Like them or not, online slots are the lifeblood of many online casinos. The most popular slots often draw massive audiences. Look at the popular games category of any operator, and you will find slots there. Live casinos are well aware of this. That is why we have seen slot-like elements make their way into the latest live casino releases. Mega Blaze Fire Roulette’s bonus round is the perfect example of this.
This is likely what led someone at Playtech to come up with a brilliant idea. What would happen if we combined slots and live dealer releases into one game type? We would get something like Buffalo Blitz Live. Will this release be the first step to a successful series of live slots? Alternatively, will it fall into obscurity as its fails to bridge the gap between slot and live casino?
Buffalo Blitz Live Basics
The live slot does not make any changes to the original game many of us fell in love with. Buffalo Blitz Live is played on a six-reel, four-row board with 4096 ways to win. Wins are granted by finding at least three identical symbols in adjacent positions, starting with the leftmost reel. All winning combinations must follow an active way to win, or the associated cash prize will not be paid.
Unlike traditional online slots, you do not control when the reels spin. The rounds are played one after another with brief pauses to announce winners. When placing your bet, you instead set a stake for an upcoming couple of rounds. After setting everything to your liking, you press the Start button. After finishing the spins you paid for, you will be prompted to spin again.
Spins are automated, but there is one person who can get the board to spin manually. That person is the host! At the request of live chat, the host can press the big red button to cause the reels to spin. This does not fundamentally change anything in terms of gameplay. However, who knows? The host’s spins just might end up being the lucky ones you need!
Play Buffalo Blitz Live
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Having launched in 2019, Slotnite has gone on to become one of the top UK online casinos. As the name suggests, it has a huge selection of slots, plus other live casino games to choose from. They have a generous welcome bonus and we highly recommend them as a casino to join. Review Slotnite
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Buffalo Blitz Live Special Features
Diamond Wilds can appear on reels two, three, four, five, and six. Wilds are special icons that can substitute for all other symbols. The only icon Wilds cannot swap out are Scatters. Wilds are enhanced further during free spins.
How do you unlock free spins? To do that, we need to keep an eye out for Scatters. You need three or more of that special symbol to unlock the special feature. The more Scatters you find, the more free spins you will win.
- 3 Scatters grant 8 free spins
- 4 Scatters unlock 15 free spins
- 5 Scatters give you 25 free spins
- 6 Scatters award 100 free spins
During the special feature, diamond Wilds can appear with multipliers. Wilds can appear with a 2x, 3x, or 5x multiplier. These multipliers increase the payout accordingly when a Wild icon is part of a winning combination.
It is possible to retrigger free spins by collecting additional Scatters. Two Scatters will grant five additional free spins. Meanwhile, three, four, five, or six Scatters award 8, 15, 25, or 100 extra free spins, respectively. There is no limit on how many times free spins can be retriggered either. With a little bit of luck, this can lead to some insane wins.
Bets in Buffalo Blitz Live
As we previously mentioned, you cannot make spins for just one round. Live slots continue spinning regardless if you place a bet or not. In fact, the only way to place wagers in this Playtech release is using a pseudo AutoPlay system.
When placing your wager, you set a number of things at once. The mandatory things you have to set are the number of spins and your bet per spin. You can bet between €0.4 and €2 on each spin. Keep in mind that the exact bet per spin might be higher or lower in your online casino. However, casino members can also set a loss limit, single win limit, and stop AutoPlay when a feature activates.
Live Slot vs Single Player Comparison
Are there any gameplay differences between the two? Not in a way that will affect your bottom line. The two slots are identical in terms of mechanics. The special features are unchanged, as is the math model. If you are worried that Playtech might have slipped you a lower RTP, there is no cause for concern. The RTP is set to 95.96% for both versions.
Where Buffalo Blitz Live and its single-player counterpart differ is in the experience they offer. The live version has a host and a live chat. You can interact with both at any given time by typing in the chat. The host will talk about various topics with casino members while keeping you excited about the release. If you want a more social, interactive version of the game, definitely go for Buffalo Blitz Live.
Meanwhile, the original Buffalo Blitz remains available for players who want convenience. The single-player version allows you to spin when you want and take a long break if you need it. If you find playing alongside a chatty host is not for you, the single-player version is still available.
One more important thing worth mentioning is that Buffalo Blitz Live cannot be played in demo mode. If you are on the fence about trying the live slot, you can test the single-player version instead. Since there are no mechanical differences, you can see if you enjoy Playtech’s highly volatile release with no restrictions.
Closing Thoughts
Live slots are a novel idea. We had fun playing Buffalo Blitz Live. However, we do not think they will be the smash success Playtech is hoping them to be. The hosts do a good job of keeping people engaged. However, we cannot see slot fans sticking around for long.
While the social experience is fun, the loss of convenience definitely stings. Frankly, the benefits of playing slots live are simply not worth the extra hassle. With more time and energy, we are sure Playtech will figure it out in time for their next live slot.