We’re big fans of Nolimit City here at Demoslot, as they seem to be the only gaming software house that focuses on creating new slots with entirely adult-targeted themes. The Border, which is set on a violent US/Mexico border, is set at some point during the mid-20th century. The game employs a cluster-pays payout mechanic requiring five or more adjacent matching symbols, has an RTP of above 96% in all modes, and has a recorded real-world maximum return of 44,288x from a simulation of 4.4 billion rounds.
The game is stuffed to the brim with modifiers and features, as is the tradition for Nolimit City games; there are more xFeatures here than ever before, including the xBomb and xCluster. Several free spin modes are available, depending on the number of triggering scatters, all of which can be purchased using the bonus buy facility if permitted in your region. Another fascinating inclusion is the Nolimit Winners screen, which reveals the history of big wins at the specific casino you are playing at.
I’m sure many of you have already skipped straight to our free play version of the game already, but for those of you who haven’t, what are you waiting for?! Get to know Nolimit City with our free demo slot of The Border – available to play below.
| Provider | Nolimit City |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 6 |
| Paylines | Cluster Pays |
| Bonus Rounds | 2 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 44,288x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.00% |
| Our Rating | 8.0 |
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The Border Demo Slot
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The Border Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
It’s a well-known fact that the border between the United States and Mexico used to be an extremely dangerous and violent place; today, the two countries are largely separated by a physical barrier in this area, but that is a relatively new development. There is a tonne of fascinating history regarding the region, which we’ve linked to here , just in case you have some time to kill and would like to learn something new today! Nolimit City’s game appears to be set several decades earlier, back when the mob were in control of smuggling people from one country to the other. Indeed, a gangster-looking type has the highest payout of the regular symbols, but there are also border patrol guards, military personnel, as well as some presumed migrants and a couple of desert creatures, which all combine to form an immersive theme that offers a gritty realism that you just don’t find in many online slots.
The game uses a large playfield with 36 positions, but the xSplit and xWays features make the size of the grid almost meaningless. Consider our hat-wearing gangster, for example, who has the highest payout on the paytable; his biggest return is stated as being paid for 160 or more adjacent symbols – 160! – if you can somehow manage that, you’ll be paid 2,214.4x your bet for your trouble. To give you an idea of the (slightly) more likely/reasonable payouts, 85-99 symbols pay 500x, 45-59 symbols pay 150x, and 10-11 symbols award you 12.5x the current stake.
We’ll break things down similarly for the rest of the paytable, such as the border patrol guard, who is worth 1107x/400x/75x/6.25x for the same 160/99/50/10 symbol configurations. The fully kitted out soldier will pay you 1107x/100x/60x/5.5x, followed by the male Mexican at 1107x/75x/50x/3x, and the female at 1107x/50x/30x/2.5x. As for the lower paying symbols, the crow will pay you 553x/40x/20x/2.25x, the snake is worth 553x/30x/14x/2x, and the scorpion completes the set at 553x/20x/10x/1.5x. These seem like pretty good numbers, considering the number of ways to win in a game like this. However, let me stress again, the exceptionally high numbers of adjacent symbols seem extremely unlikely to occur in my experience.
Be careful with your bet sizing on a game such as this! Online slots don’t really come with much higher variance than this one, so sticking more towards the minimum bet of €0.20 per round is a sensible idea; the maximum of €100.00 is almost certain to bankrupt all but the biggest of high rollers.
Base Game & Modifiers
All of Nolimit City’s games take a little bit of getting used to – this one uses a 6×6 grid, initially divided into 36 positions, as you might expect. However, as soon as you spin the reels, the number of positions will almost always increase due to the xWays and xSplit modifiers triggered by their corresponding symbols.
You’ll need five or more matching symbols in adjacent positions to land yourself a win of any kind, but the biggest wins are reserved for clusters of 160 or more matching symbols – how could such a thing be possible? Read on:
Xways Feature
Here’s the first of half a dozen symbol-triggered modifiers that will change the layout of the reel set after it has stopped spinning. The xWays symbol transforms into a regular paying symbol once the reels have stopped but will then divide into two or four reduced-height symbols.
If you should be lucky enough to hit multiple xWays symbols in a single round, then all of them are guaranteed to transform into the same symbol. Essentially, the xWays symbol works similarly to a mystery symbol in other games but also increases your potential winnings via its ability to divide into multiple smaller positions.
Xsplit Modifier
The xSplit special symbols do not appear on the first reel, which is often a cop-out from the developers of an online slot. There’s nothing worse than being stopped from hitting a full line of wild symbols because the developer arbitrarily decided not to bother including one on the first reel!
In the case of The Border, there is a player-friendly reason why this symbol should not appear on the first reel. Each xSplit symbol will split any symbols to the left of it on the reels into half-sized symbols, increasing the size of any clusters which include them. The xSplit modifier can even split scatter symbols into two scatters, which I’m sure I do not need to explain would be extremely useful!
If multiple xSplit symbols appear on the same row, then the second symbol will add a multiplier to the half-height symbols created by the first xSplit symbol. This can result in a multiplier of up to 64x allocated to several symbols on the same row.
Xnudge Cluster Wild Modifier
The xNudge Cluster Wild symbol looks like an American flag with a large “W” emblazoned on it. Any of these which are visible once the reels have stopped turning will immediately begin to nudge up or down if they are part of a winning cluster.
This “nudge” is not a nudge in the traditional sense. Instead, a nudged symbol will transform into a matching symbol to the one that nudged it, or if the two symbols already match, a multiplier will be added to the nudged symbol instead. If the symbol already has a multiplier, it will instead be increased by +1.
The nudging process will continue until no more consecutive symbols are part of the winning cluster where the process started. This symbol can also be split by an xSplit symbol, which would ensure that your combination features multipliers as well as spreading wilds.
Bomb Wild Modifier
The matching symbol for this mod looks like a stereotypical improvised explosive device (IED) and acts like a traditional wild symbol before it predictably explodes. The explosion will not occur until all of the previously described modifiers have been activated, and their effects triggered on the playfield. After this, the bomb will explode and remove any adjacent symbols, allowing new symbols to drop in from the top and replace them for a new chance of a consecutive win.
Boosted Xrip
A bonus bet feature is included, costing 50% on top of the regular spin cost to activate. When you choose this option, you are guaranteed to hit at least one scatter symbol on the first reel, and no winning combinations that land will ever pay less than the cost of your spin. I’m not sure if this option is worth it; if I’m honest – I seemed to be just as lucky with and without it enabled!
The Border Slot Bonus Features
With all that base game action, you won’t be surprised to hear that Nolimit City has also included a bucketload of bonus features into their “The Border” slot game as well.
We’ll start with the two free spin modes, then talk about an additional modifier which can only be triggered inside those two modes, and then finally, the bonus bet facility:
Mule Spins Feature
The first of the two free spin modes requires six scatter symbols to be triggered – less than this, and you won’t win a feature, whilst seven or more scatter symbols will trigger the next free spin mode instead.
During the Mule Spins, any xWays symbols which form part of a winning cluster become “infected” before they can be split by an xSplit or xNudge action. The infection will cause additional xWays symbols to spread, making the xSplit or xNudge create many more matching symbols than they otherwise would. You can also land additional scatters during this mode, uPGrading the bonus to the Coyote Spins feature.
Coyote Spins Feature
Hitting seven or more scatter symbols will bring you here – the enhanced Coyote Spins bonus mode. Hitting any additional scatters while these spins are in play will award an extra two free spins on top of your initial 12.
During this mode, you have a win multiplier which is increased each time an xBomb symbol lands on the screen. Additionally, xWays symbols will infect any xCluster symbols they encounter, which does not happen during the Mule spins.
I reached a multiplier of almost 50x during my testing of this mode, so I found it to be much more profitable than the Mule Spins feature. There is a vast difference in price between the two in the bonus buy facility, which is intriguing given that you only need one additional scatter to trigger this mode.
Cluster Modifier
These special symbols only appear during the two free spin modes. Two or more unique symbol clusters which land during a single round will increase the current bonus multiplier by 1x. The new multiplier will be applied to both the current spin and all subsequent spins, making the xCluster mod a much easier way to build your bonus multiplier than landing xBomb symbols.
Bonus Buy Feature
As we mentioned above in the Coyote Spins section, there is a huge gulf between the price of the two bonus rounds if you opt to skip straight to them by using the bonus buy facility. You can purchase the Mule Spins for 98x the current stake, and if you are lucky, you will land some extra scatter symbols and progress straight on to the Coyote Spins. You receive 10 free spins when using this first option, so you need to get lucky and upgrade quickly to have a decent number of Coyote Spins.
Alternatively, you can purchase the Coyote Spins directly, but the huge initial cost of 914x your bet makes this option somewhat prohibitive, in my view. The one advantage of using this facility is that you are guaranteed to win between 12-20 free spins (I always seemed to get 14 or more during my testing), whilst the regular bonus buy only starts you off with 10 spins, and you could have only half of them left by the time you upgrade to the Coyote mode.
I managed to hit a big profit on my very first purchase of the Coyote Spins but made a huge loss every time after that. Conversely, I made a profit more than half the time when I went for the Mule Spins option instead. Your mileage could – and will – vary, of course!
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