Drop ‘Em

Drop 'Em: Slot Overview

In the words of Canny the Can, 'We are back', and by we, Canny's not only referring to himself but his wee pal Mona the Mouse. The occasion is Drop 'Em, an online slot from developer Hacksaw Gaming and a continuation of the studio's 'Em range. So far, this has included games like Stick 'Em, Stack 'Em, and now Drop 'Em. In fact, here's a piece of gambling history: Stick 'Em was Hacksaw Gaming's very first online slot, a fairly unassuming release that would pave the way for some of the most devastating gambling machines available on the market. Why not come see if Drop 'Em will be one of those Hacksaw Gaming face-melters or something more mellow?

Despite wedging itself into the 'Em range of slots, Drop 'Em actually looks closer in appearance to another Canny the Cat and Mona the Mouse slot titled Canny the Can and the Book of Time. As you might have guessed, that one was the studio's take on the venerable 'Book of' style of gaming, though presented in a highly stylized way with a number of extra bells and whistles attached. Drop 'Em, by contrast, has nothing to do with books. It's actually got some rather unique gameplay to offer, covered in more detail below. And so, Canny's here, as is his rodent pal, meaning Drop 'Em has the sort of affable charm Hacksaw Gaming is good at injecting into their cutie pie games.

As usual, it's not so cutie pie when examining Drop 'Em's inner workings, where we find a medium-high volatile math model, producing a default RTP of 96.21%. Lower models may be available, and the return does change when buying features, as discussed below. When picking a base bet, the options are 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin, and when hitting the play button, a 5-reel, 6-row gaming area springs to life, providing 7,776 ways to win.

That's a lot of ways for a Hacksaw Gaming slot, which tend to stick to a modest number of paylines. Here, as long as matching symbols land on at least 3 adjacent reels from the left-hand side, you've got a winner. Pay symbols have a wooden block appearance, and start with 10-A card royals, then are followed by a leaf, a bird, a skull, a snake head, and a hand holding a lightning bolt. Quite the random selection of pictures. As for payouts, landing a 5 OAK royal win awards 0.5 times the bet, while 5 matching picture symbols pay 1.5 to 5 times the bet. Wilds appear on all reels to replace any of the regular paying symbols. If a five-wild winning way manages to hit, the payout value for this is 20 times the stake.

Drop 'Em: Slot Features

Two more symbols that play important roles in Drop 'Em are the Drop symbol triggering a removal modifier, and the FS symbol, needed to trigger free spins.

Drop Symbol

When at least 1 Drop symbol is in view, the Drop mechanic will trigger after any wins on the initial grid have been awarded. Each Drop symbol falls down and off the grid, removing all symbols below it. Any symbols above the Drop symbol fall to the bottom of the reel. The empty spaces on each reel are filled with the same randomly selected symbol for a chance to win. In the base game, this will be any pay symbol or the wild.

Drop Spins Bonus

Landing 3 FS symbols in the base game awards 10 free spins. The bonus starts with all pay symbols and the wild symbol in a pool of possible symbols, which may be chosen by the Drop mechanic. When an FS symbol hits, it may reveal +1, +2, or +3 extra free spins and/or an Upgrade. When an Upgrade is revealed, it removes 1 to 10 paying symbols from the choice pool. Wilds can never be removed.

High Drop Spins Bonus

Landing 4 FS symbols in the base game awards this feature with 10 free spins. This round starts with only high-pay symbols and the wild in the choice pool. As before, landing an FS symbol reveals +1, +2, or +3 free spins and/or an Upgrade which removes 1 to 5 symbols from the choice pool. As before, wilds can never be removed from the pool.

Wild Drop Spins Bonus

Getting 5 FS symbols in the base game triggers the Wild Drop Spins bonus with 10 free spins. For this one, only the wild symbol may be used by the Drop mechanic. Landing an FS symbol awards +1, +2, or +3 free spins.

Buy Bonus

Opening up the feature buy menu gives players the opportunity to select these features:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - 3x the bet where each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. Very highly volatile, with a default RTP of 96.32%.
• Big Drop FeatureSpins - 40x the bet where each spin guarantees at least 3 Drop symbols land. Very highly volatile, with a default RTP of 96.16%.
• Mega Drop FeatureSpins - 150x the bet where each spin guarantees 5 Drop symbols land. Highly volatile with a default RTP of 96.34%.
• Drop Spins - 10 free spins for 100x the bet with all possible symbols in the choice pool. Highly volatile with a default RTP of 96.23%.
• High Drop Spins - 10 free spins for 200x the bet with high pays and wilds as replacing symbols. Very highly volatile, with a default RTP of 96.29%.

Drop 'Em: Slot Verdict

Nice to see Canny the Can back, as he usually shows up in an entertaining show put on by the team over at Hacksaw Gaming. Drop 'Em is no exception, and it possesses all the traits a Hacksaw Gaming fan might expect - charm, clever features, edge-of-your-seat gaming, brutality, and potential reward. Players who've liked Canny's past performances or Hacksaw Gaming's unique brand of risk and reward would do well to check out the new Drop mechanic to see what it's capable of.

Whilst fairly simple, the Drop mechanic has a few things going for it that mean it is able to explode in the right circumstances. One of these things is the number of ways to win. This makes a huge difference and can catapult what might have been a so-so Drop mechanic win had it used paylines into something eye-bulging with all those ways on hand. Or not, the pendulum can easily swing the other way. While the Drop mechanic has its moments in free spins, it was at its most explosive when experimenting with Mega Drop FeatureSpins from the bonus buy. Obviously, at 150x the bet for a single spin, they aren't cheap, and boy, the results swung wildly from meh to astonishing and everything in between. Not to be treated lightly, in other words, but the fact you know Drop symbols will land on every single reel, thereby guaranteeing a win, made them a temptation. What might also have been tempting for some is the chance to buy their way to the Wild Drop Spins bonus. Having only wild symbols in the choice pool is quite a prospect and not likely to be triggered super often organically.

Never mind, it's nice to have goals in life, and Drop 'Em caps it all off with a max win of 10,000x the bet. After seeing Drop 'Em do its thing, that figure certainly feels achievable for the lucky punter. Not many players are going to crack the max win, of course, but Drop 'Em delivers explosive action via a relatively simple yet potentially dramatic feature.