Slots Like Bison Moon: Six Red Moons, Four Jackpots and a 12,500x Ceiling
Bison Moon is Northern Lights Gaming putting a blood red harvest moon over a Montana valley and hanging four jackpot plaques above the reels. It is a five reel, three row game on 25 fixed lines, running at 96.08% RTP by default and 96.33% once the Win Booster is switched on. Stakes run from 10p to £50 a spin on the studio’s own stake ladder, though some game directories list the top level as £20 and individual casinos can offer less. The headline feature is Link&Win: land six or more red moons at once and they lock while the rest of the board clears for three respins, with Mini, Minor, Major and Mega plaques worth 50x, 150x, 750x and 5,000x waiting above. A separate free spins round merges the three middle reels into one giant 3×3 block. Volatility is high and the ceiling is 12,500 times stake, which is why people looking for slots like Bison Moon are usually after that jackpot board rather than the theme.
Where to Play
18+ only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.
Bison Moon Demo Play
Below is Bison Moon running on play money, with no account, no deposit and no card needed. Everything this review covers is in there: the six moon trigger, the four plaques above the reels and the 2.5x Win Booster toggle on the left. Spin it long enough to see one Link&Win round land and you will know whether the quiet stretches in between are something you can live with. Balances in the demo are not real. 18+.
Game Information
How the Game Works
Reviewed by Paul StonePublished: July 2026
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The board sits in front of a valley at dusk, pink cliffs on both sides and a huge orange moon rising behind a pine ridge. Five reels, three rows, 25 lines that cannot be switched off. Wins pay left to right from reel one, and the paytable is short enough to learn in a minute: the bison is the wild and pays 500x for five, the bear tops the animals at 25x, then wolf at 15x, eagle at 10.5x and raccoon at 7.50x, with the card royals worth around 4x or less. Those numbers are low for a modern slot, and deliberately so. Northern Lights has put almost all of the money in one place.
That place is the moon counter. Red moon symbols land anywhere on the grid and often arrive carrying a jackpot label on their face. They are not scatters in the usual sense and they do not pay on their own. What they do is fill the strip under the game logo, and when six or more of them show up on a single spin the Link&Win round starts. Everything else on the screen exists to get you there, which is worth understanding before you sit down with it. Long stretches of this game are five or ten pence line wins and nothing else.
Stake control is at the bottom right. Northern Lights Gaming publishes twelve levels for this game, 10p, 20p, 40p, 60p, £1, £2, £3, £5, £10, £20, £30 and £50, with £1 set as the default, while slotcatalog and allslotsonline both stop at £20, so do not assume the very top of that ladder is offered in every lobby. To the left of the reels sits the Win Booster, a toggle that multiplies your stake by 2.5 and buys a better chance of the moons showing up. It also lifts the published return from 96.08% to 96.33%. Whether that is a good deal depends entirely on what you want from a session, and it is the one decision on this game that genuinely matters, so there is more on it further down.
Symbols and Paytable
Five of a kind pays as follows on the standard configuration: bison wild 500x, bear 25x, wolf 15x, eagle 10.5x, raccoon 7.50x, and the A, K, Q and J royals between roughly 2x and 4x. The bison wild lands in full reel stacks, which is why it can cover an entire column at once and turn a dead spin into a paying one. The two moon types do the rest of the work. Red moons feed Link&Win. Blue moons are the free spins scatter and only land on reels two, three and four.
Bonus Features Explained
Link&Win Respins
Six or more red moons on one spin locks those moons in place and clears everything else. You get three respins. Any new moon that lands sticks and resets the counter to three, so a strong start can roll on for a dozen or more respins. Nothing pays out during the round. Every value on the board is collected in one go once the respins finally run out.
Four fixed prizes sit above the reels throughout. At a £1 stake they display as Mini 50.00, Minor 150.00, Major 750.00 and Mega 5,000.00, and they scale directly with your bet. The Mini, Minor and Major are printed on individual moons and collected like any other value. The Mega is different: it is only awarded for covering all fifteen positions on the grid, which is the single hardest thing to do in this game and the reason the 12,500x ceiling exists at all. One directory records a much lower jackpot ladder for this title. The game’s own display contradicts it, so we have used what the plaques actually read.
Free Spins and the 3×3 Giant Block
Three blue moon scatters across reels two, three and four award ten free spins. During the round the middle three reels fuse into one enormous 3×3 block that shows a single symbol and counts as nine of it for pay purposes. Land a bear across that block with matching bears on reels one and five and you have a five of a kind hit several times over. It is a proper piece of theatre and it makes the free spins feel completely different to the base game rather than being the same reels with a counter attached. If the giant block lands as scatters, another ten spins are added.
Win Booster
Switching the booster on costs 2.5 times your stake per spin and raises the return to 96.33%. It buys frequency, not size: you see the Link&Win round more often, but the jackpots are still tied to your base stake. Because the extra outlay is large relative to the RTP gain, the honest position is that it is a preference about how you want your session shaped rather than an edge. If you are here for the respin board and you find the base game tedious, it does what you want. If you are trying to make a small balance last, leave it alone.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Four visible jackpot tiers give the respin round a clear structure, and the Mega at 5,000x is genuinely worth chasing.
- The 3×3 giant block in free spins is a real change of pace rather than a cosmetic one.
- Full reel bison wilds land often enough to keep the base game from feeling completely flat.
- Stakes start at 10p, so the game is reachable without a large balance.
- The Win Booster is optional and clearly priced, unlike the ante bets that quietly hide their cost.
Cons
- Line pays are low across the board. A bear five of a kind at 25x is small for a high volatility game.
- Six moons in a single spin is a demanding trigger, and dry runs between rounds can be long.
- The 96.08% default sits at the very bottom of its RTP band, and you only reach 96.33% by spending 2.5x per spin.
- The Mega needs a completely full board, so most Link&Win rounds finish well short of the headline figure.
- The free spins round has no multiplier of its own, which limits how far ten spins can actually go.
Game Screenshot
The base game at a BET (GBP) of 5.00. The plaques read Mega 25,000.00, Major 3,750.00, Minor 750.00 and Mini 250.00, which are the 5,000x, 750x, 150x and 50x tiers scaled to that stake. A full bison wild covers reel two, a red moon on reel one carries a MAJOR label and another on reel three carries MINI, and the Win Booster panel on the left advertises an increased chance of Link&Win. The grid is marked 25 LINES in the bottom right.
A closer look at the four plaques, reading Mega 5,000.00, Major 750.00, Minor 150.00 and Mini 50.00, which is how the 5,000x, 750x, 150x and 50x tiers display at a £1 spin. A large red moon sits between them showing 5,054.00. The stake and balance fields are outside this crop.
Expert Take
Reception has been steady rather than excitable. Reviewers tend to praise the presentation, which is genuinely good, and then note that the base game asks for a lot of patience. The recurring criticism is the paytable: a top animal at 25x means very little happens outside the bonus, and a 96.08% default return does not leave much room for the game to be generous while it waits. The counter argument, which we think holds, is that the jackpot ladder gives the round a shape that plain hold and spin games lack, and the giant symbol free spins are a stronger second feature than most games in this bracket bother with. Northern Lights clearly agreed, because it has since built Megaways, Power Combo, Ultra Link&Win and Thunder Charge versions off the same theme, which is not something a studio does with a title that flopped.
Similar Slots to Try
Four picks that get at different parts of what this game does, rather than four bison pictures.
The closest match on the site for the respin round itself. Medallions lock, the counter resets to three, and a full board pays the top tier, only with big cats on an African waterhole instead of a Montana valley.
Same animal, opposite maths. Big Time Gaming swaps the locked moons for a variable ways board and a 67,640x ceiling, so the swings are far wider and there is no jackpot ladder to aim at.
A quieter prairie slot for anyone who likes the setting but not the long dry runs. Wins arrive more often and the top prize is far smaller, which suits shorter sessions on a fixed budget.
Ten fixed lines with jackpot bison symbols that pay from a fixed ladder rather than a respin board. Pick this one if you want the prize tiers without a separate bonus round to wait for.
About the Developer
Northern Lights Gaming started in 2017 and now runs a team of close to thirty across offices in Manchester, Stockholm, Krakow and Timisoara. The studio’s own profile puts its catalogue at more than forty titles, and every one of them reaches players through Games Global, which handles distribution on an exclusive basis. That arrangement explains a lot about where you find these games: they sit in the same lobbies as the Amazing Link and Link&Win releases, and they use the same jackpot furniture. Bison Moon is the clearest example of the studio’s approach, which is to take a well understood mechanic, dress it properly, and then build variant after variant once it lands. The Bison Moon name alone now covers a Megaways build, a Power Combo build, an Ultra Link&Win rework and, as of July 2026, Thunder Charge.
Only two other Northern Lights titles are indexed on this site so far, and both are early releases that look very small next to what the studio makes now.
The studio’s debut slot and still the best guide to its instincts: a mining theme, twenty lines and bonus routes stacked on top of each other rather than one headline feature.
A three reel, five line release with a separate matrix and lightning overprints. Tiny next to Bison Moon, but it shows the same habit of bolting an extra layer onto a simple grid.
Bison Moon Key Stats
Bison Moon slot information last reviewed: July 2026
| Bison Moon Slot Info | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bison Moon |
| Provider: | Northern Lights Gaming (distributed exclusively by Games Global) |
| Developer Rank: | 3 out of 3 Northern Lights Gaming games indexed on SlotsLike, behind Rocky’s Gold at 1 and Electric Wilds at 2 |
| RTP: | 96.08% by default, rising to 96.33% with the Win Booster active (operators may run other approved builds, so check the information screen before playing) |
| RTP Category: | Medium-High |
| RTP Rank: | Eight hundredths of a point above the 96.00% floor, which puts the default setting in the bottom fifth of the 96.00% to 96.49% medium-high band. Switch the Win Booster on and 96.33% moves it into the top half of the same band |
| Feature Description: | Link&Win respins triggered by six or more red moons, with three respins that reset on every new moon, Mini, Minor, Major and Mega tiers at 50x, 150x, 750x and 5,000x, a full grid needed for the Mega, ten free spins from three blue moons on reels two to four with the middle three reels merged into a 3×3 giant block, full reel bison wilds, and an optional Win Booster at 2.5x stake. |
| Feature Categories: | Hold and Win, Link&Win, Free Spins, Giant Symbols, Stacked Wilds, Fixed Jackpots, Ante Bet |
| Reels: | 5 |
| Rows: | 3 |
| Paylines: | 25 fixed |
| Volatility: | High |
| Volatility Rank: | Upper end of high, though not the very top. The 12,500x cap is well short of the 20,000x and beyond games that anchor the very high band |
| Min Bet: | £0.10 |
| Max Bet: | £50 on Northern Lights Gaming’s own game page, which lists twelve stake levels from 10p to £50 with £1 as the default. Slotcatalog and allslotsonline both record £20 as the maximum instead, and a given casino may offer a shorter ladder again, so check the stake selector in the lobby you are playing in |
| Max Win: | 12,500x stake (the Mega jackpot alone is 5,000x) |
| Release Date: | January 2023. Sources disagree on the exact day: one directory records the studio launch as 6 January with the wider rollout on 17 January, while others simply list 17 January 2023 |
| Slotslike Rank: | New listing, not yet ranked among the 4,300+ games on the site (View Top 100) |
Slots with the Same Features
Hold and Win Respin Rounds
Games where qualifying symbols lock and a short counter resets each time a new one lands. The full directory is at hold-and-win slots, and collect-and-win slots covers the related sweep-up mechanics.
PearFiction runs the same lock and reset logic under the LockNWin name, with Norse relics carrying the cash values.
Six gold coins open the round, every fresh coin resets the counter, and covering all fifteen cells pays the top tier. The trigger count is identical to Bison Moon’s.
A useful contrast: five Fireballs start the respins but there is no jackpot ladder, so filling the board pays one flat 1,000x award.
High Volatility Slots
Other games where the money sits behind a demanding trigger. Browse the full high volatility list, or the medium-high RTP band that Bison Moon’s default configuration belongs to.
Another high variance bison game, this time built on 6,400 ways and a climbing wheel multiplier rather than locked cash symbols.
A northern wildlife slot with a collect meter feeding the bonus. The 5,248x cap is far lower, so the dry spells are shorter too.
Prairie and Plains Wildlife
Bison, buffalo and open country. The wider animal theme page has the rest, and the free spins hub covers the bonus type these all share.
The plains theme taken to the other extreme, with up to 200,704 ways and stacked wild multipliers doing the work the moons do here.
An older, slower take on the same landscape. Worth a look if you want the scenery without a respin round dominating the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Link&Win bonus work in Bison Moon?
Six or more red moon symbols landing on one spin start the round. Those moons lock in place, the rest of the grid clears, and you get three respins. Every new moon that lands sticks with a cash value on its face and puts the counter back to three, so a busy board can keep the round alive for a long time. Nothing is paid until the respins run out, at which point every visible value is collected together. Filling all fifteen positions awards the Mega.
What is the RTP of Bison Moon?
96.08% is the figure recorded across the sources we checked. Switching the Win Booster on raises it to 96.33% because the higher stake buys a better chance of triggering Link&Win. Both sit inside the medium-high band of 96.00% to 96.49%, with the default setting resting right at the bottom edge of it. Operators are allowed to run other approved builds, so read the information screen in the game you are actually playing.
What is the maximum win on Bison Moon?
12,500 times your stake. The Mega jackpot on its own is worth 5,000x, so reaching the ceiling means a full Link&Win board landing alongside line wins and free spins pays rather than a single event doing all of it.
Is Bison Moon high volatility?
Yes. Every source we checked files it as high, and the shape of the game backs that up. The best line pay is 500x for five bison wilds, the royals top out around 4x, and the interesting money is locked behind a bonus that needs six moons in one hit. Expect long stretches where nothing much happens.
What are the best slots like Bison Moon?
Amazing Link Wildcat Kingdom is the nearest match for the respin round, since it uses the same six symbol trigger and the same three respin reset. Big Bad Bison keeps the animal but throws out the jackpot ladder in favour of a variable ways board. Bison Valley is the gentler option, and 10 Flaming Bisons gives you fixed prize tiers without a separate bonus round.
Can I play Bison Moon free, and is there a demo?
Yes. The demo higher up this page runs on a play money balance, so you can trigger Link&Win, watch the plaques scale with the stake and try the Win Booster without registering or depositing anything. Nothing won in it can be withdrawn.
Who makes Bison Moon?
Northern Lights Gaming, a studio founded in 2017 with teams in Manchester, Stockholm, Krakow and Timisoara. Its games are distributed exclusively through Games Global, which is why you tend to find them in the same lobbies as the Amazing Link series.
Is the Win Booster worth using?
It costs 2.5 times your normal stake and lifts the return from 96.08% to 96.33%. That is a real improvement, but it is a small one relative to the extra money going in each spin, so it only makes sense if triggering Link&Win more often is what you actually want. Playing at 40p with the booster on is not the same risk as playing at 40p without it.
Our Verdict on Bison Moon
Bison Moon is a well made game with a very specific personality, and you will know within twenty spins whether it is for you. The artwork is lovely, the giant symbol free spins are a proper feature rather than a filler, and the four jackpot plaques give the respin round a target that plain cash collect games never provide. Against that, the paytable is thin, the trigger is stiff, and the default 96.08% return sits at the bottom of its band with the better figure locked behind a 2.5x ante. It rewards patience and punishes drifting. Play it at a stake you can hold for a few hundred spins, decide once about the Win Booster and stick with it, and the game gives you a good ride. Treat it as something to dip into for ten minutes and it will almost certainly bore you.
SlotsLike rating: 8/10