FA CHAI Gaming Cowboys Review & Free Play

Cowboys: Ride Into the Wild West for Up to 20 Free Spins

Down in the Wild West, FA CHAI Gaming has set the scene for Cowboys. Here, the wind blows with cascading mechanics and up to 20 free spins in the base game. I spent more than two hours in this sun-drenched Western town, and here's how it went.

In front of a saloon, there's a five-reel, three-row slot that operates on 15 paylines and cascading mechanics. Land three or more identical symbols on a payline, and you secure a payout followed by the avalanche effect. However, cascading mechanics with so few paylines somewhat cripple the game's potential.

I managed to see wins every three to five spins, with average returns between 0.60x and 1.30x my bet. Frequent wilds did come to help, giving me returns of 2x and 4x my bet, but a handful of them couldn't fully revive my dwindling bankroll.

There's a mini-game in the base game where, if the cascade continues through four consecutive wins in a single spin, you'll win a mini-game with four free spins. This can increase to 20 free spins if the cascade continues through seven wins in one spin.

In my case, I mostly got four free spins, where I managed to win 10x, 14x, 12x, and 18x my bet. As for the main bonus game, you'll need to land three or more bonus symbols on the grid to face the cowboy.

Instead of conventional free spins, you get three lives and have to pick the right rewards from the boxes. The star protection costs one life but gives you 3x your bet. One revolver awards 10x your bet, while two revolvers give you 20x your bet.

It took me almost 100 spins to face the cowboy, and I managed to win 64x my bet across three lives. Even though you're guaranteed a reward with every pick, I'd still prefer a few retriggerable free spins with multipliers and a more rewarding feature.

There are no Bonus Buy or ante bet options to improve your odds, but I don't think you'll need them badly. The frequent small base-game wins should keep you from feeling too desperate to force your way into the bonus.

FA CHAI Gaming's Cowboys isn't the pioneer of its genre, but the addition of the mini-game gives it a distinct character. I loved the concept and would happily return for another session in the near future.