ClusterBuck Slot Overview

ClusterBuck is a casino slot from Northern Lights Gaming, where colorful tiles adorned with fruit symbols constantly shake things up on the grid. Land them as singles, doubles, or quads and fill their respective meters to progress through multiple payout tiers, collecting lucrative rewards along the way. Wilds, Padlocks, and Bombs will lend a helping hand during this wacky adventure by substituting for other symbols, freezing the meters for the following spin, and transforming groups of tiles into matching sets. And if you happen to run into at least 2 Treasure Chests somewhere in between, they will grant you even more Wilds or a chance to win one of the jackpots worth up to 5,000x the bet. Prepare for some fast-paced, fruity, collecting action with ClusterBuck!

ClusterBuck is a video slot from Northern Lights Gaming with 6 reels, 6 rows, and a cluster-pays win system requiring at least 5 matching symbols aligned horizontally and/or vertically to form a combination. Players can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.2 up to a Max.bet of 20. The game offers a default RTP of 96.05%, although two lower variants of 94.04% and 92.04% are also available for operators. Players will experience medium volatility, with a max win capped at 12,000x the bet. The base game hit rate comes with an average frequency of 25.54%.

Collecting colorful fruit tiles on the grid sure does sound fun, but it's even more engaging when you make use of additional features the game offers. The features of ClusterBuck are Cluster Chase & Cluster Bar, Wild Symbols, Padlocks, Bombs, Chest Bonus, Free Spins, and Feature Buy.

ClusterBuck Slot Information

The main playing area in ClusterBuck is pretty straightforward yet brimming with vibrant colors all around. In the background, various shapes radiate from the bright, purple center while faint swirls of energy dance around in a never-ending cycle. To the left of the main grid, six counters track winning symbols and display possible rewards for completing their progress. To the right, five jackpot boxes tease with their lucrative prizes. On the gold-framed primary panel, players must form combinations of symbols containing at least 5 matching instances horizontally and/or vertically adjacent. The chaotic, vivid realm ruled by a quirky star-shaped creature awaits players on most modern devices, from desktops to smartphones and tablets.

The paytable in ClusterBuck is quite peculiar, as it doesn't award payouts for hitting direct winning combinations. Instead, it grants a prize whenever a tier on the respective symbol's meter is achieved. The highest rewards await on level 8 and beyond, reaching 300x, 400x, 500x, 1,000x, 2,000x, and 3,000x the bet for bananas, blueberries, plums, grapes, pears, and cherries, respectively. Aside from the fruit symbols, players can also land multicolored Wilds, Padlocks, Bombs, Treasure Chests, and Scatters.

ClusterBuck Slot Features

What is the max win in the slot ClusterBuck?

You can win up to 12,000x the bet.

What features are available in the slot ClusterBuck?

The features are Cluster Chase & Cluster Bar, Wild Symbols, Padlocks, Bombs, Chest Bonus, Free Spins, and Feature Buy.

Cluster Chase & Cluster Bar

All regular symbols may appear as singles, doubles (counting as 2 instances), or quads (counting as 4 instances). Whenever they form a cluster of at least 5 adjacent tiles, they are collected by the matching meter. Each level requires a specific number of symbols to reach the next tier and award a corresponding prize.

Tier 1 = 12 symbols

Tier 2 = + 12 more symbols

Tier 3 = + 12 more symbols

Tier 4 = + 14 more symbols

Tier 5 = + 16 more symbols

Tier 6 = + 18 more symbols

Tier 7 = + 20 more symbols

Tier 8+ = + 25 more symbols

Wild Symbols

Wilds may also appear as singles, doubles, and quads. Additionally, every time a new tier is reached on any of the meters, a Wild will be added in a random position on the grid.

Padlocks

Landing a Padlock on the board allows for one symbol meter to freeze and maintain its progress for the next spin. Up to 3 Padlocks can be collected during the base game and up to 6 during free spins.

Bombs

Two types of Bombs may land on the reels. The standard variant transforms all tiles into matching regular symbols in up to 4 directions horizontally and vertically. The Wild Bomb behaves identically, but the transformation results in Wilds.

Chest Bonus

Achieving 2 Chests throughout the same spin awards one of two features. If one of the Chests reveals a Wild, a random number of Wild symbols will be placed on the grid. If both Chests reveal the Jackpot Wheel, a Jackpot Bonus will be triggered. Players will spin a wheel for a guaranteed prize.

Mini = 20x the bet

Minor = 50x the bet

Major = 500x the bet

Grand = 5,000x the bet

Free Spins

Scoring 3 Scatters anywhere on the grid during the same base game spin activates 8 free spins. During the game, Wilds added to the board via the features may upgrade the tiles they land on to doubles or quads.

Feature Buy

Instead of chasing after the mischievous star-shaped critter, players can purchase direct access to the bonus round in one of two variants.

100x = Standard Free Spins

200x = Super Free Spins with more Wilds and more wins

ClusterBuck Slot Conclusion

We must admit that we don't expect innovation and disruptive ideas from Games Global partners all too often, since the platform and its studios continuously focus on reiterating proven concepts. Hence, seeing something like ClusterBuck from Northern Lights definitely earns the provider points right out of the gate. Instead of the usual payline game equipped with hold&win bonuses, instant win ladders, and cash collect mechanics, we get a cluster-pays slot with a unique base win evaluation. Successful combinations don't yield rewards right away but are collected by the respective symbol's meter, and only once the tier threshold is met, a fixed payout is released. Then, the meter upgrades to the next level with a higher prize, and the sequence continues until there are no more hits on the grid. Whether it will be perceived as more engaging for the players, time will tell, but it undoubtedly injects the gameplay with much more action. Or an illusion of it, at least, because it may also feel disappointing that landing several clusters of different symbols can end up in a no-win situation. But, there's plenty of help coming from the fact that each tile can be doubled or quadrupled, plus there are additional Wilds granted for each tier reached. Padlocks are a clever way of keeping up to 3 meters (or 6 in free spins) locked for the next spin for a better chance of higher rewards. Last but not least, Chests may grant access to the Jackpot bonus with prizes up to 5,000x or, failing that, throw some Wilds on the grid as a consolation prize. All things considered, it's quite an intriguing line-up which has a chance of attracting some curious players.

ClusterBuck mixes a few familiar features on a base of a unique win evaluation, resulting in a creative setup dressed in a dynamic, fruity theme.