Paper Biker: Slot Overview
Since the world’s gone digital, it might shock some people to know that back in the day, kids used to have part-time jobs delivering newspapers, picking up a stack of them, then cycling around the neighbourhood dropping them off at houses that had a subscription. There’s even a classic video game from the 1980s called Paperboy that lets players take the role of a boy on a bike, throwing newspapers at houses, dodging obstacles. Now, players have Paper Biker from Hacksaw partner Bullshark Games to live out their paper delivery fantasies while having a gamble. Newspapers literally fly about the gaming arena, forming individual cell multipliers, which are persistent during free spins.
The hero of Paper Biker is no fresh-faced kid making 5 cents an hour, though (it would be weird if it were). He’s a grown man with a full moustache and beard, who has, for reasons unknown, lost his license and traded in his ‘iron beast’ for a pedal bike. However, he hasn’t traded in any attitude as he hits the base game streets delivering newspapers, before blowing off steam at a biker bar in the bonus rounds.
Paper Biker hits the road on a 6×6 grid with a cluster pays win system and a medium-high volatile math model (rated 4 out of 5). There are two RTP options – topping out at 96.24%, as well as feature buys and wagers from 10c to $/€50 per spin.
The game creates a winning combination when at least 5 matching symbols connect to form a cluster anywhere on the grid. The winning symbols in the cluster pop from view, causing new and existing symbols to drop down to fill the reels. If a new win is created after the drop, the cascade mechanic triggers again. Players collect 0.1x to 0.5x the bet when landing 5 matching 10-A card ranks, knuckle dusters, scarves, glasses, or helmets, or 10x to 50x is paid when a 27+ OAK cluster hits. Wild biker symbols replaced any paying symbol.
Paper Biker: Slot Features
The features are made up of Newspaper roll-triggered cell multipliers, the Daily Delivery bonus, the Special Edition bonus, and feature buys.
Newspaper Roll Symbol
When a Newspaper roll symbol lands, it activates 3 to 10 random cells, assigning each one a random multiplier. White Newspapers grant x2 to x5, orange Newspapers x10 to x20, and red Newspapers x25 to x100 multiplier values. Each time a cell with a multiplier is hit again, the multiplier value is doubled. When a cell with a wild is hit, it is activated and gets a multiplier. In addition, 2 to 6 wilds are added to random places on the grid (not on top of other wilds, scatters or Newspaper rolls). Extra wilds are only added once per cascade, even if the same wild is hit more than once. Cell multipliers apply to any win involving the symbol in the cell. If more than one cell multiplier is involved in a win, they are combined before being applied. Cell multipliers remain during cascades, but each new base game spin resets them.
When a high pay helmet symbol is hit, the cell is also activated and assigned a multiplier. In addition, one random low-paying symbol type is chosen, and all matching symbols on the reels convert to helmet symbols. If multiple helmet symbols are hit, each selects a different low pay symbol type to convert. If there aren’t enough low symbols to select, no symbols are converted. A single helmet can be hit multiple times, doubling its multiplier each time after the first, yet the conversion of low symbols can only happen once per cascade. The Newspaper roll changes into a wild, and in the base game, the Newspaper roll only activates when there are winning combinations on the grid.
Daily Delivery
Landing 3 or 4 scatters in the base game triggers 8 or 10 free spins, respectively, in the Daily Delivery bonus. All revealed cell multipliers remain active till the end of the feature, progressively increasing during free spins. Each scatter landing in the feature grants +1 free spin.
Special Edition
Hitting 5 scatters triggers 12 free Special Edition spins. This bonus has the same mechanics as Daily Delivery, except with an increased chance of activating more cells with each Newspaper roll symbol.
Feature Buy
BonusHunt FeatureSpins cost 3x the bet, making each spin five times more likely to trigger free spins, while Headline Hit FeatureSpins cost 50x to guarantee at least two Newspaper rolls land. The Daily Delivery bonus may be bought for 100x or 250x buys the Special Edition.
Paper Biker: Slot Verdict
Bullshark Games is a strong proponent of the cluster pays form, as a large chunk of the studio’s portfolio is powered by this particular pay system. From Piggy Cluster, Coop Clash, to Amazing Miceketeers and beyond, the developer has concocted numerous ways to deploy cluster pays alongside a range of augmenting features. Multipliers in some form or another are a popular choice in many of the studio’s cluster slots, and Paper Biker delivers a simple yet potentially potent alternative. What came first, a paperboy throwing newspapers theme, or the idea of symbols flying around the grid, bestowing cell multipliers? Guess we’ll never know, but the two concepts fit each other like a glove.
The resulting gameplay is pretty good, a little bit predictable. The base game could drag a bit as spins blew by, clusters produced a few wins, and Newspaper rolls ejected multipliers here or there. The way helmet symbols convert other symbols to helmets when hit by a Newspaper roll is an excellent touch that could occasionally pull off a decent hit. But, it wasn’t till free spins were active that Paper Biker properly came alive, due to the proliferation of persistent cell multipliers. Even then, the game strained at times to connect big clusters with a bunch of big multis. No doubt, it can happen, but it was interesting, at times vexing, how good the game was at tossing out dead or low win free spins, despite a sea of multis on the board.
It doesn’t take a huge amount to tip the balance the other way, though. Maybe convert a few helmets under some chunky multis, and who knows, players could be peddling their way towards the game’s 15,000x top win. Like biking around the same old streets, pushing newspapers in the same old letter boxes, Paper Biker did get a bit repetitive, but Bullshark Games has included enough stimulating bits to likely keep cluster pays supporters engaged for a while.
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