Betsoft’s Lava Gold Offers Low Variance Pokie Fun
Betsoft’s Lava Gold is a breath of fresh air in a world where pokies tend to come with high variance. Lava Gold is the complete opposite because it features low volatility. This, of course, comes with lower maximum payouts, but players of these pokies do not care about that.
We put Lava Gold through its paces and this is what we found.
Lava Gold Fundamentals
Betsoft set Lava Gold in prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The graphics on the 5×5 layout work well but will not win any awards.
The game comes with a wide range of bet sizes, ranging from $0.10 up to $100. You should not need a large bankroll to enjoy Lava Gold thanks to the low volatility algorithm. Expect plenty of small wins punctuated with the occasional larger win.
We are not overjoyed with the low RTP Betsoft assigns to this pokie. It is only 96.02% or a house edge of 3.98%. It is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination but it could be higher, especially because of the low variance model.
Low variance machines often have relatively low maximum payouts and that is the case here. 161-times your bet is the most you can win from a single spin. This equates to $16.10 at $0.10 per spin and $16,100 at $100 per spin.
Lava Gold Symbols
It should not be surprising to learn the Lava Gold symbols are prehistoric-themed. Royals, tens through aces, make up the low-value symbols. These symbols are made of stone to add to the overall feel of the game.
Plants, eggs, and dinosaurs are the higher-value symbols. The ferocious T-Rex has the highest value of them all, paying up to 12.00x.
Be aware that there are no paylines as such because Lava Gold uses a cluster-pays system. Wins start with clusters of five, with clusters of 25 the biggest possible size.
| Symbol | Cluster of 5 | 6 | 7 | 8-9 | 10-11 | 12-14 | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Rex | 0.60 | 1.00 | 1.40 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 6.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 |
| Bird dinosaur | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 6.00 | 8.00 |
| Claw | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.00 | 1.40 | 2.00 | 2.60 | 3.60 | 4.80 |
| Egg | 0.32 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 1.60 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 4.00 |
| Flower | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 1.00 | 1.20 | 1.80 | 2.40 | 3.20 |
| Aces | 0.20 | 0.32 | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.00 | 1.40 | 1.80 | 2.20 |
| Kings | 0.20 | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 1.60 | 2.00 |
| Queens | 0.16 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.00 | 1.40 | 1.80 |
| Jacks | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.28 | 0.36 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 1.60 |
| Tens | 0.12 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.20 |
The game has a Wild symbol in the shape of an erupting volcano. It substitutes for all other symbols on the board.
What Are The Game’s Bonuses and Features?
Lava Gold uses a cluster-pays payout system instead of traditional paylines. Winning clusters turn to volcanic ash, disappear, and new symbols replace them. This leads to potentially large strings of wins.
The free spins bonus round is triggered by forming winning clusters. Each winning cluster starts filling the Lava Meter down the right side of the layout. Fill it up and ten free spins are all yours. You do not need to fill the meter in a single round, but changing your bet amount resets the meter.
Betsoft put a twist on the free spins round. First, before each spin, the middle reel shows five matching symbols to guarantee your first cluster and payout. A multiplier increases by 1x with each spin, meaning you enjoy a 10x multiplier by your tenth free spin.
Furthermore, winning clusters still disappear but no new symbols replace them during the free spins round.
Conclusion
We enjoyed playing Lava Gold especially when we hit a string of winning clusters. The pokie is exciting, thrilling even, but those winning clusters do take their time and slow down the game.
Wins in the base game are on the smaller side, although we did have a 70x win at one stage. The free spins round is a little underwhelming, but we had our fingers crossed in the latter stages where the multiplier is high!
Head to one of the Australian online casinos in our reviews and see if Lava Soft is available there. Try it out for a stress-free pokie experience.
