Known for slots with provocative and unique themes, Nolimit City is yet again ready to offer players a different type of adventure with The Border. Spread across a 6×6 grid, this slot pays for cluster combinations of at least five identical symbols. The theme of the slot is inspired by the struggles that many people trying to cross the US border go through.
With dangerous cartel bosses, patrol agents, and emigrants, this video slot will keep you on your toes, especially when one of its numerous bonus features is activated. The Border is a game with extremely high volatility, which means that you might go through quite a few losing rounds until you land a very generous payout. That said, the biggest prize the slot can award has been estimated to total 44,288x your bet amount, making The Border a slot with great potential for big payouts.
The Border Theme, Graphics, and Sounds
When it comes to creating slots with unique themes, Nolimit City is definitely one of the best providers on the iGaming scene. The Border is a game with a rather unique theme, with the nearly impossible-to-cross USA border seen on the background of the slot. Characters in the game include different types of people you may come across when crossing the border illegally.
The sound effects and the visuals of the game make The Border an action-packed slot that entices players with its look. Everything is moving fast, with special symbols often having an impact on the slot’s grid as well. All of that makes the entire spinning adventure a lot more exciting, bringing players a different, yet very enjoyable gaming experience.
The Border Symbols and Payouts
Instead of relying on the standard payline system to award payouts, The Border is paying players for any cluster of at least five identical symbols that touch vertically and/or horizontally. Winning clusters are then removed from the grid, allowing symbols above them to take their place. This may often lead to new cluster payouts, which will then also open empty positions on the grid for the symbols above them.
The three low-paying icons of the game include a scorpion, rattlesnake, and vulture, with the lowest payout they can offer for a cluster of five being 0.2x, 0.25x, and 0.3x the bet respectively. The highest amount these three symbols can award for a cluster of over 160 identical symbols is 553.85x the total bet.
The higher-paying symbols of The Border include a girl squeezing some cash, a man who seems ready to fight, a soldier, and a patrol agent. The least amount they can offer for the smallest possible cluster is 0.5x, 0.6x, 0.65x, and 0.7x the total bet respectively. The highest possible payout that all of these characters can bring players is 1107.2x the total bet.
The most generous regular symbol of The Border is a guy smoking a cigar and holding a gold chain with the US flag on it. He will pay 5x your total bet for a cluster of only five identical symbols, while a cluster with more than 160 symbols with this character will pay 2214.4x your stake per spin.
In addition to the regular paying symbols, The Border incorporates a variety of special symbols like Scatters and Wilds with specific features. The Scatter that can trigger the bonus game of the game is an icon carrying a gold dollar sign. Meanwhile, you will have Wilds like xWays, xSplit, xNudge Cluster Wild, xBomb Wild. While playing the Bonus Game of this slot, you may also encounter the special symbol xCluster.
The Border Bonus Mechanics
There are quite a few special symbols you can see on the reels of The Border, with various bonus features being triggered thanks to the various Wilds the slot is using. The first special Wilds is called xWays, which will transform into a regular paying symbol of size 2 or 4.
If two or more xWays symbols land on the reels on the same spin, all of them will transform into the same symbol. The xWays icons can either turn into two full-size symbols or four half-size symbols. That way, an offset is created, which may connect more symbols into a winning cluster.
The next Wild that can appear on the slot’s grid is xSplit, which appears on all reels but the first one. This Wild icon will split all of the symbols on its left side, doubling their size and converting itself into a Wild. The xSplit can also split Scatters, doubling their number. If two xSplit symbols land on the same row, the symbols on their left will be split and will receive an xX indicator that can go as high as 64x.
When you land a winning cluster with an xNudge Wild being a part of it, the Wild can nudge the surrounding symbols either up or down, depending on whether the winning combination is above or below the xNudge Wild.
With every symbol it pushes over, the xNudge Wild will add a 1x multiplier to the win. The nudging continues until there are no more consecutive symbols to form a winning cluster. If the xNudge Wild gets split by the xSplit symbol, it will start its nudging with its own multiplier added to the general win multiplier.
If an xBomb Wild lands on the reels, it will substitute for any regular paying symbol, removing adjacent icons when it explodes. This special Wild will also increase the win multiplier for the following cluster collapse. If an xBomb is split, it will add a win multiplier equal to the amount it has been split into.
The Scatter symbol is the one that can trigger the bonus features of The Border. Whenever the Scatter lands six times anywhere on the game’s grid, it will activate 10 Mule Spins. During the bonus spins, when an xWays symbol is a part of a winning cluster, the cluster symbols that are positioned on the same reel will be infected before the xSplit and xNudge features are activated. When xWays transform into two or four symbols, they will be infected to further split into two or four symbols.
If an additional Scatter lands during the Mule Spins, the feature will be upgraded to the Coyote Spins feature, with two additional spins awarded on every Scatter. The Coyote Spins game can also be triggered when seven or more Scatters land in the base game, awarding 12 free spins. The xWays symbols during this feature have a similar function, infecting symbols of cluster wins, with the only difference being that all symbols of the cluster win will be infected.
During the Coyote Spins, all xBombs will apply their multiplier to all symbols carrying an xX indicator that were not blown away. If xBombs have no multiplier, they will add +1 to the symbols. What is more, the win multiplier will not resume its initial value during the Coyote Spins feature.
While the Bonus Mode is on, an xCluster can appear when two or more unique symbol clusters form in the same avalanche. This will boost the win multiplier by +1 on each unique symbol cluster that follows the second cluster.
To increase their chances of triggering the Bonus Game of The Border, players make use of the Boosted xRip feature. If they are willing to wager an additional 50% of their original stake, players are guaranteed to land a Scatter symbol on the first reel. There is also the option to buy one of the bonus features of the game, with 10 Mule Spins costing players 98x their original bet. If players are willing to pay 914x their stake, they can enjoy between 12 and 20 Coyote Spins. The third bonus-buy option of The Border allows you to risk 506x your original bet and leave it to your luck to decide whether you will trigger the Mule Spins or the Coyote Spins of the slot.
Closing Thoughts
The Border is a fun and rather unique game by Nolimit City, offering players plenty of opportunities to land major wins. If you are brave enough to try and cross the border to the USA, you might achieve the American dream and win a fortune. This is a slot with extremely high volatility, which means it is perfect for those who enjoy riskier bets and significantly higher rewards.