Le Clubber

Le Clubber: Slot Overview

iGaming's favourite cosplaying raccoon Smokey is at it again, trying out a new role in the online slot Le Clubber. In this game, its maker, Hacksaw Gaming, has placed Smokey in the role of nightclub owner, and true to form, 'he's cutting questionable deals behind the VIP ropes' and 'convincing guests to spend just a little more.' Smokey has also been a bit naughty on the gameplay front too, since Le Clubber is a digit-for-digit clone of the original raccoon hit Le Bandit released all those years ago. Why? Who knows, but if you've ever wondered what a blast of Golden Squares action in a nightclub hosted by a blonde, blunt-cropped raccoon would be like, then Hacksaw Gaming's got the answers.

Smokey has tried his paw at a number of different careers on his long and winding online slot journey, from King (Le King) to Fisherman (Le Fisherman) to Cowboy (Le Cowboy) and beyond. He's always had something of a mischievous streak, so his current role as somewhat shifty nightclub owner fits like a glove. As does his new blonde hairdo and glittery threads. His club is fine, nothing special; the base game gives a glimpse of the bar area, with a decent selection of bottles lining shelves, while free spins move to a booth-lined dance floor. The tunes are pretty bopping, as you'd expect from a hip dude like Smokey, and the graphics have the tightly cartoonish presentation the series is known for.

The game generates the same stats as before, such as being driven by a medium volatile math model producing an RTP of 96.34%. A 6x5 matrix is where the clubbing is held; well, that's the gaming grid anyway, and when choosing a bet, the options are $/€0.10 to $/€100, with four options provided at the feature buy section.

Ten regular symbols are listed on the paytable. They include 10-A card ranks, glasses, a VIP card, a DJ device, a bottle, and a mirror ball. A 5 OAK hit pays 0.1 to 1 times the bet, while a 13+ OAK combination is worth 15 to 100 times the bet. The party poster is wild, so it substitutes for any regular pay symbol. To create a win, five or more matching symbols must land adjacent to each other in a cluster.

Le Clubber: Slot Features

Le Clubber follows Le Bandit by offering Super Cascades, Marked Squares Win to Win, three bonus rounds and a selection of feature buys.

Super Cascades

When a winning cluster is formed, all regular paying symbols of the type in the winning cluster are removed from the grid, causing new symbols to drop down to fill the grid. This repeats as long as new cluster wins appear.

Win to Win

After a winning combination occurs, the positions behind the winning symbols are highlighted as Marked Squares. If there is a Rainbow symbol on the grid, it activates any Marked Squares after regular combinations have been handled. Activated Marked Squares reveal Bronze, Silver, or Gold Coins, Bucket of Gold or Four-Leaf Clover symbols. Bronze Coins have values of 0.2x-4x, Silver Coins have values of 5x-20x, and Gold Coins have values of 25x-500x. Once all Coins and special symbols are revealed, any Four-Leaf Clover symbols activate by multiplying Coins and Bucket of Gold symbols on adjacent positions by x2-x10.

Bucket of Gold symbols activate after Four-Leaf Clovers by collecting the values of Coins and other Bucket of Gold symbols, storing the total value. When the final Bucket of Gold has activated, all other Marked Squares activate again, revealing new symbols, and the process repeats until no new Bucket of Gold appears. At the end, Coins and Bucket of Gold symbols award their values.

Luck of the Clubber

Landing 3 scatters in the base game triggers Luck of the Clubber with 8 free spins. In this round, Marked Squares remain highlighted between spins until they are activated by a Rainbow symbol. In this feature and All That Glitters Is Gold, landing 2 scatters awards +2 free spins, or landing 3 scatters awards +4 free spins. In addition, landing 4 scatters in this feature upgrades it to All That Glitters Is Gold, plus 4 extra free spins are awarded.

All That Glitters Is Gold

All That Glitters Is Gold is triggered when landing 4 scatters in the base game, awarding 12 free spins. In this feature, Marked Squares remain highlighted till the round ends, even after being activated.

Treasure At The End Of The Rainbow

Landing 5 scatters in the base game awards 12 free spins in Treasure At The End Of The Rainbow. In this feature, Marked Squares remain highlighted till the round ends, even after being activated, and a Rainbow symbol is guaranteed to hit on each spin. Bronze Coins do not appear in this feature.

Feature Buy

The feature buy lets players activate BonusHunt FeatureSpins for 3x the bet, where each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game or Rainbow FeatureSpins for 50x the bet, where each spin is guaranteed to land a Rainbow symbol. Luck Of The Clubber costs 100x, or All That Glitters Is Gold can be bought for 250x the bet.

Le Clubber: Slot Verdict

Hacksaw Gaming has laboured to push the Le boulder to the top of a tall and very steep hill and has nudged it over the other side, unstoppable, taking on a life of its own, with nothing able to slow it down. The question is why remake Le Bandit almost dot for dot? No doubt there is a sound financial reason, but still. From a gameplay perspective, there is nothing here that existing fans haven't already experienced. The mechanics, bonus rounds, Golden/Marked Squares feature, even the mathematical profile remain unchanged, so don't be thinking or hoping that club owner Smokey has a trick stashed away anywhere. The biggest difference is the setting, swapping Parisian back alleys and heists for a lively nightclub run by the ever-charismatic raccoon. Whether the fresh coat of paint is enough to justify the revisit is the question.

Admittedly, the underlying gameplay is strong, and you can see why the original was such a hit. Naturally, the thrill has diminished after so many related releases, but the Marked Squares mechanic remains a highlight, providing an entertaining chain reaction of Coins, Clovers, and Bucket of Gold symbols that can build into satisfying payouts - up to a cap of 10,000x the stake. The three free spin rounds offer a desirable progression, with Treasure At The End Of The Rainbow the most sought after due to guaranteed Rainbow symbols and the removal of lower-value coins. It is hidden, though, so natural triggers only, though Hacksaw Gaming did open the buy opportunities up in Epic Ze Zeus, if you've ever wanted to demo the Hidden Epic bonus but haven't had the luck or patience to witness it organically.

On a positive note, newcomers are arguably the biggest winners here. Anyone who missed Le Bandit the first time around gets the opportunity to enjoy one of Hacksaw Gaming's most successful feature sets without feeling like they're playing an outdated title or slogging through the thirteenth iteration. Le Clubber fails to innovate, though in a bubble, it offers a fun Coin reveal experience, yet there is nothing new here for anyone who has spent a night out with the original.