Little Bighorn

If you’re not familiar with the Battle of the Greasy Grass, it was a battle between forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho tribes and the US Army. I know very little about this, so I admit I copied that from Wikipedia. Basically, it resulted in the defeat of US forces – making it the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. Because it took place along the Little Bighorn River in South-eastern Montana Territory, it also goes by the name of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. And so, we come to Nolimit City’s next release – Little Bighorn, which takes place in the crux of this battle. As the team say – “History. Identity. Freedom. The legendary battle of Little Bighorn proved to the new world that these three things are worth fighting for.” Extremely (10) volatile, this release can produce wins up to 25,676x bet, with a default RTP of 96.06%.

Little Bighorn Base Game

Visually, we’re in battle – obviously. It’s all quite subtle, with a fairly plain background and a sepia toned skyline. The reels, however, are where the theme comes to life more, with totem poles, Indian headdresses and fighters, and various weaponry. Horses gallop in the background, and audios tie the whole thing together – offering no less than you would expect form a team that recently acquired one of the top sound engineers in the industry.

Little Bighorn Offers Players 360 Ways to Win

Little Bighorn Base Features

Taking place across 5 reels, wins are formed on Little Bighorn by matching at least 3 symbols on adjacent reels, beginning with the leftmost reel. Reels can hold 3-4-5-3-2 symbols, producing 360 ways to win. Symbols available begin with non-premiums, with an array of weapons – knives, revolvers, a war club, a different style of gun, and some type of axe. Land 3 of a kind of any non-premium to see wins between 0.05 and 0.10x bet, with this increasing to values between 1 and 1.25x bet for 5 of a kind. At the premium end, we have 5 characters preparing to head into battle. Land 3 of a kind of any premium to see wins between 0.15 and 0.25x bet, with this increasing to values between 1.50 and 3.75x bet for 5 of a kind. Finally, wooden Wild symbols are available, substituting for all symbols except Scatters, and awarding wins of 3.75x bet for 5 of a kind.

xMount: Scalp Wild

For a Nolimit City release, there’s not too much going on in this one that will confuse you, but don’t worry – it’s still packed with the features we’ve come to love and expect from the team. First up is the Scalp Bet. For a cost of an additional 50%, players can guarantee a Totem Scatter symbol on reel 2, and therefore an Expanding Wild, which we’ll explain more on below. RTP increases slightly from 96.06% to 96.10% when Scalp Bet is activated, and symbol payouts are not affected.

There’s a new x-mechanic in this release – xMount, which comes in the form of xMount: Scalp Wild, seemingly replacing xNudge Wilds. Scalp Wilds can only land on the reel which contains 5 symbols. When a Scalp Wild lands, all American soldier symbols will be turned into Wild symbols, and the Scalp Wild will then nudge to cover the entire reel it has landed upon. For every nudge it makes, American soldier’s heads will be scalped, adding +1 to the multiplier applied to them. This multiplier represents the symbol count on the reel.

Activate Scalp Bet to Guarantee a Totem Scatter Symbol on Reel 2 on Every Spin

Next is the Spirit Call Respin, awarded through a No Mercy Scatter. No Mercy Scatters can only land on reel 5, and when they land fully on this reel, the Spirit Call Respin is triggered. The Scatter then moves to the first reel, shuffling the size of the reels to 1-3-4-5-3. One of the following symbols will then be revealed by the Scatter:

• Sitting Bull – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into Expanding Wilds.
• Crazy Horse – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into normal Wilds. For each Crazy Horse in view, +1 multiplier is added to each symbol.
• Two Moon – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into normal Wilds.

The No Mercy Scatter symbol is counted as 1 symbol size.

The final feature available in the base game is the Totem Wild, achieved through landing 1 or 2 Totem Scatter symbols. In the base game, Totem Scatters can only land on reels 2-4, and if 1 or 2 land, they will convert into Expanding Wilds, covering the entire reel they land upon.

Land a No Mercy Scatter on Reel 5 to Trigger the Spirit Call Respin

Little Bighorn Bonus

Land 3 Totem Scatters to trigger 8 Scalp Freespins. During this feature, Totem Scatters can continue to land on reels 2-4, with any Scatter landing converting into an Expanding Wild and awarding +1 spins. Any Scalp Wilds that land during Scalp Freespins will continue to behave as they do in the base game, adding +1 to a sticky win multiplier for each scalped symbol. This win multiplier does not reset and is then applied to all wins in remaining spins.

Landing a No Mercy Scatter upgrades Scalp Freespins to Spirit Call Freespins, and awards an additional +2 spins.

Little Bighorn Scalp Freespins

Land 3 Totem Scatters and a No Mercy Scatter to trigger 10 Spirit Call Freespins. This feature is much the same as Scalp Freespins, with a sticky win multiplier increasing through Scalp Wilds, and Totem Scatters converting to Expanding Wilds and awarding +1 spins. However, in addition to these features, the triggering No Mercy Scatter will stick on the first reel, again converting reels to 1-3-4-5-3. On every spin, the No Mercy Scatter will reveal one of the following Wild Chieftains:

• Sitting Bull – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into Expanding Wilds.
• Crazy Horse – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into normal Wilds. For each Crazy Horse in view, +1 multiplier is added to each symbol.
• Two Moon – turns any of his symbol that lands on the reels into normal Wilds.

Little Bighorn Spirit Call Freespins

Finally, players in appropriate regions can take advantage of the following Nolimit Bonus options:

• Scalp Freespins – 77x bet (96.19% RTP)
• Spirit Call Freespins – 490x bet (96.02% RTP)
• Mystery (80% Scalp Freespins 20% Spirit Call Freespins) – 159.50x bet (96.29% RTP)

The maximum win available in Little Bighorn is 25,676x bet – also known as Firewater Party. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game round will end, and 25,676x bet will be awarded.

First Impression

It’s rare for Nolimit City to announce a release that, upon playing, we don’t find difficult to wrap our heads around. Little Bighorn comes with enough of the Nolimit City features we enjoy but presented in such a way that players can dive straight in, with little to no period of confusion. There’s plenty happening in the base game to move things forward, and as always, the xBet (or in this case Scalp Bet) offers something for players who can’t or won’t opt for the feature buy, guaranteeing a Scatter on reel 2, and therefore an Expanding Wild. Aside from this, Scalp Wilds, Totem Wilds and Spirit Call Respins keep things ticking over until a bonus round is triggered.

Moving into the bonus, and Scalp Freespins behave more or less the same as the base game, with the addition of a sticky win multiplier, but Spirit Call Freespins are where things really kick up a notch, offering a sticky No Mercy Scatter alongside this sticky win multiplier. Land the right combinations, and wins are possible up to 25,676x bet.

Mathematically, things are extremely (10) volatile, and RTP is defaulted at 96.06%, although slightly lower versions are available. Audio-visuals are all working, so on this front it’s all what you’d expect from this studio. More stats are as follows:

• RTP – 96.06% | 94.09% | 92.11%.
• RTP Main Game – 67.41%.
• RTP Bonus – 28.64%.
• Volatility – Extreme (10).
• Hit Frequency – 32.35%.
• Max Win – 25,676x bet.
• Max Win Frequency – 1 in 19m rounds.
• Max Win Frequency Scalp Bet – 1 in 8m rounds.
• Max Win Frequency Freespins – 1 in 115,000.
• Win 100x bet – 1 in 1,390 spins.
• Free Spins – 1 in 282 spins.
• Free Spins Scalp Bet – 1 in 100 spins.
• Free Spins Upgrade – 1 in 51.

Considering we’re in the midst of battle, there’s something calmer about Little Bighorn compared to some of the team’s more recent releases. That’s not to say this is a bad thing – more a breath of fresh air, and something a little different. If you’re a fan of this studio, there’s every reason to think Little Bighorn will prove an enjoyable experience for you.

*The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.