Hacksaw Gaming transported players back to 1930s gothic horror with The Count, released on October 16, 2025. This isn’t your typical bloodsucker tale—the slot blends vintage cartoon aesthetics with contemporary mechanics, creating something that feels both nostalgic and fresh. With a 12,500x max win potential and multipliers reaching 500x, this vampire has serious bite.
Play The Count Demo
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Key Highlights
- Provider: Hacksaw Gaming
- Release Date: October 16, 2025
- Grid Layout: 5×5 with 19 fixed paylines
- RTP: 96.36% (with variants at 94.28%, 92.34%, and 86.19%)
- Volatility: Medium-High (4 out of 5)
- Max Win: 12,500x your bet
- Bet Range: €0.10 to €75 per spin
- Key Features: Expanded Bloody Wilds, Wild Bat multipliers up to 500x, three distinct free spins modes, and Epic Wild Bats
Theme and Visuals: Gothic Monochrome Meets Cartoon Horror
The Count transports you to a black-and-white world reminiscent of early horror cinema and 1930s animation. The visual style borrows heavily from classic cartoons like Steamboat Willie, but replaces the cheerfulness with gothic gravitas. The reels sit against a backdrop of a haunted castle, complete with lightning flashes and an ominous full moon.
The symbols themselves tell a vampire hunter’s story: garlic bulbs, wooden stakes, hammers, headstones, coffins, skulls, and spiders populate the reels. Card ranks (J through A) serve as the low-paying symbols, stylized to match the monochromatic aesthetic. The animations maintain this vintage cartoon quality—wilds expand with theatrical flair, and winning combinations pulse with an otherworldly glow. If you enjoy this gothic approach, you’ll find more atmospheric titles in our collection of Hacksaw Gaming slots, or explore different themes through our slot demos library.
The Count himself appears as the game’s mascot, a purple-skinned vampire who bears a striking resemblance to Count von Count from Sesame Street—a deliberate nod to the children’s show character who taught counting since 1972. The audio design complements the visuals with creaking floorboards, thunderclaps, and an eerie organ score that builds tension during bonus rounds.
How to Play The Count
Playing The Count follows a straightforward process, though understanding the wild mechanics will significantly improve your experience:
- Set Your Bet: Use the coin value controls to select your stake between €0.10 and €75. The interface displays your total bet clearly before each spin.
- Understand the Paylines: Wins form from left to right across 19 fixed paylines. You need at least 3 matching symbols on a payline to trigger a payout.
- Watch for Wild Symbols: Two wild types appear during regular play—Bat Wilds and Blood symbols. Blood symbols only expand into Bloody Wilds when they complete a winning combination.
- Track Scatter Symbols: FS scatter symbols are your gateway to bonus features. Landing 3 triggers Bat to the Bone, 4 activates Rest in Pieces, and 5 launches the rare Count on Blood feature.
- Monitor Multipliers: Both Bat Wilds and Bloody Wilds can reveal multipliers from 2x to 500x. When multiple multipliers appear in the same winning combination, they add together before applying to your payout.
- Access Feature Buys: If available in your jurisdiction, you can purchase immediate access to bonus rounds or enhanced base game modes through the feature buy menu.
- Use Autoplay for Longer Sessions: Configure autoplay with loss limits and single-win limits to manage your bankroll during extended play.
Pro Tip: The Blood symbol is the key to explosive wins in the base game. It only expands when it completes a win, so pay attention to near-miss patterns—if you see multiple Blood symbols land with one symbol needed to complete a line, that’s when the real potential appears.
Symbols and Paytable
Understanding the paytable helps you recognize valuable combinations as they form. All payouts below are for 5-of-a-kind combinations:
| Symbol | Type | 5-Symbol Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Bat | Wild | 5x bet |
| Bloody Wild | Expanding Wild | 5x bet |
| Spider | High Pay | 5x bet |
| Skull | High Pay | 4x bet |
| Coffin | Medium Pay | 3x bet |
| Headstone | Medium Pay | 2.5x bet |
| Hammer & Stake | Medium Pay | 2x bet |
| Ace (A) | Low Pay | 1x bet |
| King (K) | Low Pay | 1x bet |
| Queen (Q) | Low Pay | 1x bet |
| Jack (J) | Low Pay | 1x bet |
Wild Symbol Mechanics:
The Count features two distinct wild categories, each functioning differently:
Bat Wilds substitute for all paying symbols and arrive with multipliers ranging from 2x to 500x. When multiple Bat Wilds land in a single winning combination, their multiplier values add together first, then multiply your win. For example, if you land a 10x Bat Wild and a 50x Bat Wild in the same payline win, you receive a 60x multiplier on that payout.
Blood Symbols are conditional wilds. They only expand into full-reel Bloody Wilds when they help complete a winning combination. Once expanded, they either act as standard wilds or reveal a multiplier between 2x and 500x. This conditional expansion creates dramatic moments—a Blood symbol landing in the perfect position can transform a modest win into something substantial.
Epic Bat Wilds represent the premium wild variation, appearing exclusively during the Count on Blood bonus feature. These behave like standard Bat Wilds but with a crucial difference: their multiplier value spreads to all other Bat Wilds and Bloody Wilds currently on the grid, creating the potential for massive combined multipliers.
The symbol distribution creates a balanced volatility curve. Low-paying symbols appear frequently but pay modestly, while the high-paying spider and skull symbols land less often but compensate with better returns. The wild symbols bridge this gap, appearing with moderate frequency but offering significantly enhanced win potential through their multiplier mechanics.
Slot Features: The Wild Multiplier System
The Count’s core gameplay revolves around a sophisticated wild multiplier system that operates throughout both base game and bonus modes. Understanding how these wilds interact determines your success with this slot.
Blood Symbol Expansion
Blood symbols create the game’s most dramatic moments. When a Blood symbol lands in a position that completes a winning combination, it expands to fill the entire reel as a Bloody Wild. This expansion occurs before payout calculation, potentially creating additional wins on other paylines.
The expanded Bloody Wild then reveals its nature—either remaining as a pure wild substitute or displaying a multiplier value between 2x and 500x. This uncertainty adds tension to every Blood symbol landing. A single Blood symbol with a high multiplier can transform a standard 5x win into a 2,500x payout.
Wild Bat Mechanics
Wild Bat symbols appear more frequently than Blood symbols but don’t expand. Instead, they immediately reveal their multiplier value (2x to 500x) upon landing. The critical distinction: multiple Wild Bat multipliers in the same win add together before multiplying the payout.
Consider this scenario: You land a five-of-a-kind skull combination worth 4x your bet. Two Wild Bats participate in this win—one carrying a 10x multiplier, another with a 25x multiplier. The game adds these together (35x total), then multiplies your base win (4x × 35 = 140x your bet).
Multiplier Stacking
The real power emerges when Bloody Wilds and Wild Bats appear simultaneously in winning combinations. Their multipliers combine additively across all wilds involved in the win. Landing a 100x Bloody Wild, a 50x Wild Bat, and another 75x Wild Bat in a single payline creates a 225x multiplier before considering the base symbol payout.
The math model caps individual wild multipliers at 500x, but multiple wilds can theoretically combine for multipliers exceeding 1,000x in a single spin. These moments are rare in the base game but become significantly more probable during bonus features.
Slot Bonus Features
RTP and Volatility: High Risk, High Reward
The Count offers a maximum RTP of 96.36%, which sits comfortably in the “fair” category for modern slots. However, Hacksaw Gaming provides operators with multiple RTP configurations: 94.28%, 92.34%, and a concerning 86.19%. Before playing, verify which RTP version your casino has implemented—you can usually find this information in the game’s help screen or by contacting casino support.
The 96.36% figure means that, over millions of spins, the game theoretically returns €96.36 for every €100 wagered. The word “theoretically” carries weight here. RTP manifests over enormous sample sizes; your individual session might return 300% or 0%. The percentage describes long-term expectation, not short-term reality.
Understanding RTP helps set realistic expectations about any slot’s economics. For a deeper exploration of how RTP affects your play and what constitutes a “fair” return-to-player percentage, read our comprehensive guide on RTP and house edge.
Volatility Characteristics:
Hacksaw Gaming rates The Count at 4 out of 5 for volatility—solidly in the medium-high category. In practical terms, expect frequent dead spins punctuated by occasional moderate wins and rare substantial payouts. The slot’s 12,500x maximum win potential concentrates in the bonus features, particularly Count on Blood.
The base game can consume 50-100 spins without significant wins, especially when Blood symbols land but fail to complete winning combinations. Your bankroll needs to withstand these dry stretches to reach the bonus features where the real win potential resides.
Feature buys present their own volatility considerations. Purchasing Bat to the Bone for 100x your bet doesn’t guarantee you’ll recoup that cost—many bonus rounds return 50x or less. Rest in Pieces at 300x your bet carries even more risk, though its transformation mechanics provide better win consistency than Bat to the Bone.
The Count’s volatility profile suits players with two characteristics: sufficient bankroll to weather variance swings and patience to pursue rare but substantial payouts. If you prefer frequent small wins that gradually build your balance, this isn’t your slot. The Count demands tolerance for risk in exchange for its 12,500x max win potential.
How to Max Win on The Count
Base Game Max Win
Max win is achievable in the base game through the combination of Bloody Wilds and Wild Bats. When a Blood symbol lands and creates a win, it expands into a Bloody Wild. Wild Bat symbols carry additive multipliers from 2x to 500x. Epic Wild Bats spread their multiplier value to all Bloody Wilds and other Wild Bats on the reels. When multiple Wild Bat multipliers are part of the same win, values add together before applying. Stack high-value Wild Bats (200x, 500x) with Epic Wild Bats spreading values across Bloody Wilds, and the 12,500x cap becomes reachable.
Wild Mechanics Breakdown
- Bloody Wild: Blood symbols expand into full-reel wilds when they create wins. Can also reveal multipliers (2x-500x).
- Wild Bat: Standard wild with additive multiplier (2x-500x). Multiple Wild Bats on same win add their values.
- Epic Wild Bat: Same multiplier range (2x-500x), but spreads its value to ALL Bloody Wilds and Wild Bats on the grid.
Bat to the Bone (3 Scatters / 100x Buy)
10 free spins with increased Wild Bat frequency and a minimum multiplier of 2x. Same mechanics as base game but more Wild Bat action. Good win potential, but not the max-win zone.
Rest in Pieces (4 Scatters / 300x Buy)
10 free spins with the Symbol Counter system. A progressive counter with 5 sections (one per low-paying symbol) appears beside the reels. When a low-paying symbol forms a win, its counter fills. Once all 5 sections complete, all corresponding low-paying symbols transform into Wild Bats for the rest of the bonus. This creates an ever-increasing Wild Bat density.
Count on Blood (Where Max Wins Actually Happen)
This is the max-win factory. Triggered by 5 scatters naturally:
- Same Mechanics as Rest in Pieces: Symbol Counter system with low-pay to Wild Bat transformation.
- Increased Epic Wild Bat Odds: Significantly higher chance of landing Epic Wild Bats.
- Guaranteed Wild Bats: 5 Wild Bat symbols are guaranteed to appear on every single spin.
- Multiplier Explosion: Guaranteed Wild Bats + Epic Wild Bat spreading + Symbol Counter transformation = multiplier stacking heaven.
Typical Max Win Script
- Trigger Count on Blood (5 scatters naturally)
- 5 Wild Bats guaranteed every spin, each with 2x-500x multiplier
- Symbol Counter fills as low-pays form wins
- Epic Wild Bat lands and spreads its value (e.g., 500x) to all Wild Bats and Bloody Wilds
- All low-pay symbols transform into Wild Bats after counter completion
- Grid floods with multiplier wilds: 500x + 300x + 200x + 150x = 1,150x applied to premium win
- One monster combination pushes past 12,500x cap
Pros and Cons
✅ Pros
- Multiplier Stacking Potential: Wild multipliers up to 500x that combine additively create explosive win scenarios
- Three Distinct Bonus Features: Each free spins mode offers unique mechanics rather than simple reskins
- Visual Cohesion: The 1930s cartoon aesthetic with gothic horror elements creates a memorable atmosphere
- Progressive Transformation: Rest in Pieces and Count on Blood features build tension through their symbol counter mechanics
- Fair Maximum RTP: 96.36% sits above industry average, though lower variants exist
- Multiple Entry Points: Feature buys and enhanced modes cater to different play styles
- 12,500x Max Win: Substantial ceiling for a medium-high volatility slot
❌ Cons
- Conditional Blood Symbol: Blood wilds only expand when completing wins, leading to many “near miss” frustrations
- High Bonus Buy Costs: 300x bet for Rest in Pieces represents significant bankroll commitment
- Count on Blood Rarity: Landing 5 scatters occurs infrequently enough that many players never experience the peak feature
- RTP Variants: The 86.19% version dramatically increases house edge; always verify before playing
- Base Game Variance: Long dry spells between meaningful wins require substantial patience
- Limited Max Win: 12,500x trails competitors like Nolimit City slots that offer 50,000x+ potential
- Feature Buy RTP Reduction: All buy options carry marginally lower RTP than base game
Conclusion
The Count succeeds by committing fully to its vintage cartoon vampire concept while building genuinely engaging mechanics around the theme. The wild multiplier system creates legitimate tension with every Blood symbol landing, and the three-tiered bonus structure—from accessible Bat to the Bone through strategic Rest in Pieces to the rare Count on Blood—provides distinct experiences rather than formulaic reskins.
This slot suits players with patience and bankroll depth who accept medium-high volatility in exchange for 12,500x max win potential. The 96.36% RTP is fair, but always verify your casino’s configuration—the 86.19% variant transforms “challenging” into “punishing.” If you appreciate thematic cohesion and unique bonus mechanics, The Count delivers. Just approach with realistic expectations and a bankroll sized accordingly.
FAQs
The Count offers a maximum RTP of 96.36%, but Hacksaw Gaming provides operators with three additional configurations: 94.28%, 92.34%, and 86.19%. Always check the game’s information screen or contact casino support to verify which version you’re playing, as the RTP variant significantly affects your long-term expected returns.
You must land 5 FS scatter symbols simultaneously during base game or within another bonus feature. This represents the rarest trigger in The Count, and many playing sessions won’t trigger it even once. Notably, you cannot purchase direct access to Count on Blood through the feature buy menu—it remains accessible only through natural scatter triggers, maintaining its status as the game’s “Hidden Epic” feature.
Wild Bats land as complete wild symbols and immediately display their multiplier value (2x to 500x). Bloody Wilds begin as Blood symbols and only expand into full-reel wilds when they help complete a winning combination. Once expanded, Bloody Wilds either remain as standard wilds or reveal multipliers from 2x to 500x. Both types can appear simultaneously, and their multipliers add together when they participate in the same winning combination.
The Count offers a maximum win of 12,500x your bet. At the maximum bet of €75, this translates to €937,500. The majority of this max win potential concentrates in the Count on Blood feature, where guaranteed Wild Bats combined with Epic Wild Bat multiplier spreading creates the conditions for extreme payouts.
A Symbol Counter appears beside the reels with 5 segments, each representing one low-paying symbol (J, Q, K, A, and one card suit). When a low-paying symbol appears in a winning combination, its counter segment fills progressively. Once a segment completely fills, all instances of that symbol transform into Wild Bat symbols for the remainder of the feature. These transformations stack cumulatively—by the feature’s end, all five low-paying symbols can convert to Wild Bats, dramatically increasing win frequency and multiplier potential.
The Count suits players who accept significant variance in exchange for substantial win potential. If you have adequate <a href=”https://dyutam.com/tools/bankroll-calculator/”>bankroll</a> to weather 50-100+ spin dry stretches and prefer occasional large wins over frequent small payouts, the slot’s mechanics justify the volatility. However, if you prefer steady, predictable returns or have limited bankroll, the medium-high volatility makes this a risky choice. The 12,500x max win represents fair compensation for the variance, though some competitors offer higher ceilings.
Epic Wild Bats appear primarily during the Count on Blood feature. They function like standard Wild Bats but with one critical enhancement: when an Epic Wild Bat lands, its multiplier value spreads to all other Wild Bats and Bloody Wilds currently visible on the grid. This creates scenarios where a single Epic Wild Bat with a 500x multiplier can effectively grant that same 500x value to multiple other wilds, resulting in combined multipliers exceeding 1,000x on a single spin.
Feature buys in The Count carry marginally lower RTPs than the base game (96.25%-96.32% vs 96.36%) and require substantial <a href=”https://dyutam.com/tools/bankroll-calculator/”>bankroll</a> commitment—300x your bet for Rest in Pieces represents significant risk. Use feature buys only if you: 1) have bankroll specifically allocated for this purpose, 2) understand that purchased features frequently return less than their cost, and 3) prefer immediate bonus access over grinding through base game. The mathematical advantage of feature buys is minimal; they primarily serve player preference for reduced waiting time rather than improved expected value.