The Border
The Border Stats
RTP & Maths
- RTP by Mode
- 96.17% main · 96.20% Boosted xRip (x1.5 bet)
- RTP Versions
- 96.17% here · Other versions 94.07%, 92.15%
- Hit Frequency
- 29.58
- Max Win Probability
- 1:44000000
- Max Win Rule
- Max payout 44,288x base bet
Free Spins & Bonus
- Free Spins
- 6 Scatters = 10 Mule Spins · 7 Scatters = 12 Coyote Spins (+2 per extra Scatter); extra Scatters in Mule Spins upgrade to Coyote Spins
- Ante Bet
- 1.5x stake · Boosted xRip: Scatter on reel 1 each boosted spin; main-game wins below the base bet not paid
- Multipliers
- xSplit xX indicator up to x64 · Single win multiplier: +1 per symbol xNudged over (or its xX value), +1 (or split amount) per xBomb for the next collapse, +1 per unique cluster from the 2nd in the same avalanche (xCluster, bonus only); does not reset in Coyote Spins
Symbols & Pays
- Wild
- Substitutes for all except Scatter
- Cluster Pays
- Top symbol 2,214.4x · Lowest 0.2x
Demo Overview
Pearl Harbor came second. The Border, released on 13 September 2022, was Nolimit City’s first cluster-pays game, and xCluster made its debut on it. The Border demo puts it on a 6×6 board, where groups of 5 or more touching symbols pay and five xMechanics resolve in a fixed order when they meet in one avalanche.
Co-founder Emil Svärd said at launch that the team had “truly gone all-out with this slot, being our first cluster game.” Played today, it reads as the plain version of the cluster rulebook Nolimit City built on.
Features
On 7 December 2022, Nolimit City released the second cluster game, Pearl Harbor, which keeps the cluster rule and the xBomb within its own xSize frame and tops out at 41,127x.
Splits That Point Left
xSplit can land on every reel but the first. It splits the symbols to its left, doubles their size, then becomes a Wild. It can also split a Scatter into two. When more xSplits hit one row, symbols that have already split pick up an xX indicator worth up to x64.
xNudge Cluster Wild
This Wild moves only when it’s part of a winning cluster. It nudges up or down, and each symbol it passes adds +1 to the win multiplier, or that symbol’s xX value if it has one. If an xSplit has split the Wild first, it adds its own multiplier before it moves.
xBomb Wild
The xBomb Wild explodes and clears the symbols around it, sparing Scatters and Wilds. Each blast adds +1 to the multiplier for the next collapse, or the amount the bomb was split into.
Five xMechanics in Order
When several trigger in one avalanche, the game resolves them as xWays, xSplit, xNudge, xCluster, and then xBomb. Splits come before the nudge, so a split symbol’s xX value is already there when the Wild passes over it.
xCluster in the Bonus
xCluster works only in the bonus modes. Each unique symbol cluster in one avalanche after the first adds +1 to the win multiplier at once.
Boosted xRip
Boosted xRip costs an extra 50% of the bet, and a Scatter lands on reel 1 with each boosted spin. While it’s switched on, the main game pays nothing for wins below the base bet, while symbol values and the bonus modes are unaffected.
Mule and Coyote Spins
Six Scatters or Seven
The number of gold-dollar Scatters chooses the bonus. Exactly 6 start 10 Mule Spins, and 7 start 12 Coyote Spins, plus 2 for each Scatter beyond that.
In Mule Spins, an xWays that is part of a cluster win infects the cluster symbols on its reel before xSplit and xNudge act. More Scatters during the round move the bonus up to Coyote Spins, with 2 extra spins each.
Coyote Spins spread the infection to every cluster symbol. Each xBomb adds its multiplier, or +1 if it has none, to every xX symbol that survives the blast, and the win multiplier never resets. The rules set the simulated maximum at 58 Coyote Spins.
How to Play
Clusters and the xWays Offset
A win on this 6×6 slot needs 5 or more matching symbols joined horizontally or vertically, and only the highest win in each cluster pays. Winning symbols are destroyed after the payout, new ones drop into the gaps, and the avalanche continues until nothing else connects. The multiplier plate above reel 6 starts at x1, and xNudge, xBomb, and xCluster are what move it. The Wilds and the gold-dollar Scatter have no row in the table below.
xWays is how the board changes shape. It reveals a paying symbol at size 2 or 4 and offsets its reel against the reels beside it, so more symbols can touch. Two or more xWays on one spin share one revealed symbol. On a board where touching is the whole pay rule, a reel with an extra cell next to a reel without one opens contacts a straight grid can’t make, and a few rounds of free play show how often xWays reshapes a reel.
RTP Settings
The Border comes in three RTP versions, 96.17%, 94.07%, and 92.15%, and this demo uses the first. Stakes, €0.20 to €100, are the range the studio sets, and Boosted xRip is an optional extra on top of them.
Cluster Payouts
Pays climb with cluster size across 17 tiers, from a group of 5 to one of 160 or more. The cartel boss with the gold chain pays 1x for 5, 5x for 9, and 125x for 30 to 44, then 2,214.4x at 160+. The lawman, the soldier, the man in the blue bandana, and the woman with the rose open between 0.7x and 0.5x for 5 and meet at 1,107.2x each at 160+, while the vulture, the rattlesnake, and the scorpion start between 0.3x and 0.2x and share 553.85x at the far end. The lawman goes from 125x at 60 to 84 symbols to 400x at 85 to 99.
| Cluster size | Cartel boss | Lawman | Soldier | Bandana man | Woman with rose | Vulture | Rattlesnake | Scorpion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 160+ | 2,214.4x | 1,107.2x | 1,107.2x | 1,107.2x | 1,107.2x | 553.85x | 553.85x | 553.85x |
| 120 to 159 | 1,500x | 750x | 600x | 500x | 400x | 250x | 150x | 100x |
| 100 to 119 | 1,000x | 600x | 400x | 250x | 150x | 100x | 75x | 50x |
| 85 to 99 | 500x | 400x | 100x | 75x | 50x | 40x | 30x | 20x |
| 60 to 84 | 250x | 125x | 75x | 60x | 40x | 30x | 20x | 15x |
| 45 to 59 | 150x | 75x | 60x | 50x | 30x | 20x | 14x | 10x |
| 30 to 44 | 125x | 62.5x | 50x | 40x | 22.5x | 14x | 10x | 7.5x |
| 25 to 29 | 100x | 50x | 40x | 30x | 15x | 10x | 7.5x | 5x |
| 20 to 24 | 75x | 37.5x | 30x | 20x | 10x | 7.5x | 5x | 3.75x |
| 15 to 19 | 50x | 25x | 20x | 10x | 7.5x | 5x | 4x | 2.5x |
| 12 to 14 | 25x | 12.5x | 10x | 5.5x | 4x | 2.75x | 2.25x | 2x |
| 10 to 11 | 12.5x | 6.25x | 5.5x | 3x | 2.5x | 2.25x | 2x | 1.5x |
| 9 | 5x | 3x | 2.75x | 2.5x | 2x | 1.5x | 0.9x | 0.75x |
| 8 | 3.5x | 2x | 1.75x | 1.5x | 1.25x | 0.75x | 0.75x | 0.5x |
| 7 | 2.25x | 1.25x | 1.25x | 1x | 0.9x | 0.65x | 0.55x | 0.4x |
| 6 | 1.5x | 0.9x | 0.85x | 0.75x | 0.7x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.3x |
| 5 | 1x | 0.7x | 0.65x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.3x | 0.25x | 0.2x |
Ultimate Slots Verdict
As a reference for Nolimit City's cluster games, this one holds its ground, with a 6x6 board of cartel bosses and lawmen, five xMechanics in a fixed order, and a Scatter count that chooses between Mule Spins and Coyote Spins. Small cluster pays and the main-game wins Boosted xRip withholds are the cost, and Coyote Spins, where the multiplier never resets, show why the rulebook lasted.
✓ What We Like
- Five xMechanics resolve in a fixed order, so each avalanche follows rules you can learn
- Coyote Spins keep the win multiplier from resetting and let xBombs feed surviving xX symbols
- xSplit can split a Scatter into two, which helps the count toward Mule or Coyote Spins
- Cartel boss clusters of 160 or more symbols pay 2,214.4x
✗ What Could Be Better
- Clusters of 5 animal symbols pay only 0.2x to 0.3x
- Boosted xRip stops the main game paying wins below the base bet while it's on
Detailed Review
Where the Clusters Started
Before September 2022, no Nolimit City slot paid on clusters. The Border had to show how the studio’s xMechanics behave when touching symbols decide a win, and it does that with five rules fired in a fixed order and nothing laid on top of them.
A cartel boss with a gold chain and a cigar faces a cowboy-hat lawman and a helmeted soldier across a steel gate strung with barbed wire, while a vulture, a rattlesnake, and a scorpion round out the cast of a crime story told in floodlight and rust. Muted red, olive, and orange tiles keep each symbol readable on the 6×6.
The low end of the table is thin. A cluster of 5 animals pays 0.2x to 0.3x, and with Boosted xRip switched on, wins below the base bet disappear from the main game. The plate above reel 6 moves only when a Wild nudges, a bomb goes off, or, in the bonus, a second cluster lands, so small clusters keep dropping while it reads x1, and that wait for the plate to move is the pull the game relies on.
Mule Spins are the narrower version, with the xWays infection limited to its own reel. Coyote Spins are where the rules pay off, with a win multiplier that never resets and xBombs feeding each surviving xX symbol. For this review, that makes The Border the reference game for how the studio handles clusters.
