Running Toro Slots
Released in 2018, Running Toro is a 25 payline slot featuring 6 reels and three rows with a medium level of variance. Here you can enjoy free spins, expanding wilds, substitution symbols and random multipliers.
This slot comes from the small, but growing software provider CQ9 Gaming. It’s one of several matador themed games on the market today, offering excitement and risk both in fiction and reality. So, if you’re ready to take on the bull, read our full review and find out how to come out on top.
Living the Latin Lifestyle
If you’ve been hankering for the Latin lifestyle, or in need something to take you back to your last holiday in Seville or Madrid, this might just be it. Filled with beautiful Spanish symbolism, the reels offers sexy senoritas in full flamenco get-up, masculine matadors, antique chalices and delicate fans.
Toro of course means bull in Spanish, and the setting is a bullfight. It’s a controversial blood sport that has long been played out in rings across Spain and is still popular today. Following on from the success of the likes of the Wild Toro Slot from Elk Studios, this is one of many popular animal themed slots. Although the Running Toro incarnation of it is more focused on the elements of dangerous adventure in the sport, than the cartoon-like comedic aspects that can be found in ELK’s Wild Toro.
Exploring the Toro’s Roots
This animal themed slot is the brainchild and one of the latest releases of CQ9 Gaming. You'd be forgiven if you aren't familiar with that name. It's not one of the biggest software houses on the market, but it is one to watch.
CQ9 Gaming is based in Taipei, Taiwan and so its games are often found in Asian casinos. But it’s also a supplier to big names like Microgaming, Play’n Go and Pragmatic Play, appearing in online casinos worldwide. Their games are garnering a lot of interest, not least due to the prevalence of high return-to-player percentages. CQ9 are consistently increasing the number of slots titles in their portfolio, producing games that are well thought out and fully certified by Gaming Laboratories International.
Access All Devices
The layout is classic, although the addition of a non-standard 6th reel spices up proceedings considerably (more on the function of that extra dimension later). Running Toro is designed to take you close to the action and thrill of a bullfight, without the peril and with the chance to win some cash – a whopping 2,000,000 coins in total. The technology has full mobile compatibility, as you'd expect from a slot released in 2018, and uses the latest HTML5 graphics for a quality visual experience. So whether you play on the go, or at your desk, Running Toro will be ready to go.
Bets start at 0.75 and go all the way up to 500, allowing plenty of scope for both the high roller, low roller and every player in between. Prizes are gained by landing 3 or more of the same symbol from left to right and you'll only be paid the highest winning combination. The Toro is the wild and substitutes for all symbols except the scatter. You'll only find the scatter on the 1st, 3rd and 5th reel, but land 3 of them and you'll get 10 free games and a 1 x multiplier. Other high-paying symbols are the matador, senorita, a blue fan, a golden chalice and coins, with the alphanumeric cards representing the lower values.
An Extra Reel of Fortune
But it's with the 6th reel feature that things really get interesting. It sits to the right of what would otherwise be a standard 5 x 3 layout and has a distinctly different appearance to the other reels. On it multipliers appear multiplying any winning combination - there are base game multipliers of between 1X and 10x and free game multipliers of between 2x and 10x.
There's also an exciting expanding wild feature in Running Toro. When you land the bull in the centre of the reel it takes over the whole of the first reel, giving you an extra win. The game’s super wild also only appears on the 6th reel and only during the free games. Its role is to trigger feature, during which one of the wild bulls is added to each reel. These can land in any position with the potential to trigger the expanding feature too, bumping up your winnings even more.
Free spins can be re triggered during this round with three scatters anywhere on the reels, and you can even retrigger the bonus multiple times (up to a maximum of 100). During the re-trigger the bet is the same as that which triggered the bonus round.
ple yet engaging and likely to appeal to a wide range of gamblers, from the novice to the pro. The betting options provide scope for all pockets and should you hit the full payout, you’ll be able to head to Spain for real!
Wild Thing
The game has a Zorro-like feel to it and an exotic escapist Latin atmosphere. There's some classic pokie sounds incorporated into the soundtrack, as well as the huffing and puffing as the landed bull charges forth - proving he’s wild in more ways than one. As Running Toro is a relatively new release, the RTP is as yet unknown – although judging by CQ9 Gaming’s reliable standards, it’s likely to be strong.
However, if this deters you from playing this particular slot, yet you fancy the theme, consider sticking with something from a larger software house. You might like to try Book and Bulls video slot from mighty Bally Wulff. Book and Bulls, like Running Toro, has a medium level of variance, a similar graphic and design style, a 5 x 3 layout and a very decent 96.1% RTP.
Run With the Bulls
But if you’re game for a Mediterranean adventure, the free Running Toro slot has much to commend it. This slot may not stand out in terms of its theme, but it does have some unique features. The addition of an extra 6th reelto an otherwise mainstream 5 x 3 board will keep the traditionalists happy, while providing another dimension to play. Plus with free games and expanding symbols, it’s sim
