Cocks & Robbers

Cocks and Robbers: Slot Overview

Imagine if animals had hobbies; who knows what they might get up to? In Cocks and Robbers from developer Red Tiger the livestock have escaped and are looking to live it up human style. Two rapscallions, the Fox and the Wolf, have set up a 'mob headquarters' in what was a farm building to shake down the regulars - there are cops, or cocks, as the case may be, but they've been paid to look the other way instead of busting the bad guys. Players can get paid off too if they're lucky by a symbol-collecting prize-win system, and the more animals the villains can shakedown, the bigger the prize will be.

The main game action takes place outside the barn, but instead of sitting in an isolated field in the countryside, Cocks and Robbers has more of a downtown setting, though one made of agricultural buildings and rows of crops. This does fit the theme better, giving the characters an urbane swagger they might not have picked up in the chicken coop, sty, or wherever. Get lucky and trigger free spins, and the barn doors open wide to let players in. Again, instead of hay or cages, a saloon-style environment has been created, with drinks downstairs at the bar, and an upstairs for whatever it might be that goes on up there. Shifting away from a conventional farm setting gives Cocks and Robbers a grittier edge, one tinged with humour and oddball characters.

At all times, the symbol action is conducted on a 6-reel grid, which has 3 rows and 729 ways to win. A stake range of $/€0.10 to $/€500 is provided, as are four feature buys. The RTP clocks in at 96.19% on the highest configuration, and the volatility is low, with a 1 out of 5 rating.

On the paytable are 10-A royal symbols, then five characters: the Turkey, Duck, Lamb, Pig, and Bull. Winning combinations of 6 royals award players 0.4x to 0.5x their bet or 0.8x to 5x for five matching animal symbols.

Cocks and Robbers: Slot Features

Features in this barn include Wild Foxes, Wild Wolves, the Full House, Barn Spins, super spins, and feature buys.

Wild Fox

The Wild Fox substitutes for all paying symbols. It can land on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5. The Wild Fox collects Duck and Turkey symbols from the grid, awarding an instant prize when 5 or more are collected. If a Wild Wolf lands alongside a Wild Fox, it also awards 3 Duck and Turkey symbols to the overall count. The prize depends on the number of collected Ducks and Turkeys, ranging from 3x to 3,000x the bet.

Wild Wolf

The Wild Wolf expands to cover the entire reel and substitutes for all paying symbols. Like the Fox, it only lands on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5. The Wild Wolf collects Pig and Lamb symbols from the screen, awarding an instant prize when 5 or more are collected. A respin is awarded if there is a win on the spin. The Wild Wolf moves one position to the left on each spin except when it is on the second reel. When it is on reel 2, the Wild Wolf moves to reel 5. The feature ends, and the counter is reset when there is no win on the spin. Prizes depend on the number of collected Pigs and Lambs, ranging from 10x to 10,000x the stake. The prize is awarded on the last spin of the respin feature.

Full House

Full House can trigger on any spin to add a random number of symbols of the same type to the reels. Possible symbols are Pig, Lamb, Duck, or Turkey.

Barn Spins

Hitting 3 scatters awards 10 Barn Spins. One Wild Fox is guaranteed to land on each free spin. During the round, landing an extra 1 scatter awards +1 spin, 2 scatters award +2 free spins, and 3 scatters award +3 free spins, plus an upgrade to super spins for the remaining spins. In Barn Spins and in super spins, wins that form when a Wild Wolf is present do not trigger a respin. Instead, the Wild Wolf is kept between spins and awards instant prizes for any collected Pig and Lamb on a spin where no win is formed, or on the last spin of the bonus round. The Wild Wolf disappears on the following spin.

Super Spins

Landing 4 scatters awards 10 Super Spins. Scatters can not land in this round. One Wild Fox symbol is guaranteed to land on each super spin, and a Wild Wolf is guaranteed to land on spins when a Wild Wolf is not present on the reels.

Feature Buys

Players can activate Wild Fox Mania for 3x to guarantee a Wild Fox lands, or Wild Wolf Mania for 10x to guarantee a Wild Wolf symbol lands. Barn Spins can be bought for a cost of 50x, or super spins for 320x the bet.

Cocks and Robbers: Slot Verdict

Cocks and Robbers was an opportunity for Red Tiger to come up with a cheeky title, even if the game itself isn't as racy. It does make a change from seeing animals in their normal habitats, be that grazing in a field or trying to blow houses down, which some gamblers might get a chuckle out of, before placing them in a seedy barn-to-mob-headquarters conversion. For much of the time, the pace is quite slow, even though the game has a high hit frequency of 58.78%, and even when Fox or Wolf symbols are landing, it can take quite a lot of collected symbols to really scoop one of the sizable cash prizes.

Still, Fox and Wolf Wilds are the keys to some of Cocks and Robbers' better moments, so the game perks up whenever they're on the grid. More so the Wolf Wild for at least three reasons. One, because it expands to cover the entire reel; two, it triggers respins (or is held through free spins); and lastly, the Wolf prizes have greater values than the Fox's goodies. Respins are quite useful too, since they are able to provide extra chances to collect symbols. Cocks and Robbers gave off a vaguely 9 Masks of Fire kind of energy, since the chase involves collecting certain symbols in order to win a cash prize. Cocks and Robbers is a more advanced system, containing extra moving parts, as well as greater winning potential of 11,481.8x the bet. But players who enjoyed the Gameburger hit, or slots made in that manner, may enjoy the way Cocks and Robbers performs as well.

All in all, Cocks and Robbers combines a humorous theme with features some gamblers may enjoy. Its strongest appeal comes from the Fox and Wolf collection mechanics and the way the base game ramps up into the more exciting free spins features. The volatility won't be to all tastes, and the action could be pretty sleepy, but low volatile leaning players looking for a light-hearted slot with a somewhat more evolved symbol collection prize award system might be tempted.