In a 2011 interview with Tony Hadley, the lead singer for English new wave band Spandau Ballet, he let loose the fact he’d made more money since the 21st century started than he did in the 80s. The reason why is their song ‘Gold’ being in hot demand at corporate shows, award shows, films, and more. In a coup for the then-burgeoning software developer Big Time Gaming, it also appeared on the studio’s debut slot Gold Megaways 10 years ago. New wavers will be rejoicing then because the Spandau Ballet hit is back in a Megaways remake of BTG’s first game to celebrate its anniversary, bringing with it the sounds, attitude, and bling, in an expanded contemporary setting.
Gold Megaways Overview
Gold Megaways reuses much of the original’s visuals, such as many of the symbols. And the banks of flashing lights around the 6-reel game grid. However, the camera has zoomed out, so the game panel takes up less of the view, while the rest consists of a glowing red curtain, as if the whole show’s up on stage, accompanied by scores of little pinpricks of light. Snippets of ‘Gold’ play during the base game, but it’s not until free spins trigger that Spandau Ballet really let loose their 80s hit. The remake looks more modern while retaining a strong retro feel, partly due to the classic wealth theme permeating throughout.
Players on a budget will be stoked to know Gold Megaways can be played from just 5 p/c per spin. Or stakes can be raised to £/€20 at the other end of the scale. As part of the remake, it won’t be a surprise to know pretty much all the numbers have been turned up. The math model is highly volatile, and RTP is slightly higher than before, now generating a figure of 96.42%. Max win in both the base and bonus game are bigger, yet maybe not as much as you might expect.
In the base game, 2-7 symbols land on each of the 6 reels to provide up to 117,649 ways to win. To land a win, you’ll need adjacent matching symbols, regardless of height, sitting left to right from the leftmost reel. The symbols are mostly the same, though the triple bar tile has been dropped and the premiums shuffled. Now, from low to high, Gold Megaways has 9-A card symbols, rings, credit cards, cars, and watches. All covered in gold. Premium symbols vary in value from 2 to 100 times the bet for a six-symbol combination.
Gold Megaways: Slot Features
Giving Gold Megaways its sparkle is a host of extras such as reactions, wild multipliers, free spins with extending reels, plus a new Win Exchange feature. All regular winning pay symbols find themselves part of a reaction and are removed from the reels when they hit. The leftover gaps are filled by symbols on the reels falling down to plug them. More wins can ensue, so reactions end only when no new win appears.
Golden briefcases are wild symbols, landing on reels 2 to 5. They replace regular symbols to complete winning combinations, and some randomly land with x3 multipliers attached. All wins are multiplied by 3 for every x3 wild that substitutes in the win.
Slot bonus
The two other ways of winning the feature are connected with the Win Exchange feature. Whenever you score a prize worth 70 times the stake or more, you can exchange 70 times the bet for free spins. And bank the rest. Alternatively, whenever you win 20 to 70 times the stake, you have the option of exchanging the win for the chance to win free spins. If going down this route, the entire win is used to spin a red and green segmented wheel. The larger the win, the better the chance of winning free spins from the gamble wheel.
When entering the free spins feature, another wheel spins first. This one reveals the starting number of Megaways from 14,000 to 117,649. One last feature shows up during free spins to potentially alter the course of events. On any reel, Expanding Symbols may land. When they do, they are replaced by two new symbols, increasing the size of the reel by 1. It is technically possible to grow reels to 10 rows in height, producing 1 million ways to win when all are fully expanded. When a reel does reach 10 symbols high, +8 free spins are awarded.
Gold Megaways: Slot Verdict
Gold Megaways might be a remake of the original Gold game, retaining the spirit, looks, and sounds of the first, yet its features have more in common with White Rabbit and The Wheel of Fortune Megaways. One key difference is the wild stacks of Wheel of Fortune have been replaced by x3 multipliers. It makes sense since Gold used to triple values in free spins and double wild wins, so they fit nicely.
The Win Exchange is an intriguing one, with plenty of room for further use. Interestingly, free spins triggered organically more often than 70x+ wins occurred in the base game. Also, because you’re on the lookout for 20x wins, you realise how few and far between they can be. Like the song says, the base game can feel like the ‘salad days. It took so long to get the first 20x hit that there was a measure of hesitation about hitting the gamble button.
