Dead or Alive™: revolvers and wanted posters at NetEnt

NetEnt set Dead or Alive in a saloon lost in the middle of the desert: a 5 × 3 grid, 9 lines that cannot be switched off, and a wanted poster as the joker. The real reward lies in the free spin series, where wins count double and WILDs never leave the grid.

The setting

Carved wooden posts, line numbers on signs, a logo topped with a revolver: the grid looks like a saloon front. In the distance, a windmill and a sky heavy with storm. On the reels: the wanted poster, the scatter's crossed revolvers, the sheriff's star, the whisky, the boots, the hat, the gun belt and five letters from ace to 10.

The buttons

1. The two BET buttons set the stake.

2. A press on the green SPIN button sets the reels going.

3. Autoplay offers five lengths, from 5 to 100 rounds.

4. The help details every function, section by section.

Hunting for free spins

At least three crossed revolvers, wherever they are, trigger 12 free spins with an x2 multiplier, all at the starting stake. From then on, each WILD that drops in freezes: it is a Sticky Wild, which stays in place until the last spin. If each of the five reels ends up holding at least one stuck WILD, the series grows by 5 spins.

The series' wins are added up and paid when it ends, and the game then returns to the round that started it.

Why sticky WILDs matter

A WILD placed early in the series works on every remaining spin. Over the run, a joker that lands on the second spin takes part in all the following ones, and each new joker adds to those already there. That gives the series its rhythm: the first spins set up the WILDs, the last ones cash in on them, with the x2 multiplier on every win.

The lines

Combinations are read from the left reel, with no gaps, on the 9 lines. When several lines win, their wins add up; on a single line, the game pays only the strongest combination, and the WILD always picks the most valuable one.

Demo and real money

Dead or Alive can be discovered with no stake as a free demo, listed in the slots catalogue. The rest of the NetEnt catalogue sits on its dedicated page. Real stakes require a 1xBet account, created through registration.

Compare with

Gangster City swaps the desert for a Prohibition-era city, with a sheriff, a mob boss and multiplier bottles. Lucky Sheriff stays with the cowboys, with free spins that merge reels 2 to 4 into one giant reel.