Fawkes by Wicked Games: 5,159,700 Ways, High Treason Free Spins, 20,000× Max

Wicked Games shipped Fawkes on 5 November 2025 — Bonfire Night, the British holiday that exists specifically because Guy Fawkes failed to blow up Parliament in 1605. The launch date isn't a coincidence; it's the most thematically committed release in the Wicked catalogue. The slot puts you in the conspiracy: gunpowder barrels, scrolling parchment, a jester-as-Fawkes character on the reels, and a free-spins choice between Hanged and Drawn — directly referencing the medieval English execution sentence Fawkes was given (and famously cheated by jumping off the scaffold). It's also genuinely good slot maths. Here's what's under the period drama.

The Grid: 4×6 With Variable Ways

Fawkes runs on a 4-reel, 6-row board — the wider-than-tall layout that newer Megaways-style slots have settled on. The unusual bit is the Ways count. In the base game it sits at 4,096 Ways (4 symbols high × 4 reels). In the bonus, with stacked wilds active, that number scales up to a peak of 5,159,700 Ways. The counter sits in the top-left and animates upward as wilds expand, which gives the bonus rounds a satisfying number-go-up quality on top of the pay accumulation.

The art direction is one of Wicked's tighter packages. The board sits inside a theatre proscenium with red curtains framing it. Royals (K, Q, J, 10) are inked on aged parchment rather than painted on solid tiles. The jester character — a skeletal Fawkes stand-in in motley — animates on the right rail of the grid, throwing confetti on wins. The whole thing feels deliberately stagey, like a 17th-century pamphlet animated.

Hanged or Drawn: Pick Your Free Spins Variant

The free-spins trigger lands three or more bonus symbols anywhere on the reels, and instead of dropping you straight into spins, the game opens the Choose Wisely, Conspirator… screen. Two options, both 11 spins, both at the same expected return — but with different wild behaviour during the round.

Hanged Free Spins (11 spins) — uses the Hanged Wilds mechanic. A Hanged Wild is a single-symbol Expanding Wild that drops onto the reel from a hanging rope (yes, with the rope visible). On landing it expands to cover the full reel, locks for the rest of the round, and stays as a sticky wild contributing to every subsequent spin.

Drawn Free Spins (11 spins) — uses the Drawn Wilds mechanic. Drawn Wilds split into multiple sub-wilds across adjacent reels rather than expanding to fill a single one. They don't lock as aggressively as Hanged Wilds, but they cover more board area per landing.

Which is better? Pure expected-return math is symmetric — Wicked tuned both options to the same RTP. The variance profile is different: Hanged sessions tend to land bigger pays less often (because the sticky-expanding mechanic compounds when it lands but droughts hard when it doesn't), while Drawn sessions spread wins more evenly across the 11 spins. Pick Hanged if you want bigger swings and don't mind quieter sessions when the wilds don't land early; pick Drawn for a steadier feel.

The Six Barrel Bonus: High Treason Free Spins

The route to the 5,159,700 Ways and the 20,000× max-win ceiling isn't either of the standard free-spins picks. It's the Six Barrel Bonus — triggered by landing six gunpowder-barrel symbols on a single base-game spin. The trigger is rare on natural play (it's mostly a Buy Bonus target), and instead of routing you to the pick screen it drops you into High Treason Free Spins: 5 spins, all three wild types active simultaneously.

Fewer spins, but the wild density is what drives the Ways multiplier into seven figures. A single High Treason round with reasonable wild landings will commonly out-pay an entire Hanged-or-Drawn round — the maths are tuned around it being the standout bonus mode. The 20,000× max-win figure that anchors Wicked's marketing for Fawkes is reached almost exclusively through High Treason rounds with stacked wild outcomes.

The Buy Menu: Ante Bet, Execution Bet, Buy Hanged or Drawn

Fawkes ships with the most elaborate buy menu in the Wicked catalogue. Four ways to influence bonus rate or skip directly to it.

Ante Bet — pay 25% extra per spin to roughly double the natural bonus-trigger probability. Same RTP as standard play; the trade is variance for trigger frequency.

Execution Bet — Wicked's name for a "double Ante." Pays an even higher premium per spin in exchange for an even higher trigger probability. The naming is on-brand for the theme (Fawkes' execution was the entire historical event) but mechanically it's a tier-2 Ante.

Buy Hanged or Drawn — pay a flat multiple of stake to skip straight to the standard free-spins pick. Drops you on the Hanged-or-Drawn choice screen with the same maths as natural triggers.

Super Buy Bonus — the big one. Pays the highest premium and skips directly to the Six Barrel / High Treason mode. This is the path most players take when chasing the 20,000× ceiling, because High Treason is otherwise rare enough on natural play to not show up in a normal session.

The Specs At A Glance

RTP: 96.23% on PlayMind (a 94.23% variant ships for jurisdictions that require it).

Volatility: 3.5/5 — medium-high. The Hanged variant runs higher within that band; Drawn runs lower.

Max win: 20,000× your bet — reached almost exclusively through High Treason Free Spins.

Bet range: $0.20–$400 per spin.

Grid: 4×6 with variable Ways — 4,096 in base game, up to 5,159,700 with stacked wilds in the bonus.

Features: Expanding Wilds (Hanged + Drawn variants), Hanged Free Spins, Drawn Free Spins, Six Barrel Bonus → High Treason Free Spins, Ante Bet, Execution Bet, Buy Hanged or Drawn, Super Buy Bonus, Gamble.

Platform: HTML5, mobile + desktop, portrait + landscape.

How It Compares

Against the rest of Wicked's slate, Fawkes sits at the high end of theme commitment and mechanic complexity. Big Black Cock (25,000× max) ships a higher ceiling but less elaborate bonus structure. Last Call (10,000× max) ships a versus-battle bonus that's more visually theatrical but less mechanically deep. Transformers ships the most reliable bonus pattern but the least narrative ambition.

Outside the Wicked family, Fawkes' closest cousins are Hacksaw Gaming's Wanted Dead or a Wild (also a 96.38% RTP three-bonus-pick slot, more violent thematic) and Push Gaming's Razor Shark (similar mystery-stack mechanic, lower theme commitment). Of those, Fawkes lands closest to Wanted — both ask you to commit to a bonus type before you see what you get.

Who It's For

Fawkes is the slot to spin if you want a complete bonus-mechanic puzzle — three free-spins variants, four buy options, two wild types — wrapped in a thematic package that's done its homework. The 96.23% RTP is competitive, the variable Ways counter gives the bonus rounds genuine narrative arc, and the High Treason mode is one of the more rewarding "rare trigger" bonuses in the lobby. Skip it if you want a fast, simple slot session — Fawkes punishes auto-spin players who don't read the bonus screens. The pick choices and buy menu reward attention.

Quick FAQ

What's the RTP? 96.23% on PlayMind. A 94.23% variant exists for jurisdictions that require it; we serve the higher version.

What's the max win? 20,000× your bet, reached almost exclusively through High Treason Free Spins.

What's the difference between Hanged and Drawn free spins? Same RTP, different wild behaviour. Hanged Wilds are single-reel Expanding Wilds that lock for the round. Drawn Wilds split across adjacent reels but don't lock as aggressively. Hanged = bigger swings, Drawn = steadier pays.

How do I trigger High Treason Free Spins? Land six gunpowder-barrel symbols on a single base-game spin (rare on natural play), or pay the Super Buy Bonus.

What's the Execution Bet? A "tier-2 Ante Bet" — pay a higher premium per spin for an even higher natural-trigger probability. Same RTP, even more bonus rounds per session.

How many Ways are there really? 4,096 in the base game (4×4 effective). Up to 5,159,700 in the bonus when stacked wilds maximally expand the effective board.

Mobile? Yes — HTML5, portrait or landscape, with the 4×6 grid reading especially well in portrait.

Ready to Spin?

Fawkes is live in the PlayMind lobby. Try it in Fun Play first to see the Hanged-or-Drawn pick gate and the Six Barrel trigger before staking. When you're ready, hit Play Now — and remember the gunpowder treason.