving between the base game and the bonus features. It’s also worth pointing out the refreshed UI, which is a major step up from the older interface.

Gameplay takes place on a vivid 5 reel, 3 row layout featuring 25 fixed paylines. Players can select coin values from 0.01 to 1, creating bets from 25 p/c to $/€25 per spin. In the base game, payouts are awarded when three or more matching symbols land along a payline.

The symbol set includes low and high pay icons, plus several special symbols. Low pays are the J – A royals. High pays include a scroll, trumpets, swords, and a shield/coat of arms. The premium symbols come with pleasing animations, and the coat of arms pays 16 times the stake for five of a kind. The Sherriff of Nottingham acts as the wild and comes with multiple uses. It’s also the top-paying symbol, returning 20 times the stake for five. One of its roles is substituting for any standard pay symbol, while the remaining functions are covered in the features section. For reference, the RTP is shown as 96%, with medium volatility. From the outset, it’s already quite different from some other Robin Hood slots in terms of the type of player it’s likely to appeal to—more on that soon.

The Sherriff of Nottingham slot (iSoftBet): Features

Additional symbols appear as members of the Merry Men. Landing 5 of these outlaws on the reels activates the Wanted Respins feature. The reels are then cleared so that only Merry Men, blank spaces, or the Sherriff can appear for 3 respins. Each Merry Man carries a prize value, and whenever one lands it locks in place and resets the respin counter back to 3. If the Sheriff symbol lands, it gathers the values of the Merry Men, which also clears their positions so new symbols can drop in. Once the respins end, all Merry Men values are revealed and paid, along with anything the Sherriff has collected. Prize amounts can differ, but minimum values can reach 40x the stake for the rare King John symbol.

The only feature that can show up at any moment without being triggered is Pick a Royal Letter. During spins, three sealed letters may appear at random on the screen. The player selects one to open, revealing one of the following in-game modifiers:

• Wanted Spin: the Sheriff symbol lands and pays out the value of 3-4 Merry Men.
• Bonus Add: the game adds a stack of bonus symbols to improve the chance of landing at least three on the spin.
• Sherriff Wilds: Sheriff wilds are added to the spin, but this time they land in super-stacked size.
• Win Spin: Gold coins are added to the reels. If any land in view, then they all transform into the same common symbol. Anything but the scatter is possible from a gold coin.

Last up are the Free Spins. Crown symbols award 8 free spins when they land on reels 1, 3, and 5 simultaneously. This bonus is named Robin Riches Free Spins,and its standout mechanic is the synchronised reels. On each spin, up to 5 reels can synchronise, giving you the opportunity to hit matching stacked symbols in a style similar to Twin Spin or Queen of Riches. This bonus round cannot be retriggered.

The Sherriff of Nottingham slot (iSoftBet): Verdict

It’s hard to deny that Sherriff of Nottingham shares some clear similarities with other Robin Hood-themed slots. Beyond the setting, certain features feel oddly close to those in Riches of Robin by Play’n GO—Wanted Respins and Heists Respins being a good example. It’s also a little strange that one game includes a Robin Riches feature while the other is actually titled Riches of Robin. There’s no real way to tell who had the concept first, and it doesn’t matter much since it’s likely coincidence. Either way, fans of this kind of slot now have two options—so which is the better pick? That largely depends on the kind of gambler they are. Despite a few surface-level resemblances, these are very different games.

In terms of payouts in The Sheriff of Nottingham, we generally found the better returns came through Wanted Respins, while the more exciting moments tended to happen during the Robin Riches Free Spins. Being able to clearly see which reels are synchronised is a familiar, proven idea, and it works well here too. When wins feel inevitable—such as when the first three reels are in-sync—the suspense is unexpectedly strong. Unfortunately, the prizes don’t really live up to that tension. With extreme luck, filling the grid with King Richards during Wanted Respins could deliver 600 times the stake, potentially more if the Sherriff has already collected some rewards. Still, the main takeaway is that this isn’t a high potential slot—certainly not to the same extent as Riches of Robin.

Overall, The Sherriff of Nottingham is a polished-looking slot with features and a math model that fit a calmer, more relaxed style of play. Players chasing something tougher, riskier, and more rewarding may be better off exploring the alternatives.