Nugget Slot by AvatarUX Studio: Free Demo & Review 2024

Nugget Review

If you examine AvatarUX’s portfolio closely, you’ll notice most of the content has ‘POP’ in the name, which stands for the PopWins mechanics the developers are so fond of and can’t seem to get enough of. When we say most, we mean that actually almost every game is built on PopWins. Precisely, at the time of writing, only 2 out of 29 titles operate on a different engine, namely the company’s debut slot Lilith's Inferno and one of the recent games called DonKey & the GOATS.

The latter also introduced a new reel system, Golden Ways, and as the release of the studio’s latest Nugget slot suggests, it wasn’t just one single exception to the rules. This one also takes a step away from AvatarUX’s beloved PopWins in favor of Golden Ways, and it brings a number of changes, expanding the engine’s capabilities greatly and providing new experiences for the players.

AvatarUX Studios - Slot Developer

AvatarUX Studios is an ambitious and creative iGaming studio powered by Yggdrasil’s Masters program. It was launched in 2018 and so far has a collection of little under 30 games, including slots such as BountyPop, Wildpops and TikiPop. The team is young but pretty skilled, which can be seen in the masterful design, solid, math, and entertaining features the Nugget slot incorporates.

Slot Theme And Storyline

Those expecting to see chicken nuggets here, we have to disappoint you. Here, you are to hunt for a different kind of nuggets, gold ones, as the actions of the game take place during the period of the Gold Rush, somewhere in the Old West. While the theme might seem pretty generic, AvatarUX made sure their Nugget slot stands out from the crowd with top-notch photorealistic visuals. Quite an uncommon style for the studio, but the design team has nailed the assignment and created one hell of a Western game.

Nugget Slot - Reel Screen

Nugget Rules And Gameplay

As alluded to above, at the core of the Nugget slot machine is the Golden Ways pay system, featuring a 6x4 main grid and an extra 6-position horizontal reel above, called Zap Reel (first introduced in LooneyPop). The mechanic provides fixed 15,625 paylines in the base game, but in the free spins, the number can rise crazily to over half a million ways. We’ll get back to it in the features section of our Nugget slot review.

Winnnig combinations are scored when at least 3 of the symbols land adjacently on the reels starting from the leftmost, and each win triggers a cascade. Winning symbols get removed, the remaining fall to lower available positions, and new ones tumble down from above to fill the gaps. The process is repeatable and goes on until there are no new wins in view.

Getting the reels to spin comes at a cost of at least €0.2, which players tight on budget should appreciate. Default bets go up to €100 per spin, and there are several different bonus buy and ante bet options.

Symbols And Paytable

The symbol collection of the Nugget online slot includes 11 symbols that are split into four different categories, namely low, mid, high, and super-high. The latter lot is represented by Gunslinger, followed by three high-paying characters. Then are medium hammers, whiskey glasses, and Stetson hats, and finally classic A-J card royals for the lows. As for Wilds, however, the developers decided to omit them.

Symbols	xBet for 3	xBet for 4	xBet for 5	xBet for 6
Low	0.2x	0.4x	1x	2x
Medium	0.4	0.8x	0.1.5x	2.25x
High	0.45x	0.9x	1.8x	2.5x
Super-high	0.5x	1x	2x	3x

Nugget Bonuses And Special Features

When it comes to the gameplay of the Nugget slot, there’s a lot for players to get stuck into. There are three different modifiers available at any stage, a round of powerful free spins, four bonus bets, and five different bonus buys.

Wild West Rewards

Keep an eye out for Payday symbols. Whenever one appears anywhere in view, it awards one of the random available modifiers, called Wild West Rewards. In the base game, each reward comes with a random lives counter from 1 to 4 that count down on each subsequent spin. Possible modifiers are the following:

• HOTX Gunslinger - when active, Gunslinger symbols gain a multiplier value equal to the number of Gunslinger symbols in view. In addition, each Gunslinger that appears on the Zap Reel adds its own unique multiplier value to the total tally, which can be either 5x, 10x, or 15x.
• Mystery Symbols - when active, a random number of symbols on the reels are transformed into Mystery Symbols, which all reveal the same randomly chosen regular symbol at the end of the spin.
• Low Pay Removal - when active, a random number of the low symbol will be removed from the reels.

Free Spins

When at least 3 Scatter symbols appear on a base game spin, a round of Nugget Free Spins is awarded. Before the feature kicks off, players are given a selection between two Prospector Wheels to determine the number of initial spins and win ways. At max, up to 15 initial spins can be won, and the number of possible win ways can be as high as 531,441.

Nugget Slot - Free Spins

• Take Wheel - awards a random number of spins and paylines for the bonus round.
• Gamble Wheel - offers a chance to upgrade the feature to a higher tier with more win lines and a bigger number of starting free spins. However, there’s also a possibility to lose. The chances are 49% for a win, 50% for a loss, and 1% for the Golden Slice, which awards the highest tier of free spins.

During the free games, Wild West Rewards come with up to 5 lives, and they tend to trigger more often. Additionally, each modifier trigger awards extra spins equal to the number of lives unlocked for that reward. Multiple rewards can be unlocked at a time, and if an already existing reward is unlocked again, additional lives are granted.

Once per bonus round, the Gold Rush feature can come into play randomly on any free spin. When this happens, players receive more free spins, and the frequency of Payday and Gunslinger symbols is increased significantly. Plus, if the HOTX Gunslinger modifier is active, the multiplier gained per symbol is doubled. In other words, each Gunslinger would increase the value by +2x instead of +1x.

Xpress

From the extensive Nugget bonus buy menu, players can opt for different feature purchase options as well as a range of extra bets, as follows:

• Ante Bet 2x - doubles the chances of hitting free spins for a 25% increased bet.
• Ante Bet 3x - triples the chances of hitting free spins for a 50% increased bet.
• Ante Bet 4x - quadruples the chances of hitting free spins for a 100% increased bet.
• Dynamite Strike - 10x the base bet for guaranteed Payday symbols on each spin.
• Buy Bonus - 60x the base bet to trigger up to 9 free spins with up to 46,656 win ways, or a chance to gamble for more.
• Buy Bonus Plus - 120x the base bet to trigger up to 10 free spins with up to 86,436 win ways, or a chance to gamble for more.
• Buy Bonus Premium - 240x the base bet to trigger up to 12 free spins with up to 153,664 win ways, or a chance to gamble for more.
• Buy Bonus Ultra- 500x the base bet to trigger up to 14 free spins with up to 331,776 win ways, or a chance to gamble for more.
• Buy Bonus Max- 1,000x the base bet to trigger up to 15 free spins with 531,441 win ways.

Nugget Slot - Xpress

How To Play Nugget Slot For Real Money

To get started with the Nugget real money game, simply follow these easy steps:

1. Check out the best Nugget casino sites available for your country.

2. Get acquainted with available promotions.

3. Select one that you prefer and proceed to the casino.

4. Sign up and activate the bonus.

5. Find Nugget in the slots section.

6. Choose your bet and spin the reels!

Nugget RTP, Volatility, And Max Win

The game is powered by a highly-volatile math model, and the default Nugget RTP is decent at 96.05%, which is a whisker above average. Win frequency is also decent at 23.24%, meaning that roughly every 4 spins will bring a return. However, stats may change during bonus buys or bonus bets.

For instance, the Nugget max win of 25,000x is achievable in around 83 million spins during the main game, but with the Buy Bonus Max on, for instance, the chances are boosted incredibly to 1:1,496. The same applies to the features - Wild West Rewards tend to trigger once in every 70 spins during the main game, but even with the lowest-tier bonus buy, the frequency is increased to every 3.5 spins.

Nugget Demo Version And Free Play

One thing you’d better do before rushing to a real-money casino is check out the Nugget demo on our website. It’s 100% free and requires neither registration nor download, so you can play it right away. The Nugget free play version gives you an opportunity to get to know the gameplay better, see how features operate, and try out all the bonus bets and bonus buys, etc, all without spending any of your own money.

Play Nugget Slot On Your Mobile

The game is fully optimized for any known platform, and you can play Nugget game on both smartphones and tablets seamlessly, no matter the OS. It runs perfectly whether on iOS, Android, or anything else, and all you need to launch it on mobile is a web browser app.

Strategy & Tips For Winning

The best Nugget strategy would be to take note of the following tips and advice, which can boost your winning odds and enhance your overall gaming experience:

• Play only at fully licensed and reputable casinos.
• Claim a welcome bonus before you start.
• Try the free demo in the first place.
• Adjust your bets wisely.
• Take advantage of the Bonus Bet.
• Do not rely heavily on buy features.

Pros And Cons Of Nugget Online Slot

Similar Slots To Try

Wanted Dead or a Wild - a Hacksaw Gaming release that has a similar deep Western vibe. The highlight here is the exciting Duel feature with a massive winning potential.

DonKey and the GOATS - a previous AvatarUX installment based on the GoldenWays mechanics, featuring a boxing theme with a huge number of bonus features.

Review Summary

First and foremost, kudos to AvatarUX for presenting something different than PopWins, as the Nugget slot really feels like a breath of fresh air. Not only it offers gameplay that is newer and less recycled, but it is also extremely entertaining and rewarding, providing an exceptional gaming experience. Overall, the GoldenWays engine definitely has lots of potential, and we’re looking forward to seeing new titles featuring these mechanics.