Ah yes, the illustrious Where's The Gold! A deceptively simple non-progressive cowboy themed title without much of a jackpot, this pokie is still one of our very favourite Aristocrat games.

We'll tell you more below, but it features a fantastic bonus round that almost never fails to make players grin.

Where's The Gold harks back to the days of the Wild West and its gold rush. Reel icons feature covered wagons, prospectors, mines, pickaxes and dynamite, and players are met with a hearty "Yeeehaw!" every time they boot up the game.

There's not much in the way of a storyline, but the inclusion of wacky characters like Happy Lucky, Peter Panner, Mary Money and Findo the dog gives the game a fun quality that will take you back to the cartoons of your childhood.

The graphics don't exactly compete with the incredible 3D animations employed by some more modern slots, but they don't need to. This game has a slightly retro feel that works very well and suits us down to the ground.

Some banjo music playing over the action would be nice, but that's a very minor complaint; we could always just put a CD on.

Even though there are 25 paylines, playing Where's The Gold often feels like it's "all or nothing." Sometimes you'll sit down and win some fantastic prizes right off the bat, while other times you'll go for several spins without a single win.

The fact that there's no wild during standard play doesn't help matters either. We can see how this might put some players off but, with a theoretical RTP (return to player) percentage of just a hair under 95%, this slot is just as rewarding as others on the market give or take a percent or two.

While it's possible to rack up some very nice wins during standard play, the jewel in Where's The Gold's crown is its bonus round. After landing a bonus round, players choose one of the zany characters to determine how many wilds and free spins they'll get.

While it's true that players usually only get a handful of free spins, the large number of wilds combined with the generosity of the game during standard play means that it's a breeze to rack up large prizes during the bonus round. For example, we once increased our bankroll by tenfold during one of these bonus rounds.

The apparent volatility of Where's The Gold may put some players off the game, but we've always found that a good session playing the game more often than not outweighs any losses from previous rounds that haven't been so good.

We once, in a day that will forever in minds, managed to land two incredible bonus rounds practically one after the other. That was one that definitely had us cracking open the champagne.

We're not sure what it is about Where's The Gold that keeps us coming back, but we can't seem to get enough of it. We hope that, if you decide to give it a try, you'll enjoy it as well.

Where's The Gold may not have a huge base jackpot, but the truth is that it doesn't really need it! The game has a bonus round that seems to crop up quite often and, despite the fact that it doesn't usually offer too many free spins, it's so saturated with wild symbols that it's easy to land huge prizes across its 25 paylines when you play. The cartoony graphics – with reel icons featuring typical wild west fare like mines and dynamite – are looking a bit tired, but they have a retro charm and certainly don't do anything to detract from the slot's great gameplay. Yeehaw!