Introduction to The Governor
The Governor is a casino slot from Betsoft where you find yourself at the seat of power as a politician. If you’re familiar with Betsoft, then you might also be familiar with their “The” series, a relatively simple series that tries to dip its toes into very unique and niche themes, such as The Auction House, The Jealous Ex, or The Bonus Day. While these games are far from perfect, we don’t hate the idea of different themes, and the games usually have distinct enough gameplay loops between releases to avoid feeling like reskins. In this case, The Governor puts us in a, well, a governor’s office, where features are themed around accepting legal and illegal donations, signing petitions, and enjoying time off and mingling with other powerful and famous people. In gameplay, we spin on a 6x5 playing grid with Cascades that leave behind Golden Frames that can be triggered by Lobbyists, awarding us with Prizes and Multipliers. These then become a bit more consistent during any of the 3 different Free Spins features, which can help you hit the max win of 10,000X the bet.
Experience a day as The Governor, with a gameplay loop of Cascades, Golden Frames, and Prizes.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
The Governor is a video slot from Betsoft with 6 Reels, 5 Rows, and uses Cluster Pay mechanics, needing a minimum of 5+ symbols in a cluster to form a win. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.1 and a Max.bet of 40. The Governor comes with a higher-than-average RTP of 96.42%, a hit frequency of 28.57%, high volatility, and a solid max win of 10,000X the bet.
In The Governor, we find ourselves in the aforementioned governor’s office, and while the setting is rather basic, the thematic features and bonuses are on point and definitely give the game a unique feeling. You can play the game on most desktops, mobiles, and notepads.
The lower-paying symbols are 10, J, Q, K, and A. Creating a win with 13+ of the same symbols will pay out 15X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are a cigar, whiskey, contracts, a suitcase of money, and the titular Governor. Landing a win with 13+ of the same symbols pays out 25X to 100X the bet. Then we have a couple of Special Symbols, such as the standard Wild and Scatter Symbols, as well as Lobbyist Symbols that can reveal Donation, Dark Money, and Offshore Symbols through the Golden Frames. More on these in the next section.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot The Governor?
You can win up to 10,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot The Governor?
The features are Wild Symbols, Cascade, Lobbyist Golden Frames, Election Lobby Circuit Free Spins, Kickback & Win Free Spins, Glorious Gala at the Capitol Free Spins, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols help form winning combinations by being able to substitute any symbol in a cluster win except for Scatter and Lobbyist Symbols.
Cascade
The Cascades, also known as the Filibuster Session, triggers after a winning combination is made, removing the winning symbols and allowing new symbols to fall in from above, giving you the possibility of creating additional wins.
Lobbyist Golden Frames
After a winning combination occurs, the removed winning symbols will leave behind Golden Frames, which can be triggered by landing a Lobbyist Symbol. The potential Special Symbols that can appear from the Golden Frames are as follows:
Local Donation = Awards a prize ranging from 0.2X to 4X the bet.
Corporate Donation = Awards a prize ranging from 5X to 20X the bet.
Industry Donation = Awards a prize ranging from 25X to 500X the bet.
Dark Money = Applies a random Multiplier ranging from 2X, 3X, 5X, or 10X to all adjacent Donation and Offshore Symbols.
Offshore = Collects all donations and other Offshore Symbols on the grid, removing them from the playing grid, letting new symbols appear in the Golden Frames. This process repeats until no new Offshore Symbols appear.
Election Lobby Circuit Free Spins
By landing 3 Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Election Lobby Circuit Free Spins with 8 spins. During the bonus game, all Golden Frames will remain in place until activated by a Lobbyist Symbol. Landing 2 or 3 Scatter Symbols will award +2 or +4 additional spins, and by landing 4 Scatters, the bonus game is upgraded to the Kickback & Win Free Spins with +4 spins.
Kickback & Win Free Spins
By landing 4 Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Kickback & Win Free Spins with 12 spins. During the bonus game, all Golden Frames will remain in place until the end of the feature, even after being activated by Lobbyist Symbols. Landing 2 or 3 Scatter Symbols will award +2 or +4 additional spins.
Glorious Gala at the Capitol Free Spins
By landing 5 Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Glorious Gala at the Capitol Free Spins with 12 spins. This bonus game comes with the same mechanics as the Kickback & Win feature, having persistent Golden Frames, but on top of this, each spin guarantees a Lobbyist Symbol, and no Local Donations can appear during the entire feature. Landing 2 or 3 Scatter Symbols will award +2 or +4 additional spins.
Feature Buy
Through the Feature Buy, you can instantly activate various features and bonuses for a price based on the current bet.
3X = Triggers the Free Spins Hunt, making each spin 5X more likely to trigger the Free Spins feature.
50X = Triggers the Lobbyist Session, guaranteeing a Lobbyist Symbol to land on each spin.
100X = Awards the Election Lobby Circuit Free Spins.
250X = Awards the Kickback & Win Free Spins.
Final Thoughts on The Governor
The “The” series from Betsoft is an interesting one, as, on one hand, its dedication to unique and niche themes is something we don’t really see in the industry, but on the other hand, these games usually come with not-so-great features or gameplay loops. The Governor is one of the more interesting releases of the series, and, as we said before, we really enjoy how thematic every feature is, even if it is a bit silly and over-the-top. Visually, however, the game leaves a lot to be desired, and its attempt at darker, warmer colors only makes it look blurry, giving us a weird game that feels both outdated and detailed enough to also be a modern release.
When it comes to gameplay, The Governor isn’t the most original game, but it is a step up from some of its spiritual predecessors from the “The” series. Starting off, we really enjoy the gameplay loop of Cascades and Golden Frame Prizes, and think it’s been handled well and serves as a great core feature of the game, even if it’s one we have seen before. While the core features are part of the base game, they’re definitely more fun in the bonus games, thanks to being more consistent, and Betsoft seems to have taken a page out of Hacksaw Gaming’s book, delivering on 3 increasingly more volatile Free Spins bonus games. We don’t really hate this move, but you can definitely feel a large difference between the features, meaning that sometimes hitting the lowest tier, the Election Lobby Circuit feature, can just kinda leave us disappointed. All in all, The Governor is a rather straightforward game thanks to its Golden Frame Prizes, but they don’t really show their full potential unless you trigger one of the more volatile bonus games, which can be exceedingly rare, especially the highest tier of the Free Spins feature.
The Governor is a casino slot in the niche-themed “The” series from Betsoft, delivering on thematic Cascade and Golden Frame Prizes as well as volatile bonus games.
