Golden Express (XE88): a railway station on four rows and 40 lines

Golden Express is one of the most-read slots on this site, and one of the easiest to recognise. Everything on the reels comes from an old railway station, just as the old guide promised: "every element in a train station can be found". The background is a window onto a snowy platform with red curtains drawn back, and a line of blue steam engines tends to fill the reels.

The symbols on the platform

• a blue-and-gold steam locomotive
• a guard's blue peaked cap
• a brass hand bell
• a pair of leather gloves
• a folded newspaper and a cup of coffee
• a brown suitcase and a green signal flag
• a vintage microphone for the station announcements
• a red W badge (the wild), a golden SCATTER ticket and a JACKPOT sign

Four rows means more ways to line up

Most XE88 slots run on three rows. Golden Express uses four, which is how it fits 40 paylines, marked 40 LINES on red plaques either side of the reels. Tall stacks of locomotives, like the one on reel two in the main screenshot, can feed several of those lines at once.

The W badge is the wild and fills in for regular symbols on a line. The golden ticket is the scatter and counts anywhere on the screen. The JACKPOT sign ties in with the jackpot meter at the top of the screen, which ticks up between screenshots. The old write-up did not describe any free-spin round or jackpot rule, so the in-game paytable is the place to check.

Working out the stake

The total bet is your bet times 40: the screenshots show 40 at a bet of 1 and 120 at a bet of 3. Because there are more lines than usual, the minimum spin costs more than on a 25-line slot at the same bet setting. Keep that in mind if you are switching over from Unicorns or Takers.

The last screenshot shows a win of 6 on a total bet of 40, a reminder that a win line does not always mean you made money on the spin.

Should you ride it?

The detail in the art holds up well, and 40 lines give small wins more ways to land. Set a budget first, then play Golden Express on XE88. If you like a simpler reel set, Fire Rockets is the classic-fruit alternative.