Folsom Prison slot

Folsom Prison slot: the short version

Folsom Prison is a five-reel video slot from Nolimit City set inside a grim American jail. Unlike most slots, the visible grid is mostly locked when a spin begins. Only the two middle positions on reels 1 to 4 are live, which gives 16 ways, and reel 5 starts closed. Special symbols then open the locked cells around them, and the ways count jumps with every cell that opens.

That makes the game feel like two different slots. Most spins stay small and cheap-looking, and they pay little. Occasionally the grid bursts open with multiplier wilds, and those spins are where the return is concentrated. Nolimit sums this up with its top volatility label.

How the Folsom Prison slot machine opens its grid

Locked cells sit above and below the live middle rows. When a wild, scatter, xSplit or xWays symbol lands, the locked positions next to it open for that spin. Two scatters in the base game also open the middle of reel 5. Because ways wins multiply the number of positions on each reel, every opened cell has a large effect.

The final row of the table is not the ceiling. xWays symbols turn into several copies of one symbol and xSplit doubles the ways along its row, so a fully opened grid with those symbols can climb much higher. Our expanding reels page explains this family of mechanics.

A spin, step by step

1. Set a stake within the UK limit for your age: £5 at 25 and over, £2 at 18 to 24.
2. Press spin; the RNG decides the result on the server.
3. The 16-way starting area lands, with any special symbols in it.
4. Special symbols open the locked cells next to them, and Cockroach Nest wilds send cockroaches across the grid.
5. Wins are counted across every active cell, multipliers are applied and the total is paid.
6. The grid relocks before the next spin, which UK rules space at least 2.5 seconds apart.

Cockroach Nest wilds, xSplit and xWays

Cockroach Nest wilds

The signature symbol is a Cockroach Nest wild. Its starting position turns wild, then cockroaches crawl out across the grid. Where they go they add multipliers to random positions and open any locked cells they pass over. If a nest is split, its multiplier rises by 1. It is a cousin of the walking wild, except that the creatures leave multipliers rather than wilds behind.

xSplit

xSplit splits the symbols along its row, doubling the ways that pass through it, and then becomes two wilds. Our split symbols page compares it with other studios' versions.

xWays

xWays symbols reveal between two and four copies of one randomly chosen paying symbol, which multiplies ways on that reel. The base-game scatters that open reel 5 can also turn into xWays, xSplit, standard wilds or Cockroach Nest wilds after doing their job.

The five inmate symbols are the premium pays. The paytable inside the game shows their values in pounds at your stake.

Folsom Prison free spins: Walk The Line and The Chair

Folsom Prison has two free spins rounds. Both start with 8 spins; the difference is the size of the grid and how many Cockroach Nest wilds you get.

Landing a scatter during Walk The Line can upgrade the round to The Chair. That matters because The Chair starts with four times the ways of Walk The Line and at least three nests per spin instead of one. It is the round with the most potential, and reaching it is rarer than reaching Walk The Line.

A worked illustration shows why. Suppose a nest's cockroaches leave a x3 and a x2 multiplier on positions that are both part of one win of £1 at your stake. If the game multiplies the values together, the win becomes £6; with several wins touching several multipliers across 1,024 ways, results add up quickly. The help screen gives the exact combining rule, which is worth reading before you play.

Folsom Prison RTP and the cost of play

The default Folsom Prison RTP is 96.07%. Nolimit supplies lower settings as well, and at least one slot database lists a 94.01% version, so the number you see in the game's rules is the one that counts. The average cost per 100 spins at the default is shown below.

On a game like this, the average is a poor guide to any single session. Many sessions lose most of their budget, a few finish ahead, and very rare sessions finish far ahead; together they make up the 96.07%. Our house edge and bankroll guides explain how to plan for that.

Folsom Prison max win at UK stakes

The Folsom Prison max win is 75,000x the stake. Here is what that means in pounds.

When the cap is hit, the round ends immediately and pays the capped amount. The figure reflects how far the multipliers and ways can compound, not how often big wins arrive. Our guide to max win caps explains why studios set them.

Is the Folsom Prison slot worth playing?

It suits players who accept a high chance of losing the budget in exchange for rare large outcomes, and who stick to a set amount. If you want a session that lasts longer per pound, a low volatility slot machine is the opposite end of the scale.

Folsom Prison slot myths

How UK rules shape Folsom Prison

Overseas versions let players buy entry to either bonus round, and offer extra paid draws. None of that is part of the game supplied to Great Britain, where the only way into Walk The Line or The Chair is to land the scatters. That reflects how games are supplied here; see bonus buy in the UK.

Other rules apply too. Online slot stakes are capped at £5 for 25 and over and at £2 for 18–24s; the Gambling Commission's guidance on online slot stake limits (opens in a new tab) sets out the details. Since 31 October 2021 there has been no autoplay, no turbo and a 2.5-second minimum per spin. The Commission's time requirements and reality checks standard (opens in a new tab) also lets you set reminders of how long you have played, which is useful on a game this streaky. Read more on the online slot stake limits page.

Folsom Prison demo and checking the RTP

1. Verify your age at a UK-licensed casino; demos have been age-gated since May 2019.
2. Open the game and choose the rules or paytable option from the menu.
3. Check the RTP figure against the 96.07% default.
4. Read the bonus pages to confirm the grid sizes and the Walk The Line upgrade rule.
5. Try the demo, if listed, to see how cells open before you stake money.

The demo is free demo play after age verification and runs the same maths as the paid version. Our page on how to find a slot's RTP has screenshots-in-words of where the figure sits in most games.

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Where to play the Folsom Prison slot in the UK

We cannot confirm that any partner carries Folsom Prison; search the casino lobby, because game availability changes. Ladbrokes' welcome offer gives 50 free spins a day for the first ten days (up to 500, 10p each) after you spend £10 on slots, and Coral's gives 100 free spins at 10p after you deposit and bet £10 on slots. PlayOJO gives 80 free spins at 10p on Big Bass Bonanza after a first deposit of £10. All three pay spin winnings without wagering.

Every offer is 18+, for new customers, and terms apply, including excluded deposit methods. Spins on these offers are for selected games, not necessarily Folsom Prison. Treat any stake as a cost, use deposit limits and time reminders, and contact GamCare's helpline (opens in a new tab) on 0808 8020 133 if gambling stops being fun. See all partners on the casinos page.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.