Keep ‘Em

So Keep 'Em is the latest in Hacksaw Gaming's Canny the Can series, and honestly it looks a lot like Drop 'Em or Stack 'Em at first glance -- same deep forest backdrop, same cartoon vibe. But the gameplay is completely different. You get 6 reels, 5 rows, 15,625 ways to win, and this whole cash collect mechanic that I hadn't seen done quite like this before. Medium volatility with a default RTP of 96.27%, bets from 10p up to 100 quid. No wilds though, which surprised me.

Low pays are your standard J, Q, K, A card ranks on coloured blocks -- 6 of a kind only gets you 0.5x your bet, so nothing exciting there. The high pays are a snake head, a hand gripping a lightning bolt, a skull, and Bob the Bird himself, paying between 0.8x and 2x for six matching. The real money is in the Cash symbols though, which carry values from 1x all the way up to 1,000x your stake.

There is a Get 'Em symbol that collects all Cash symbols on screen when it lands, and an FS scatter with a green background. No wild symbol at all in this one, which feels a bit odd for a modern slot, but the collect mechanic more than makes up for it.

The standout bit is the Keep 'Em reels -- reels 3 and 4 are framed in blue, and when a Get 'Em, Cash, or scatter symbol lands inside that frame, you get 3 respins. Those triggering symbols lock in place and keep paying out on every respin as long as there is a Get 'Em symbol around. Land a Heart symbol and the counter resets to 3 again. When Cash and Get 'Em symbols are both locked in there, it gets properly exciting.

Then you have three tiers of free spins. Land 3 scatters for Keep 'Em Comin' -- 10 spins with boosted chances of special symbols. 4 scatters triggers Keep Your Friends Close, where Cash symbols stick until collected and full rows or reels auto-collect even without a Get 'Em. Hit 5 scatters for Keep Your Canny Closer, which is the same but guarantees 3 Cash prizes and 1 Get 'Em every single spin. Good luck landing 5 scatters naturally though -- I never managed it. There are also 4 buy bonus options ranging from 3x up to 200x your bet if you are impatient.

Default RTP sits at 96.27% but watch out -- operators can set it to 94.25%, 92.27%, or even 88.29%, so always check. Volatility is rated medium at 3 out of 5, with an 18% hit frequency. Max win is 10,000x your bet across all game modes, which at the top stake means a million quid. The buy bonus RTPs hover around 96.35-96.37%, all played at high volatility.

I have had some genuinely good sessions on Keep 'Em. It is not an easy win game by any stretch, but when those Keep 'Em reels lock in a couple of fat Cash symbols alongside a Get 'Em and they keep paying across respins -- that is a proper rush. The Keep Your Friends Close bonus was the highlight for me, with sticky Cash symbols building up nicely. The whole thing has a charming Cuphead-ish cartoon look and a daft Oompah tune in the background that somehow works. If you like the Canny the Can series or cash collect slots in general, this one is well worth your time.