South of the Border

Traveling “south of the border” has a distinct appeal to Americans, that’s where Mexico is, with all the fiestas and lively atmosphere that characterize the country. It is somewhat of a cliché, but going that side of the border is always related to having fun. 

South of the Border takes you on such a trip to Mexico, with all the symbols that one would expect from a video slot that has this particular theme. However, the game does offer a bit more than meets the eye at a first glance, so let’s have a closer look.

Theme

The whole action of this game takes place in the desert, we see a few cacti behind the reels and a gorgeous sunset. The symbols couldn’t be more Mexican than these, from a Pinata to an animated Mariachi that does attempt to play some music as well. 

Speaking of music, the developers surprisingly chose to employ a pretty standard tune as the background to this game, quite odd considering the theme. The sound effects are quite dull as well, but in this category we do have some that are in line with the general theme of the game. 

Betting Options and Functions

This video slot has 5 reels and 3 rows, with the standard 25 fixed paylines. You will always bet on all the paylines, the only thing that is adjustable is the size of the bet. The minimum allowed stake is just 1 dollar, while the most you can bet on a single spin is 40 dollars. 

The biggest prize you can get in the base game is 150 times the stake, but this is a low volatility title so you should expect winning combinations to be formed quite often. The theoretical return to player of this product is pretty good, 96.5%. 

Features

In this game things get really interesting when you discover the special features, let’s check them out:

• Wild and Scatter

These are features that you can find in almost any slot. In this game the Mariachi is the Wild, substituting for any symbol except the Scatter. Now when it comes to Scatters, we have a few different ones in this game. 

The Sun symbol is the main Scatter and it can give you up to 100 times the stake, but we also have Sunflower symbols that can help you win the Mini, Minor, or Major jackpots. 

• Loaded With Loot

This is a pretty complex feature, one that can be found in other games designed by Ainsworth. It can bring in some substantial non-progressive jackpots whenever you get five or more Yellow Sunflowers in a single spin. 

Once the feature is triggered, you get four free spins while the Sunflowers move to the meter that is situated to the right of the reels. The free spins have other Sunflower symbols included, and you will collect those into a special flower that sits next to the reels. 

The aim is then to land enough extra sunflowers to fill all ten spots on that flower. When you do that the vault will open and you will grab the Grand Jackpot worth 30,000 dollars! 

Conclusion

South of the Border is an exciting video slot from Ainsworth, with their proprietary Loaded with Loot feature included. The design is not among the most appealing in the industry, but the cartoon-like symbols should be fun enough to look at. 

The Grand Jackpot is a great goal to be looking forward to, but even if you are not lucky enough to get it you should still be able to collect some nice prizes in this game. Being a low volatility product, it should be a good game to try for casual players.