Down the Rails Hold & Win Slot Review
Down the Rails is a slot themed around Great British personalities, with a 5×3 grid, 20 fixed paylines, released by Pragmatic Play on August 25, 2022. The RTP varies from 94.50% to 96.51%. The volatility of the game is high, and the maximum win reaches a multiplier of 5000x. The size of the base bet varies from 0.20 to 100 credits per spin.
Symbols and Paytable
Low-paying symbols are card denominations, and high-paying symbols are caricatured images of famous British historical figures that pay from 10x to 25x for a combination of five identical symbols. The newspaper acts as a Wild, replacing other images and bringing payouts from 2x to 25x. The Wild symbol does not replace bonus or special symbols.
Bonus and Special Features
Down the Rails has a really large number of bonus features that are triggered under different conditions. It is possible to activate special mechanics from the base game, as well as launch a bonus round with free spins and Hold and Win with respins.
Random Features in the Base Game
Five random features can be activated in the main game, each designed to increase the winning potential.
| Random Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Tunnel Vision | Adds mysterious symbols to the field, which turn into one random symbol. |
| The Big Smoke | Adds 3×3 sized symbols to reels 1-4. |
| Wild Strike | Adds random Wild symbols. |
| Shifting Stack | Adds expanding Wild symbols with x2 or x3 multipliers. |
| Bonus Blitz | Randomly triggers one of five bonus rounds. |
Bonus Rounds
Three Scatter symbols activate one of five bonus modes. The player can accept the proposed bonus or take a risk to get a more advantageous option. In case of an unsuccessful attempt, the player receives a payout from 4x to 24x.
| Bonus Game | Description |
|---|---|
| Pentonville | 5 free spins, during which the winning symbols are fixed in clusters, and the remaining cells continue to spin. Respins continue as long as the cluster increases. |
| Kings Cross | 5 free spins, where the middle reels are marked with a cross, and Wild symbols appearing in the marked positions make all other marked cells additional Wilds. |
| Buckingham Palace | 8 free spins, where fully filled Wild stacks are added to the reels. In this case, premium symbols are transformed into the most valuable symbol on the current spin. |
| Canary Wharf | 8 free spins, during which character symbols receive multipliers from 1x to 50x, which are activated when a Collect symbol appears on the grid. |
| End of the Line | Hold and Win feature with 3 respins, modifiers and the ability to collect the maximum win. |
Hold and Win Mechanic
End of the Line – Hold and Win feature with 3 respins. Dropped Money symbols are fixed, and the respin counter is reset when new symbols appear, restarting the round. Money symbols have values from 1x to 2500x, and can also contain one of 4 modifiers:
- Extra Life – gives an extra life for every 3 symbols collected.
- Prize Boost – increases cash payouts for every 3 symbols collected.
- Expand – adds an extra row. The maximum number is 5.
- Multiplier – increases the overall multiplier from 2x to 3x and 5x.
The round ends when the respins run out, the win limit is reached, or the grid is completely filled with Money symbols.