Great Buffalo is the latest addition to the ever-growing selection of online slots inspired by the mighty bison that once roamed freely through the plains and prairies of North America. The release comes from Zeusplay and plays with an extended setup that contains 6 reels and 4 rows. The game belongs to the all-ways category of slots where players pick up payouts by getting at least three matching symbols on adjacent reels.
This Zeusplay release packs a powerful punch with a bunch of special features, including wilds, scatters, wild multipliers, and a round of up to 100 free spins you can retrigger indefinitely. But the top of the bill is the massive fixed jackpot in Great Buffalo as spinners can lift a whopping 423,360 times their winning stake. Its high theoretical return is another aspect about this slot players find appealing. Great Buffalo comes with a higher-than-usual payback percentage of 97%.
| Great Buffalo Slot Summary | |
 Game Provider: ZeusPlay |
Release Date: 07.2023 |
| Game Type: Video Slot |
Theme(s): Animals, Nature |
| Reels: 6 |
Wild Symbols: Yes |
| Rows: 4 |
Scatters: Yes |
| Paylines: 4,096 ways to win |
Free Spins: Yes |
| Payout/RTP: 97% |
Bonus Game: Yes |
| Volatility Level: High |
Progressive Jackpot: No |
| Min Bet: 0.10 |
Autoplay: Yes |
| Max Bet: 20 |
Max Win: 423360x |
Great Buffalo Theme
Great Buffalo is inspired by the bison native to North America. We must specify that while the terms ‘buffalo’ and ‘bison’ are often used interchangeably in colloquial language, they refer to two different animals. The bison are easy to distinguish because they have large humps on their backs, so the animal this slot revolves around is in fact a bison, not a buffalo.
With that out of the way, let us go back to the slot’s theme. Zeusplay embraces the wild with this release, which is set in a scorching hot canyon inhabited by various wild animals. The centerpiece of the game, the great bison, is accompanied on the six reels by several other beasts native to North America, including a cougar, a grizzly bear, a bald eagle, and a wolf. Rattlesnakes and scorpions appear on either side of the reel grid.
The reels themselves are encased in a wooden frame with Indian arrows and a tomahawk sticking out on each side. The developers have given the game more flair by incorporating sounds from the featured animals. For example, players get to hear the high-pitch whistling of the bald eagle and the low rumbling of the bison for a truly immersive gaming experience. Bison stampedes occur each time the player scores a huge win, as you can see below.
How Great Buffalo Compares to Other Slot Games
Ah, the mighty bison! This majestic animal has inspired many a software studio over the years, with Pragmatic Play serving as a prominent example. The Gibraltar-based supplier has released several bison-themed slots over the years but Buffalo King outranks all other titles in terms of popularity.
The game is rather similar to Zeusplay’s release when it comes to visual presentation and special features. However, Buffalo King gives you more winning ways as up to 200,704 combinations are possible on each spin. The game uses the Megaways payout mechanic and has a dynamic setup where the number of symbols per reel changes after each round of play. Great Buffalo beats it with a higher theoretical return of 97%, however.
- Buffalo King by Pragmatic Play (96.52% RTP)
- Buffalo Blitz by Playtech (95.96%)
- Great White Buffalo by Saucify (95.93% RTP)
- Buffalo Bounty by Dragon Gaming (96.03% RTP)
Great Buffalo Symbols and Payouts
Great Buffalo is an all-ways slot, meaning that it altogether lacks typical paylines and awards payouts whenever three or more identical symbols appear in any position on neighboring reels. This mechanic unleashes enormous winning potential as each spin can result in 4,096 possible winning combinations. For clarification, we calculated the achievable combinations per spin by raising the number of symbols per reel to the sixth degree (4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 4,096).
With that in mind, the game pays only on condition the matches start from left to right. The titular ‘buffalo’ is fittingly chosen as the top payer in this slot, rewarding spinners with a maximum prize of 7.5 times their bets for six matches. A six-of-a-kind with the bald eagle and the cougar returns the second-best prize of 6.2 times the winning wager, followed by the wolf and the grizzly that return five-fold payouts (5x).
On the low side of the paytable, we have A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9 that offer prizes ranging from 0.2 to 3 times your total bet. It is worth mentioning the values listed in the paytable are dynamic and change proportionately to your bet size.
| Great Buffalo Winning Combinations and Payouts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbols | 3 Matches | 4 Matches | 5 Matches | 6 Matches |
 Buffalo |
2x | 5x | 6.2x | 7.5x |
 Bald Eagle |
1.5x | 2.5x | 5x | 6.2x |
 Cougar |
1.5x | 2.5x | 5x | 6.2x |
 Wolf |
1x | 2x | 3x | 5x |
 Grizzly Bear |
1x | 2x | 3x | 5x |
 Ace |
0.5x | 1x | 2x | 3x |
 King |
0.5x | 1x | 2x | 3x |
 Queen |
0.2x | 0.7x | 1.5x | 2.5x |
 Jack |
0.2x | 0.7x | 1.5x | 2.5x |
 Ten |
0.2x | 0.5x | 1x | 2x |
 Nine |
0.2x | 0.5x | 1x | 2x |
Bonus Features Overview
Great Buffalo has several special features of interest, starting with the wilds and scatters that give your winning chances a good boost. But there is more to this slot than special symbols as the scatters unleash a powerful round of up to 100 free spins with wild multipliers that can greatly improve any payouts generated for the feature’s duration.
Wild and Scatter Symbols
The symbol with the sun setting over the canyon is wild and can stand in place for all other icons in the game. There is only one exception to this rule as the wild is incapable of replacing the other special symbol, the scatter. The wild sun appears on all reels bar the first one and gives you random multipliers of up to 5x during free spins.
The scatter is the other special symbol of interest and is fittingly represented by a golden coin with an image of a bison etched inside. The scattered coin appears on all reels both in the main game and during free spins. Similarly to the wild, it awards no payouts on its own but rather triggers the free spins feature in Great Buffalo.
Free Spins
The free spins feature unfolds in a slightly different setting than that in the base game as it reveals the canyon at dusk. It starts with a gang of bison stampeding across the reels and leaving clouds of dust behind. To access the feature, players must collect 3 to 6 scatters to receive between 8 and 100 free spins. The free spins can be retriggered an unlimited number of times. But it gets better as you can retrigger the feature with two scatters only.
Respectively, 2 to 6 scatters during the bonus feature grant you another batch of 5 to 100 free spins. The free games can continue indefinitely as long as you land triggering combinations of scatters on the reels. The free spins play with wild multipliers that can double, triple, or quintuple all wins players score during the feature.
Pros & Cons of Great Buffalo
- You have up to 4,096 winning ways per spin.
- Few recently released slots offer as many as 100 free spins.
- The visuals and animations in this game are spectacular.
- The bison theme is starting to become banal.
- The game’s high volatility can deplete your bankroll faster.
- The Autoplay options are rather limited.
Great Buffalo FAQs
- Is Great Buffalo a risky slot to play?
- The bison are often associated with endurance and this is precisely what you will need to survive the high volatility of this game, financial endurance that is. Wins occur less frequently and when they do, many of the combinations result in losses disguised as wins. We suggest you play this slot with a large enough bankroll that would enable you to pull through the huge swings you will likely experience.
- How many times can I retrigger the bonus feature in Great Buffalo?
- There is no limit on the number of retriggers possible during the bonus feature, which consists of up to 100 spins at no extra cost for the player. Players can continue retriggering free spins till the cows come home on condition the triggering combination of scatters keeps showing up on the reels.
- What is the largest payout I can land in Great Buffalo?
- Zeusplay advertises a maximum exposure of 423,360 times the winning wager and we must admit this is definitely a fixed jackpot worth playing for. Assuming you land this jackpot with a maximum wager of $20, you will end your betting session with a seven-figure balance.