Digging for Wilds

Digging for Wilds: Slot Overview

Gamble online and there is a good chance that sooner or later you're going to get shafted. Not necessarily in a monetary sense, but with the proliferation of mining-themed slots, odds are you're going to end up down a mine shaft at some point. If you have or you haven't yet, here's a potential option for some underground digging. The slot is called Digging for Wilds, and it comes from software provider Red Tiger, who arms players with explosives, carts, detonators, the works, better put on a hard hat.

Optically, yep, we're in a mine shaft, no arguments there. Nothing in the background really stands out, but the rocks, the lanterns, the wooden supports, they get the job done. But pretend miners shouldn't expect to be awestruck by what they see down here. Maybe that's partly why Digging for Wilds displays its five Special Prizes above the reels; the highest value is quite eye-grabbing. Energy levels are amplified by blasts of music, and the three item buttons below the reels are intriguing, plus a grizzled miner guy shows up every so often. Eh, we're mining.

Digging for Wilds is a ways to win game, so winning combinations are made when matching symbols land on at least 3 adjacent reels starting from the leftmost side, meaning 1,024 ways to win. The game has progressive three levels, which have to be unlocked and have a minor effect on RTP. When playing in Silver or Gold levels, the RTP is 96.04%, rising slightly to 96.06% when in Diamond mode. Volatility varies by level, too, while the stake range is $/€0.10 to $/€20.

Mining equipment (maps, tools, water bottles, boots, and helmets) and 10-A card royals are Digging for Wilds' paying symbols. Lines of 6 matching royals pay 0.4x to 0.5x the bet, going up to 1x to 10x for hitting 6 matching high pays. Wilds of both types pay 10x when linking ways of six of them.

Digging for Wilds: Slot Features

What Digging for Wilds has got is a progression system, horizontal reels with modifiers, Coin wins, jackpot-style prizes, free spins, and buys.

Modifiers

• Progression - Digging for Wilds has three levels - Silver, Gold, and Diamond. The game starts at the Silver level. After free spins have been played at Silver level, Gold is unlocked, and when free spins have been played at Gold level, Diamond is unlocked. Silver has the lowest volatility, Gold has medium, and Diamond has high. When levels are unlocked, players can toggle between levels using the buttons below the reels. Progress is saved at the stake level.
• Horizontal Reel - A mine train sits above the middle 4 reels, holding 4 carts. The carts bring items which apply features to the landed Dynamite Wild symbols on the reels below them. Possibilities are empty, Dynamite Wild Multiplier, Coin, Detonator, or Special Prizes. Detonator and Dynamite Wild Multiplier are excited left to right before ways wins are paid. Coins and Special Prizes are executed left to right after ways wins have paid.
• Dynamite Wild - The Dynamite Wild may land on the middle 4 reels, substituting all paying symbols. If a non-empty cart stops above the Dynamite Wild, the contents of the cart determines an additional feature, depending on the level.
• Detonator - If a cart continuing a Detonator stops above a Dynamite Wild, the Dynamite Wild explodes before the way wins are marked and creates Gem Wilds depending on the level: Silver Level - Explodes vertically into 3 Gem Wilds; Gold Level - Explodes horizontally into 3 Gem Wilds; Diamond Level - Explodes into 5 Gem Wilds in an X shape. Gem Wilds can only appear from Detonator explosions and also substitute paying symbols. Dynamite Wilds or scatters are not transformed into Gem Wilds.
• Coin - If a cart above a Dynamite Wild contains a Coin, after way wins are paid, the Dynamite Wild explodes to give a number of Cash symbols, bearing values of 0.5x to 10x the bet. Cash symbols that appear are awarded.
• Special Prizes - Special prize items are awarded if a cart above a Dynamite Wild contains one. They are the Silver Mini, Gold Minor, Green Stone Grand, and Diamond Mega, worth 5x, 20x, 100x, 1,000x, or 20,000x, respectively. After paying ways wins, the Dynamite Wild turns into the corresponding prize item and awards the value.
• Dynamite Wild Multiplier - If a cart above a Dynamite Wild contains a multiplier, that Dynamite Wild receives the multiplier, which is applied to the way wins it participates in. Possible values are x2 to x8 in Silver, x3 to x20 in Gold, or x4 to x50 in Diamond levels.

Free Spins

Landing 2 scatters on the leftmost and rightmost reels triggers 10 free spins. Players also win +10 free spins if this happens during the feature. There is always at least 1 Dynamite Wild during free spins, and all of the carts contain a modifier. This means at least 1 modifier is guaranteed on every free spin.

Feature Buys

Users are able to activate Silver, Gold, or Diamond free spins by buying them for 50x, 70x, or 90x the bet, respectively.

Digging for Wilds: Slot Verdict

Digging for Wilds provides a few fairly compelling reasons to brave the subterranean realms to search for valuable resources. Few game makers task players with levelling up or progressing in their slots like Red Tiger does (a direct deal-break for some), so brace for not having the game's most powerful features right off the bat. It may take time to reach the upper levels where the biggest multipliers and X-shaped explosions take place. This concept does give Digging for Wilds a digging deeper and deeper to find the good stuff sensation, which, okay, does have a logical basis in a mining game. There is no telling how long it will take to do so. The two free spins triggers might occur in rapid succession. They might take an age. Such is the gamble when diving into Digging for Wilds with the determination to see as much as it's got to offer.

No matter the level, no matter the phase of play, it's the horizontal reel rolling carts into view (and landing Dynamite Wilds beneath them) that trigger the bulk of Digging for Wilds' thrills. Their variety is appreciated, as the multis, explosions, Coins, and Special Prizes keep the eyes occupied. Coupling them with the progression feature helps provide impetus to keep on going, just in case. Another motivator is Digging for Wilds's 20,196.8x the bet winning potential, though hitting the Mega prize is likely to be required in order to snatch those sorts of numbers.

And so, while there are upsides, Digging for Wilds doesn't come across as a wild mining ride in the same way something like Fire in the Hole did. Still, it's easy to see the game's commercial appeal. It's pacey, it's got zip, the feature reel is engaging, and there's a healthy mix of effects and mechanics to keep things interesting. The Mega prize might be more of a headline grabber than a goal to be achieved any time soon, but considering the total package, you can see how Digging for Wilds might strike gold with the mining masses.