In Buster's Bones from NetEnt, sheriff dogs catch criminal dogs on the dry and hot plains of the Wild West. The pokie with such an unusual theme was released in the first half of 2023. But it is interesting not only in theme, but also in mechanics: it has a large field, payouts for clusters, and each win triggers a cascade. There are several unusual signs, and the range of bets allows you to choose the right one for those who bet big, and for those who want to stretch a small deposit for longer.
At honest casinos, you can play the Buster's Bones by NetEnt without worrying about your deposit, passport and other personal details. You can find a suitable place to play on your own. But it's better to save time and choose a proven casino: there are plenty of options in our rankings.
NetEnt gives you the opportunity to try out the pokie in a free demo game. You have $1000 on your balance and you can spend it on bets to learn the rules. Demo launches without registration at the top of this page.
Through the Casinoz list, you can easily find casinos to play for real money. A block listing of the sites can be found at the end of the review. Each of them definitely has Buster's Bones in their catalog.
In the Buster's Bones, a winning combination is made up of 5 identical symbols that fall on vertically and/or diagonally adjacent cells in any part of the field. You can bet in the range of 0.10 to 100 euros. If the casino uses a different currency - the bet sizes remain the same. Winning can not exceed a multiplier x973 of the amount bet. The field is large, consists of 36 cells (square shape, with 6 rows and 6 reels). Each payout triggers a cascade in which only winning symbols are removed.
Additional functionality is small: there are freespins, a random bonus and a few unusual symbols.
There is a large set of symbols in the game: there are 11 in total, of which 7 only pay in clusters. The provider added special properties to 4 more characters:
Scatter. Needed to activate the free spins package (along with the Buster Symbol).
Wild. Falling next to 4+ identical simple symbols, this symbol will complement them and allow you to form a winning cluster. If there are 5+ symbols, the Wild will still form a cluster and increase the winnings.
Buster Symbol. Only 1 such symbol can fall on the field. It also has the Wild property.
Bone Symbol. An additional multiplier up to and including x5 is rolled on the dice. In simple spins for 1 spin can land up to 5 such signs, in free spins - up to 4.
The cluster mechanics with cascades are interesting on their own. But the developer added a couple more features to the pokie:
Buy Feature. A button with this inscription opens the store. In it you can buy a package of free spins.
Buster's Bones Feature. Activated if Buster and Bone appear on the field at the same time. In this case, Bone turns Wild and Buster gets an additional multiplier in the same amount as Bone. This multiplier is included in the payout if Buster is included in a winning combination. The value of the additional multiplier is retained until the cascades are completed. If new Bones appear on the field during a series of cascades, the feature is triggered again.
Free spins are activated when 2 Scatter + Buster appear on the field on any cells. In this case, 8 free spins will be triggered. Buster sign remains on the field until the end of the round and moves in each spin on a random cell. When triggering Buster's Bones Feature additional multiplier on Buster is not reset until the end of the round. If 1 Scatter falls, the gambler is added +1 FS, and if 2 - +3 FS.
It is also possible to buy 8 freespins in the Buy Feature for x60 of the bet.
These characteristics can at least give you a rough idea of how well it pays:
Return to Player 96.07%, which is just above average.
Medium-high volatility, which means that the pokie will not pay too often, but the prizes will be quite large.
Regardless of the payout mechanics and other pokie parameters, there are no strategies for them that increase the gambler's chances of success. Tactics can be devised if there is some way to influence the outcome.
Pokies have nothing of the sort: there is only a start button that triggers a random number generator. It has tens of thousands of different outcomes from which one is chosen.
The entire interface of the pokie in both the mobile and desktop versions is stylized thematically - including the buttons. This is a bit distracting: the Buy Feature button is so seamlessly integrated into the design that you may not immediately notice it. The controls themselves are standard and include bet selection, speeding up or slowing down spins, auto- and manual start of the reels. The balance and the last received payout are displayed on the bottom left. It will be useful for the gambler to do the following:
Play the demo game before putting real money. In the demo game you can understand how the different combination of Scatter, Buster and Bone works, as well as how the cascades work.
On the bottom left, reveal the menu and familiarize yourself with the payout table. The principle of cluster formation is drawn there, as well as the size of prizes for different amounts (from 5 to 15) of each of the characters.
If desired - to speed up the rotation of the reels and / or customize the automatic spins and their conditions.
Change the bet size to the minimum if the game goes for money.
A lighter and smaller mobile version runs on Android and iOS. It differs from the PC version in design and reduced device requirements. The field in the mobile version is larger, symbols and buttons too. Superfluous design elements that are needed only for beauty - removed. As a result, the pokie is not only convenient to play: it also works smoothly and stably and loads quickly even with a weak Internet.
The Casinoz editorial team tried out the pokie and concluded that both newcomers and veteran gamblers can and should play it. We liked the clusters with cascades, additional special symbols to help the usual Wild and Scatter, and the constantly working free spins bonus.