California Gold

There's gold in them there hills – or should we say reels? California Gold, from the developer team at NextGen, takes its inspiration from the California Gold Rush that made some people their life's fortune while helping to settle the Great West. Maybe you'll be the next one to strike it rich!

We have to admit that the graphics on this one are just plain goofy. Combined with the soundtrack that's reminiscent of the Beverly Hillbillies, we couldn't help but laugh sometimes at this game's antics. Icons include pick axes, lanterns, maps, sieve pans, dynamite, rail cars, a donkey laden with baggage, and fellow prospectors. The minimum bet is .01 credits. The maximum bet per spin is 40 credits. And as usual, the game is played on a five-by-three reel grid.

Miners are the wild card and appear on reels two, three and four. They can become any other icon you need for a win.

If you manage to land three scatter icons, you'll get ten free spins. The scatters are huge chunks of gold, so they'll be easy to recognize. During the free spins round, all prizes are tripled.

When the Mad Miners appear on reels two, three and four, you'll trigger the Mining Bonus Game. Select a mine from the treasure map and dig for nuggets as you ride on a rail car into the mines. The number of nuggets you pluck from the walls are added together and represent what your multiplier will be.

The only drawback we have with California Gold is the same as for many NextGen games – that the pay line buttons on the sides of the screen are awfully small, not ideal for smaller screens.