Backyard Gold - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

There are plenty of gold mining slots in our collection, since it’s a theme that resonates with players. From the popular Bonanza Megaways game to the entertaining Where's the Gold slot, prospectors are hoping to uncover that longed-for seam of precious metal. Backyard Gold, on the other hand, takes a rather different approach!

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

Backyard Gold is based on a Chinese proverb which very loosely translates as ‘No 300 ounces of gold buried here’. Zhang San hid his precious hoard of gold coins in the yard behind his house. Thinking himself very clever, he put a sign on top to say ‘No gold buried here’, prompting his neighbour to investigate. Upon finding the gold the neighbour took it and put up his own sign ‘Gold not stolen by your neighbour’!

It’s a simple premise that warns against thinking oneself too clever, and it translates into a fun game. Bright and colourful graphics illustrate the theme beautifully, backed up by occasional lyrical sounds to celebrate wins.

Backyard Gold RTP & Volatility

Aspect Gaming slots tend to come with a low RTP, but even so we found Backyard Gold’s RTP of 94.13% to be very disappointing. And with as yet unknown volatility this isn’t a game we’d recommend playing at an online casino with real cash - at least until you’ve thoroughly explored it in demo mode.

How to Play Backyard Gold

Even if this is your very first time at the reels of an online slots game, you can be spinning them like a pro within minutes. Backyard Gold has been designed to be easy and intuitive to play.

1. Set your budget for the session, even if you’re only playing with virtual cash here on our site. Then divide that amount up so as to give you at least 200 spins. We can’t promise you’ll come out as an overall winner, but fewer spins will limit your winning potential.

2. Now divide your cost per spin into 50, as you’re paying for each of the 50 fixed paylines in the game.

3. Set your Bet Per Line underneath the reels to this amount. The window to the right displays the actual cost per spin.

4. Now press the Spin button to play out one game.

5. Tap on Autospin to call up a menu of automatic spin options. Select from 1 to 100 spins, as well as win and loss amounts if you like. The Spin button counts down your remaining spins, but you can end them sooner by tapping on the button.

6. The cog icon takes you to game settings. Here you can view the paytable and game rules, adjust your stake, set Autospin, speed up gameplay and mute game sounds.

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins

Each payline in Backyard Gold costs from 0.01 to 1.20, giving you a wagering options from 0.50 to 60.00 per spin.

Match three, four or five symbols on a payline for a prize, although the top-paying symbols pay rewards for just two matches. All wins come as multiples of your stake, except for the Scatter.

9 = 10x, 20x, 60x

10 = 10x, 20x, 60x

J = 10x, 20x, 80x

Q = 10x, 20x, 80x

K = 20x, 30x, 100x

A = 20x, 30x, 100x

Shovel = 20x, 40x, 150x

Treasure box = 20x, 50x, 200x

Lantern = 4x, 30x, 60x, 240x

Gold ingots = 4x, 40x, 80x, 300x

Zhang San = 10x, 40x, 100x, 500x

Signpost Scatter = 2x, 20x, 100x total stake

Backyard Gold Bonus Features & Free Spins

The Wild symbol in Backyard Gold only appears on reels 2 - 5, so it can’t initiate any wins on its own. But it acts as a substitution symbol for every other game symbol, apart from the Scatter, helping you to land winning combinations.

You’ll need to land three or more Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels to activate the game’s Free Spins bonus round. The number of free spins depends on how many Scatters trigger the feature.

3 Scatters = 15 Free Spins
4 Scatters = 25 Free Spins
5 Scatters = 75 Free Spins

Throughout the bonus round all wins are doubled, and it’s possible to retrigger the feature, so there’s plenty of winning potential. Big wins rarely come along, though, so be prepared to play with an elastic bankroll that can stay the distance.

And of course, this being an Aspect Gaming slot Backyard Gold comes with the Wintrack bar underneath the reels, so you can track your progress. A yellow dot indicates a non-winning spin, a red dot shows a win during base gameplay and a blue dot shows the Free Spins Bonus round was triggered.

Overall Review Our Verdict

We found Backyard Gold to be a fun and relaxing game with an extremely generous Free Spins Bonus round. The downside is that it rarely comes along, leading us to believe that this might be quite a volatile game. Luckily, it’s just one of our collection of Aspect Gaming free play slots that you can explore on our site completely risk-free. Try playing a few hundred games using Autospin and Turbo mode to see how it affects your overall balance over an extended period of time. Only then should you make a decision about whether or not to play with real cash.

Disclaimer: Backyard Gold trademark / license is owned by Aspect Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Aspect Gaming.