Sherwood Heist Hold & Win Slot Review
I lived in South Africa for decades, so there’s not much anyone can tell me about heists. But even I was surprised when I read about the so-called “Operation Wine 🍷 and Cheese 🧀” thefts.
A crew of 11 dudes in Modena, Italy, conducted heists over 11 years, stealing… wait for it… Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese worth a mind-numbing $875,000! 🤯The gang was arrested in 2015 but this has to be one of the strangest heists in modern history.
This is Sherwood Heist Hold & Win slot, and it comes from a studio known as Nucleus Gaming.
Gameplay
You know the story about Robin Hood, so it should come as no surprise that the setting for this game is a forest. The 5x3 grid is flanked by a carriage, a chest filled with gold coins, and Jackpots to the left.
The Mini pays 20x, the Minor pays 50x, the Major pays 150x, the Mega pays 2,000x, and the Grand Jackpot pays a whopping 10,000x!
Wins form across 25 paylines. The RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.
RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate. is 96.11%, the volatility is very high, and the max win is an astounding $429,975.
As for the max multiplier, in the base game it's 12,095x but you can boost it a little, up to 12,285x, when using the Buy Bonus. No Japanese yen for betting, please.
Landing 3 Scatters pays a mere 2x. Landing 5-of-a-kind of the following brings in some extra moolah: Wilds award 12x, Maid Marian pays 10x, the Money Bag pays 8x, the Goblet pays 6x, and the Gold Ring pays 4x.
These payouts are… how shall we call it… aggressively mediocre. Clearly, we’re being pushed towards the features if we want to make money. Base game line hits are gonna feel more like participation trophies.
The game includes Stacked Mystery symbols in the base game. Each reel contains stacked Mystery Symbol positions that transform into one random symbol before each spin (but this doesn’t include the Bonus, Boost, Mystery Bonus, Scatter, or Wild symbols).
Bonus symbols are gold coins with a crown on it, and Boost symbols are archery targets with arrows sticking out from the center. Robin Hood is Wild and he replaces all symbols other than Bonus, Boost, and Scatter symbols.
As for the Mystery Bonus symbol, it only appears during the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). game. When it lands, it becomes sticky and transforms (at the end of the feature) into a random prize: a Mini, Minor, Major or Mega Jackpot, or the Boost symbol.
If the Mystery symbol becomes a Boost, all Bonus symbol values are increased. This randomness adds another layer of volatility; landing several Mystery Bonus symbols could either juice your round significantly or hand you a string of Mini prizes that barely move the needle.
Things don’t look too bad on a phone, although one can argue it’s a bit busy in portrait mode. There are a lot of controls, so the bottom of the screen is full of stuff, but the symbols are large and easy to see. Landscape mode makes things a little easier as there’s more room.
Features
FREE SPINS:
Landing 3 Scatter symbols triggers the Free Spins feature and awards 8 spins. All low-paying royal symbols are removed – meaning only premium symbols (Wilds, Maid Marian, Money Bag, Goblet, Gold Ring) and feature symbols (Bonus, Boost, Mystery Bonus, and Scatters) can land.
Free Spins can be re-triggered within the feature, extending your session if you land another 3 Scatters. Sherwood’s Loot (which I’ll get to in a second) remains active during Free Spins, meaning you can trigger the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). feature from within Free Spins.
SHERWOOD’S LOOT:
When Sherwood’s Loot randomly activates, it chucks Bonus and/or Boost symbols across the reels until you’ve got either 6 Bonus symbols or 5 Bonus symbols and 1 Boost symbol. Then the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). game kicks off.
HOLD AND WIN FEATURE:
You already know how this round triggers, so let’s get into how it works. You start with 3 re-spins, and all Bonus symbols lock in place. Bonus prizes can award any of the Jackpots (except the Grand one), or they can carry multipliers of 1x to 15x.
Each new Bonus, Boost, or Mystery Bonus symbol that lands will lock in place and reset the spin counter. The feature ends when you run out of re-spins or fill the entire grid (in the latter case, you win the Grand Jackpot).
If a Boost symbol triggers the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). game, some Bonus symbol values and prizes are immediately increased – not the Mega Jackpot, though.
If a BOOST symbol appears during a Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). round, it boosts all values for the remainder of that round (again, the Mega Jackpot is excluded).
BUY BONUS:
You can get your ass into the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). Feature for just 65x. This bumps the max multiplier from 12,095x to 12,285x. It’s a marginal increase, I know, but it bypasses the base game grind, so there is that.
Performance
Testing didn’t reveal any issues.
Maximum Win
The max multiplier increases from 12,095x in the base game to 12,285x when using the Buy Bonus. The max win is $429,975 and betting stretches from $0.25 to $35.
Conclusion
Sherwood Heist Hold & Win slot is a dual-volatility beast: Free Spins strip out the low-pay symbols to improve moolah making, while the Hold & Win game delivers Jackpot potential.
The Free Spins feature is where the paytable finally breathes. Removing all royal symbols means every spin lands only premiums and feature symbols, which kinda makes up for the rubbish 12x top-symbol pay.
Triggering the Hold & Win round during Free Spins creates an excellent double-dipping opportunity.
The 65x Buy Bonus price is reasonable compared to the potential 10,000x Grand Jackpot; however, it’s a trap disguised as convenience. Here’s why I say this: buying direct entry into the Hold & Win bypasses Free Spins entirely, which is where this slot makes strategic sense.
Free Spins strips all royal symbols from the reels. This creates a cleaner environment for triggering Sherwood’s Loot, which then launches the Hold and WinThis feature plays out on a new screen. Typically, you get 3 re-spins (which could be re-triggered), and the triggering symbols usually stick to the position on which they land. Your objective is to land as many symbols as possible on the grid (you could land blank tiles, too). game from within a premium-symbol-only round.
By paying 65x to skip straight to Hold & Win, you’re trading $16.25 (at $0.25 bet) or $2,275 (at $35 bet) for a feature you could trigger naturally during Free Spins, where the symbol pool is already upgraded.
This is a game for patient grinders and Jackpot chasers and I’m not ashamed to say I like it!
Slot Details
Game Provider: Nucleus Gaming
Game Type: Video Slots
PaylinesPaylines are preset lines that run across the reels, and when you land matching symbols on them, that will result in a payout. The more paylines, the more ways you can win, but also the higher your bet per spin.: 25
RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.
RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate.: 96.11%
Volatility RateSlot games can have low, medium, high, or extremely high volatility rates (or a combination thereof).
The less volatile the game, the more often it should pay out, but the lower the amount, the less the payout, as this is in keeping with the risk you’re taking. Volatility rate should be considered in conjunction with a game’s RTP.: Very High
Bonus Round: Yes
Progressive: No
Free Rounds: Free Spins, Re-spins
Max Multiplier: 12,095x - 12,285x
Max Win: $429,975
Published by
BitStarz, award-winning Bitcoin Casino
