Verdict: One of the strongest all-round Aristocrat Buffalo titles for players in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia: a bigger grid than the original, a mystery feature with real punch, and free games that can be loaded with extra Buffalo first.
Bigger stacks, a bigger grid
Buffalo Chief keeps the parts of the original Buffalo that players like and makes the screen bigger. The reels are arranged 4-6-6-6-4: two outer reels of four symbols and three middle reels of six. That gives 3,456 ways in the base game, more than three times the original’s 1,024. Aristocrat built the game around bigger Buffalo stacks to go with the taller reels, and the result plays like the classic game with more room in the middle.
The game arrived in early 2020. In its press release for the Buffalo Bar opening in February of that year, Aristocrat called Buffalo Chief “the newest evolution” of the brand. One secondary source dates it to 2019, but the provider’s own announcement is the stronger evidence, and the Buffalo slots timeline uses 2020.
Online, Aristocrat Interactive built the version that BetMGM, FanDuel and Borgata now carry. Aristocrat Interactive lists it among its online Buffalo titles alongside Buffalo, Buffalo Gold Collection and Buffalo Gold Revolution, with Buffalo Gold Max Power joining as the fifth in December 2024.
The Mystery Gigantic Stampede
This is the feature that defines the Buffalo Chief slot machine. At random, the Gigantic Stampede fires, and the middle three reels expand from six rows to 10. The grid becomes 4-10-10-10-4, and the ways jump from 3,456 to 16,000. Aristocrat’s description has the Stampede landing a five-of-a-kind Buffalo when it fires, which makes it the single biggest moment the base game can produce.
One reviewer lists 16,384 ways for the expanded grid. Aristocrat, OLG and BetMGM all say 16,000, and multiplying the reel heights gives the same figure, so 16,000 is the number used here. The 16,384 figure does not match the 4-10-10-10-4 layout.
A mystery feature like this changes how the base game feels. On the original, nothing big happens between free games except the occasional strong Buffalo line. On Chief, any spin might turn into a Stampede, so the base game has a reason to keep watching.
Supercoins and the free games
The second feature works on the free games before they start. Supercoins are collected during play, and when the collection completes, it triggers a wheel. The wheel adds Buffalo to the reel strips used in the free games, up to 250 extra Buffalo. A free-games round played on strips loaded with Buffalo is a very different prospect from one played on the standard strips, and the wheel decides which one you get.
The free games themselves are the upgraded classic: 8, 15 or 20 games with retriggers, and wilds carrying 2x or 3x multipliers, per Aristocrat and OLG. Anyone who knows the original will recognize the structure instantly. The difference is the extra Buffalo the wheel added and the bigger grid they land on.
How the Supercoin wheel shapes a round
The Supercoin wheel is a smart piece of design, and it also concentrates value. A feature that starts after a small wheel result is closer to an ordinary Buffalo bonus on a larger grid. The best rounds on Buffalo Chief come when a big wheel result, a long retrigger run and the multiplier wilds all coincide, and that does not happen often.
RTP, volatility and the published numbers
Two RTP figures exist for the online game. OLG in Ontario lists 94.03%, and that is the figure in the spec table, since it comes from a regulated game-info page. BetMGM’s review of the game says 95%. Neither operator explains the gap, which may reflect two math versions or simply a rounded number on BetMGM’s side. On land cabinets, each casino sets the return from Aristocrat’s math options.
Aristocrat publishes no volatility rating. The operators do not quite agree with each other either: OLG calls the game high-variability, BetMGM medium-high, and FanDuel high. All three point the same way, and the mystery feature and the wheel-loaded free games fit that reading.
The maximum win is 4,000x the bet, a figure that comes from BetMGM only. BetMGM also lists two fixed jackpots and a progressive Grand on the online version. Bets run from $0.50 to $100 at OLG (in Canadian dollars) and at FanDuel. BetMGM caps the wager at $50, half the top bet the other two allow.
Chief against the other four-state titles
For a player in one of the four states, Buffalo Chief competes most directly with Buffalo Gold Max Power, which BetMGM also offers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia. The two make different trades. Max Power has the higher ceiling at 12,995x and, on the 95.8% build that PlayAlberta lists, the higher return, but the 94.11% build that BetMGM lists sits close to Chief’s 94.03%, and its six shifting reels make for a more erratic base game. Chief has the lower 4,000x ceiling and a steadier grid, with the Gigantic Stampede as its one big swing. The original Buffalo returns 94.72% online but is confirmed only in New Jersey. Of the three, Chief is the one that feels most like the classic game while still giving the base game something to wait for.
Where to play Buffalo Chief in the US
Buffalo Chief is offered at regulated online casinos in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia, according to BetMGM’s review. BetMGM, FanDuel and Borgata all carry it. Players must be 21 or older and physically located in one of those states. The real-money hub lists the licensed operators in each state, and the Pennsylvania page and its siblings cover the state-specific rules.
On casino floors, the land cabinet from Aristocrat Gaming runs the same features with a return set by the casino. Within the family, Chief sits next to Buffalo Diamond, the 2018 anniversary edition that first widened the middle reels to a 4-5-6-5-4 shape, and ahead of Buffalo Ascension, which made reel growth persistent in 2022.
At $0.50 a spin on OLG and FanDuel, the minimum bet is a little above the $0.40 minimum listed for the original Buffalo online.
Where to play Buffalo Chief for real money
Buffalo Chief is confirmed at licensed online casinos in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia. The state guides list the licensed sites that carry it.
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