Here’s a relatively straightforward and quick question: Can you actually get a full screen of Buffalo on the Buffalo line of games?
STATUS: On most versions, no. In a couple of variations, though, it is believed possible.
The Buffalo line of games by Aristocrat are among the most popular series of slots in casinos. With the Reel Power Xtra, 5×4 reel set, clumps of like symbols on the reels, and wild multipliers in the bonus, there’s the massive potential for something special on the game.
That leads many to wonder if you can actually get a full screen.
On Buffalo and most of its derivatives, the placement of symbols is such that no more than 3 buffalo can appear on any given reel. This goes for Buffalo, Buffalo Deluxe, Buffalo Gold and Buffalo Gold Revolution.
For the latter two, in the bonus round, higher end symbols can turn into Buffalo. But even in those circumstances there’s enough poker symbols separating them that a full reel does not seem possible.
Further complicating the understanding of this is that Buffalo in some markets may differ subtly than others, because some states have regulations that set a minimum odds of how likely the top prize can be won, and slots may be adjusted to meet those regulations. But in the case of Buffalo, the main line of games seems to have a consistent design to limit to 3 per reel.
In many cases during a bonus, multipliers might appear in lieu of those three buffalos, and you’ll see in Buffalo there’s other symbols separating the wild and buffalo as well, which reinforces the 3 per reel rule, since the top multiplier on most of the games for a wild is x3 also.
i haven’t personally done too much analysis on Buffalo Diamond, and due to the popularity of the machines and limited number haven’t personally played them to date, but watching some live gameplay by Slot Lady, the rules that apply to the reel design of most of the other buffalo games does seem to be managed here, even with the taller reels. So it’s likely it respects the rules set by most of the series as well, which would make sense for maintaining the brand.
So that leads to the two exceptions of Buffalo Grand and Buffalo Stampede. In the case of Buffalo Grand, in its demo screen it shows a full screen example. Some have done video studying to confirm it does seem to have the ability to fill each reel with buffalo.
Buffalo Stampede, with its ability to add buffalo and so on, appears to also be able to break the standard rule because of its game mechanics.
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I’ve never gotten or seen someone get a full SCREEN of buffalos in Buffalo Grand (like it shows in the demo), but I can confirm that you can get full REELS of Buffalos in that game, and it seems like a full screen is a possibility (although you’d have to be incredibly lucky). I once won a $3,000 prize on a $3.75 (max) bet on that game, which resulted from 1 buffalo in the first reel, 5 buffalos in the second reel, two buffalos in the third reel, 5 buffalos in the 4th reel, and 4 buffalos in the 5th reel. 3 reels out of the 5 reels were stacked full of buffalos.
I think full reels/screens are also possible on Buffalo Diamond; I’m pretty sure I’ve seen reels fully stacked with Buffalos on that game (but not a full screen).
PS- If my calculations are correct, a full screen of buffalos at the $3.75 max bet would win $30,000.
What I want to know is; can you get a full screen of WILDS? Would they be counted as buffalos? That would be even better in the bonus round where wilds have multipliers.
hi JJ – Wilds aren’t stacked in Buffalo games because they get multipliers in the bonus (and on some of the newer games, they can get multipliers on the base game too). As such, you won’t see a full screen of wilds on the game – you’ll see one per reel max, and on most versions of Buffalo it’s the middle three reels only that can pop up a wild symbol. (Wild Wild Buffalo breaks that convention because the wild wild format only puts wilds on the first two reels; Buffalo Link adds the wild to reel 5.)