Buffalo Hold and Win Review: Bold Western Visuals Meet High-Impact Bonuses and Sticky Coin Mechanics

Review setup

Buffalo Hold and Win runs with the Wild West theme. It’s nothing new, but Booming Games pulled it off cleaner than most I’ve seen. Above all else, this online slot is very accommodating. You’ve got two different ways to place your bet and the option to switch on left-hand mode. It also has one of the widest betting ranges I’ve come across. Plus, the autoplay settings give you as much control as you could ask for.

By the time you’re done with this Buffalo Hold and Win review, you’ll probably agree that it’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. Yet, everything it brings to the table feels intentional, and it makes it real easy to stick around longer than you planned to.

First impressions with Buffalo Hold and Win

The moment I loaded up the Buffalo Hold and Win slot, I got this low cowboy-style voice announcing the name of the game. It felt like a warm, American-accented welcome. Right then, a herd of buffalos comes storming across the screen over the same backdrop you’ll see once the game kicks off. For me, it was the perfect cue to get a feel for where the game is set before the reels take over the whole thing.

The name alone already hints at what the main event will be: the Hold and Win. The real question is whether this version brings anything fresh to the table compared to all the other Hold and Win slots out there. Chances are, that’s exactly what you’re here to find out.

Visuals and presentation: 4.2/5

Booming Games has gone for the familiar American Wild West style in Buffalo Hold and Win. You’ve got wide-open dusty desert skies, red rock cliffs, and earthy tones stretching across the background. It’s straight out of an Arizona or Utah postcard. The ground is cracked and dry, with a few scattered cacti and patches of scrubby grass.

The reels are framed by thick wooden beams and sit on a deep burgundy backdrop that helps the symbols pop just enough. And of course, it looks a lot like that reddish tone you see on sunbaked desert ground.

As for the symbols themselves, the usual high cards show up as the Minors, styled in a blocky Western font. Other higher-paying icons, known as Majors, are all Wild West-inspired, like the animals — Wolf, Puma, Eagle, and Buffalo. You’ve also got the Wild, shown as a wooden plaque with a buffalo horn mount, and it does its job by substituting for everything except the Scatter and value symbols. Speaking of, the Scatter is represented by a glowing red rock mesa. The first thing it made me think of was one of those iconic formations out in Monument Valley.

The animations are extremely smooth while you’re spinning the reels and landing wins. But is there enough going on to keep it feeling alive? Maybe not quite. The only real background movement I noticed was the gusts of dusty winds blowing behind the reels. The coins do shimmer a bit, and animals almost come to life when you land three or more on a payline. Still, I was expecting more. Perhaps a bit of cloud movement, drifting tumbleweed, or even birds in flight could’ve added some much-needed energy.

That said, I highly appreciate that controls are tucked neatly around the reels. You can adjust your bet using the plus and minus buttons on the left or by tapping the coin icon on the right, which opens up the full betting menu. That’s the case whether you’re playing on desktop or mobile, in portrait or landscape mode. There’s also the spin button, of course, along with quick access to autoplay, the paytable, and game rules.

The role of sound: 4/5

As expected, the audio in Buffalo Hold and Win leans heavily into the Wild West feel. I could hear a pretty steady rhythm in the background music built around what I believe are guitar sounds, layered with a soft wooden flute that drifts in and out. There’s not much variation in the track, though, so it can start to feel a little repetitive after a while.

At the same time, I don’t think it’s there to steal the show. Every time I spun or landed a win, the track sort of stepped back and let the sound effects take over. As the reels turn, they make a wind-like whoosh. Then, there’s a loud thud when they stop. Coins drop in with a clean metallic chime, and if you hit a win with one of the majors, you’ll get a howl, screech, or grunt from one of the wild animals.

Gameplay journey: 4.8/5

Buffalo Hold and Win plays out on a pretty standard setup, with 5 reels and 3 rows. You’re working with 25 fixed paylines, which means you can’t tweak the number of active lines. Wins come when you land matching symbols in a row from left to right. The betting range is wide enough to cover just about everyone, starting at $0.25 and going all the way up to $250.

The RTP is average, just under 96%, and the volatility is high. But during my gameplay, I had quite a few little wins while waiting for the bonus rounds. So my hit rate was higher than most.

Most of the time, I stuck with a $0.50 stake. It gave me enough breathing room to properly test the game while still being in the running to hit something decent. And call me lazy, but I prefer not to initiate each spin by hand. I’d much rather turn on autoplay and sit back while the reels handle the rest. Selecting the little plus sign next to the spin button gives you a quick option for 50 auto spins. But if you want more control, tap the burger icon. There, you can pick how many spins to run — from 10 to unlimited — and set conditions to stop it. In case that still feels a little too hands-off, you can always opt to use the spacebar to spin instead. And if you’re the impatient type, there’s a turbo spin option to accelerate the pace of each round.

The max win is at 1,200x your stake. Sure, it’s not the highest I’ve seen in real money online slots, but it’s still a pretty decent goal to aim for. According to the paytable, low-paying symbols give you anywhere from 0.2x to 2x your bet for five of the same. The higher-paying ones start at 0.4x and go up to 10x if you manage to land five Buffalos. Scatters also come with their own payouts besides their standard role — landing three gets you 2x your stake.

One minor thing that I also greatly appreciated is that you don’t have to leave the main screen to check the paytable. Just click on any symbol, and you’ll instantly see what it pays.

Bonus features through my eyes: 4.6/5

Buffalo Hold and Win brings along several bonus features that can easily shake things up when you least expect it. I think they successfully give the base game the extra depth and momentum it deserves. Let’s go over what each one brings to the table and what kind of impact it can have.

Balancing risk and reward: 4.7/5

When it comes to the overall theoretical RTP, Buffalo Hold and Win comes in at 95.9%, which is just under the usual 96% industry average. In the short term, you might think the results are all over the place. However, statistically speaking, that number means the slot is designed to pay back $95.90 for every $100 wagered over the long run. From what I’ve seen, the base game was pretty stable, with any significant ups or downs in my balance mostly coming from the bonus features.

As for volatility, this one’s rated high, which means it’s designed to deliver bigger wins, yet they don’t show up very often. It’s a great fit if you’re comfortable with extended periods of low or no payouts while holding out for a high-value win.

In my experience, I’ve had plenty of stretches where I’d go through about 5 to 10 spins at $0.50 without landing anything over 0.5x. But it’s not the first time that I’d trigger the Hold and Win bonus out of nowhere or land a Major coin worth 100x. That’s exactly the kind of swing this slot is built around, and it’s what makes the dry spells feel worth sitting through.

The good and bad of Buffalo Hold and Win

Final thoughts on Buffalo Hold and Win

When I sit down with a slot like Buffalo Hold and Win, I expect a clean layout with respectable win possibilities and enough features to keep things from feeling flat. And to be fair, this game delivers on most of that. The visuals are spot-on for the American frontier theme, with dusty skies, red rock cliffs, wooden-framed reels, and wild animal symbols. Everything looks and feels really well put together.

Looking at the core mechanics, they’re simple. But I still found plenty to hold my attention. The Hold and Win feature is the main driver behind the most intense moments. With sticky coins, reset spins, and the chance to hit a Mini, Major, or that 1,000x Grand Bonus, there’s a lot of weight to it. In the meantime, the Free Spins help strip the reels down to only the best-paying symbols, so you’re not wasting space on anything that doesn’t pull its weight. And the stacked Wilds do a great job of picking up the pace during regular play, even if the base game leans a little quiet.

Would I come back to it? Yes, especially when I’m in the mood for a slot that offers clear structure and multiple ways to score rewarding payouts.

Final Score: 4.5/5