Gold Express

Gold Express Overview

The basic premise for Gold Express, new slot game from 3 Oaks Gaming,  is that players have managed to attain for themselves a first-class ticket to the Gold Express, a luxury train connecting two fictitious destinations in Europe. The train is similar to the Venice Express or Eastern Express – a well-appointed luxury train with beautiful dining cars, servers in traditional black and white uniforms and a feeling of absolute refinement. Along with this train journey, passengers will enjoy matching symbols and scoring wins, perhaps coming away with some of the gold that the train is named after. Mechanically, this game is a 5-reel board with 20 fixed pay lines and a few intriguing features.

The very first feature you will be aware of here is the wild bonus. The suitcase icon is the wild for this game, and it substitutes for any other regular symbol to help form wins. There is also a feature here called the boost bonus, triggered by simultaneously landing a gold coin and piggy bank on the reels.

This collects all the values of the coins present on the reels and pays them out in one lump sum. This game also has an exciting free spin round and an exciting bonus game that involves re-spins and jackpot prizes. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

As we have briefly alluded to, the theme is a luxury train journey of the utmost refinement. This is a theme as refreshing as the Swiss air that this train presumably may be cutting through as it winds its way around the alps, taking in mountain views of placid tarns and lakes. Inside, from the looks of the well-turned-out conductor and golden detailing, passengers are probably given a range of the finest services, including fine dining in one of the most comfortable and sumptuous environments. If the Gold Express is anything like the Orient Express, it will have velvet draperies, mahogany panelling and deep comfortable armchairs.

The background for Gold Express is a depiction of an alpine environment in the dark. Although few details can be made out, players will be able to see the train itself, with a warm yellow glow cascading from its windows. Behind the train are silhouettes of the trees and mountains that the express is gliding through. The whole setting, however, is cloaked in a strange blue hue. This accomplishes two things – one: it gives the impression of the setting being at night time and two: due to its dark colour, it makes the symbols and board pop from the screen in stark contrast.

The playing board is a golden framed rectangle with small details that give the impression of antique refinement.
The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the playing card values of Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces, all of which have the same value. However, the higher paying symbols start with the conductor and the blonde women, both of which pay between 0.25x and 4x the stake. The older gentlemen icon is above these in value, worth a maximum of 5x the stake for the top combination. The brunette woman is of the same value. However, the train driver is the most valuable, at 10x the stake for the top combo. The specials are the gold coin, the piggy bank, the scatter and the bonus icon.

Game Play

Gold Express is played on a 5-reel, 4-row machine with 20 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The betting range for Gold Express is 20p to £60 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
The provider has not disclosed the volatility for this slot. The return to player percentage for Gold Express has also not been revealed. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 2,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature here is the wild feature. The wild icon in Gold Express is the suitcase. It can substitute for any regular symbols to help form wins.

The next feature is called the Boost feature. This bonus is triggered when players land a gold coin and piggy bank symbol together on the reels. When this happens, all of the values attached to the gold coins currently on the reels are paid out – you are collecting all the coins in the piggy bank.

The next feature on the list concerns the locomotive scatter icon. Landing three or more of this icon anywhere on the reels activates the Gold Express free spins round. You are subsequently given eight free spins. Unlike in the base game, the free spins round gives you access to icons called power wilds which are wilds but with attached multipliers that help to boost any win they are a part of.

Finally, the bonus game is activated when players land five of the bonus symbols and a boost symbol or six bonus symbols on the reels. When this happens, you are granted three re-spins. Gold coins are then frozen to the reels for the duration of these re-spins. Every new one that lands will reset the re-spin counter. Collecting 20 of these coins on the reels ends the feature - with the collective value of the coins being paid out. Some coins in this feature also relate to jackpots. Collecting all 20 icons also automatically pays out the Grand Jackpot.

Conclusion

Easy to play and with lots of fun features, Gold Express makes train journeys fun. What you really want here is to get into the re-spin feature; however, due to the volatility and RTP rate not being disclosed, we have no idea how easy this will be. Make sure that you take these pieces of information into account before clicking play with any of your own money.