Stick Em Pros & Cons
Stick Em delivers classic Aristocrat action with a proven track record. The choice-based free spins and stacked symbols create a good variety, but the RTP and max win won't impress everyone.
- Three distinct feature types: Sticky Win Spins, Free Spins, Bonus Wheel
- Sticky Win Spin builds visibly and tangibly — engaging chain mechanic
- Bonus Wheel can deliver up to 1,000x from a single trigger
- 23.45% hit frequency on medium volatility — reasonably active sessions
- 1,024-way format gives more win paths than standard 5×3 setups
- Distinctive 1930s cartoon visual style — immediately recognisable
- 2,048x max win is modest compared to modern high-ceiling slots
- No Buy Feature — all features must be triggered organically
- Free Spins (5, 10, 15) offer no added multiplier enhancement
- Free Spins (5, 10, 15) offer no added multiplier enhancement
- Maximum win requires near-full board lock — a rare alignment
Stick Em Slot Review
If you played online slots in 2019–2020, you probably remember the first time a thumbs-up symbol popped up in Stick ’Em and a little cartoon hand just… stuck to the reel. It sounds simple, and it is — that is exactly the point. Hacksaw Gaming built this one around a single satisfying idea: thumbs-up symbols lock in place, everything else re-spins, and if more thumbs-ups land they lock too and you respin again. You watch it build one sticky at a time. It is not a complicated mechanic but when you have six or seven positions locked and the respin counter is still going, you feel it.
The 5×4 grid gives 1,024 ways to win and enough room for those thumbs-ups to stack up. Three trigger the Sticky Win Spin, but the fun is in how far the chain runs. Beyond that there are proper scatter-triggered free spins (5, 10, or 15 depending on how many scatters land) and a separate Bonus Wheel feature that pays up to 1,000x directly from a spin of a prize wheel. So you actually have three different things that can happen — which for a game with this kind of stripped-back visual style feels like a lot. RTP is 96.1%, medium volatility, hit rate just under 25%. Bet from €0.20 up to €100.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer | Hacksaw Gaming |
| Release Date | September 5, 2019 |
| Reels X Rows | 5×4 |
| Paylines / Ways to Win | 1,024 |
| RTP (Return to Player) | 96.1% |
| Volatility Level | Medium |
| Min Bet | €0.20 |
| Max Bet | €100 |
| Max Win Potential | 2,048x bet |
| Hit Frequency | 23.45% |
| Free Spins | 5–15 (3–5 scatters) + Sticky Win Spins |
| Mobile Compatible | Yes |
👌 Key Features & Mechanics
👌 Sticky Win Spin — Chain Respins
Three thumbs-up symbols anywhere on the grid and the Sticky Win Spin starts. Those three lock in place immediately. Then the rest of the reels spin again. If another thumbs-up shows up anywhere, it locks too and you get another respin. Keep going until a spin comes up empty. Then the game looks at everything that is locked and pays out all the ways-to-win combinations those positions create.
What makes it work is how gradual it feels. You go from three locked to five, then eight, and if the chain keeps running past ten you start paying real attention. The 5×4 grid has 20 positions total — a near-full board lock means thumbs-ups sitting in rows and reels that create combinations across all 1,024 ways simultaneously. That is how 2,048x becomes possible in practice, not just in theory. Most chains stop somewhere between five and twelve positions. Enough to produce a meaningful win, not quite enough for the screen to go fully yellow with thumbs-ups. But the sessions where it keeps going are the ones you remember.
👌 Bonus Game — Wheel Up to 1,000x
Three bonus emblems anywhere on the reels and a wheel pops up. You spin it, it lands somewhere, you get that multiplier applied to your bet. That is the whole thing. No second wheel, no pick screen, no follow-up feature — done in about three seconds and you are back to base game.
The ceiling on the wheel is 1,000x your bet, which at €100 stake is €100,000 from a single trigger. Most of the time you will land something considerably smaller — but the wheel is quick, and there is something unexpectedly fun about landing three bonus symbols in the middle of a session and just spinning a wheel for an instant resolution. It is the opposite of the Sticky Win Spin in every way: one symbol, one event, done. The contrast between the slow build of a thumbs-up chain and the instant spin of the bonus wheel gives the game a rhythm that works.
👌 Free Spins — 5, 10, or 15 Spins
Three scatters gives you 5 free spins, four gives 10, and five gives 15. Inside those free spins, everything works exactly the same as the base game — thumbs-ups still lock and chain, the bonus wheel can still trigger. There is no added multiplier during free spins and no retrigger option, which is the honest limitation here.
What free spins actually give you is volume. More spins means more chances for a thumbs-up chain to develop inside one of those free plays. A 15-spin round where three of those spins produce Sticky Win Spin chains is a very different experience to the base game. The lack of a multiplier keeps the ceiling lower than you might hope, but the mechanic stays the same and that is what makes it entertaining rather than just a dry bonus round. If you land five scatters and get 15 free spins on a medium volatility game at a moderate bet, that round will keep you engaged.
👌 1,024 Ways on 5×4 — What a Session Actually Feels Like
The extra row (four rows instead of the standard three) matters more than it sounds. More positions means the thumbs-up chain has more places to land and more ways-to-win combinations to evaluate when it settles. A thumbs-up locking in row 3 of reel 2 on a 5×4 grid contributes to way more active combinations than the same position on a 5×3 grid — just the geometry of how ways-to-win works.
At medium volatility with nearly a 25% hit rate, sessions here do not feel like a grind. Something happens most of the time — a small ways win, the occasional Sticky Win Spin chain starting, a bonus emblem here and there. You are not sitting through 20 blank spins waiting for life. That makes it a reasonable pick for a casual session where you want activity without committing to the kind of patience high-volatility games demand. The trade-off is the 2,048x ceiling, which is modest. But at medium volatility with this hit rate, you are not expected to be patient for long stretches — the game keeps moving.
Symbol Values & Paytable
Ways-to-win system — adjacent matching symbols from left to right. Values at €1 bet, 5-of-a-kind across all rows:
| Symbol | 3 of a Kind | 4 of a Kind | 5 of a Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thumbs Up (Feature symbol)
|
Triggers Sticky | Win Spin | — not a direct pay symbol |
|
Canny the Can (Top Premium)
|
€1.00 | €3.00 | €10.00 |
|
Trophy
|
€0.60 | €2.00 | €5.00 |
|
Explosion
|
€0.40 | €1.20 | €3.00 |
|
Star
|
€0.30 | €0.80 | €2.00 |
|
A / K / Q (Card Royals)
|
€0.15 | €0.40 | €1.00 |
|
Bonus Game Wheel (Special)
|
3 symbols anywhere triggers Bonus Wheel — up to 1,000x |
🎮 Playing Stick ’Em — What to Actually Expect
- A typical Stick ’Em session at a moderate stake goes like this: you will see a couple of small ways-to-win hits in the first few spins, maybe a three-thumbs chain that pays something between 5x and 20x, a stretch of spins with nothing notable, then maybe a scatter trigger. The 23% hit rate is real — you are getting winning evaluations roughly one in every four spins. Not all of them are meaningful but the screen is not blank for long stretches.
- Where sessions become memorable is when a Sticky Win Spin chain runs past eight or nine positions. That is where the ways-to-win multiplication really starts working — eight locked positions across five reels with four rows each can create combinations you would not expect from reading the paytable symbol by symbol. And the bonus wheel can drop something significant at any stake without warning. Most sessions at medium volatility here stay within a fairly narrow range — you are not going to triple your bankroll or lose it in twenty spins. That is the medium volatility trade: consistency over ceiling.
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Play Responsibly - 18+ Only
Gambling should be entertaining and fun. Remember that slots are games of chance, and there's no guaranteed way to win. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose, and always set limits for yourself. If you feel gambling is becoming a problem, please seek help immediately.
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the RTP of Stick Em?
96.1% is the standard RTP. That is pretty decent — above the industry average that tends to sit around 95.5–96.0%. One thing worth knowing: some casinos run games at lower RTP configurations than the developer’s default. It is rare but it happens, so a quick check of the paytable or info screen before you start a session does not hurt. The difference between 96.1% and say 94% adds up over a long session.
How does the Sticky Win Spin actually work?
Get three thumbs-up symbols anywhere on the 5×4 grid and they all freeze in place. The rest of the reels spin again. If more thumbs-ups land in the new spin, they freeze too and you get another respin. This keeps going until you get a spin with zero new thumbs-ups. Then the game evaluates every locked position as a symbol in the ways-to-win calculation — so six thumbs-ups spread across the grid can hit multiple winning lines at once. Three locked is the minimum. Twenty locked (full board) is the theoretical maximum at 2,048x. Most chains stop somewhere between those two points.
What is the Bonus Wheel and how do I trigger it?
You need three bonus emblem symbols to land anywhere on the reels. When they do, a prize wheel appears and you spin it once. Whatever it lands on — that multiplier gets applied to your bet. It can go up to 1,000x. Most of the time you will get something considerably smaller, but even a 50x or 100x result from a single wheel spin is a solid hit at a reasonable stake. The whole thing takes about three seconds and then you are back to the base game. Quick and clean.
Is 2,048x a good max win for a slot?
Honestly, by 2024 standards it is on the lower end. A lot of modern slots from the same studios push 10,000x, 20,000x, or even higher. But Stick ’Em is a 2019 game at medium volatility — those two facts together explain the ceiling. The tradeoff is that you hit things more often. Medium volatility with a 23% hit rate means the 2,048x maximum is not the only thing the game has going for it — you are getting wins more regularly than you would from a high-volatility slot where the entire point is chasing one big event. Different games for different sessions.
Does Stick Em have a Buy Feature?
No, nothing to buy here. All three features — Sticky Win Spins, Free Spins, Bonus Wheel — come from organic play. Hacksaw Gaming added buy features to most of their later releases (Hop ’N’ Pop, Chaos Crew, etc.), but Stick ’Em predates that as a 2019 title. If direct access to free spins is important to you, their newer catalogue is the place to look. For this one, you play the base game and wait.
Is Stick Em worth playing if I usually play high-volatility slots?
It depends on what you are in the mood for. If you want to grind toward a big multiplier event, Stick ’Em is probably not your game — the 2,048x ceiling and medium volatility are not built for that. But if you want something with a fun mechanic that pays out reasonably often and does not require a big bankroll commitment, it is a solid choice. A lot of high-volatility players actually keep Stick ’Em around for sessions where they do not want to watch 40 dry spins in a row waiting for a feature. It plays faster and more consistently than anything at high volatility.