Stick 'Em Slot by Hacksaw Gaming

Where Hacksaw Gaming Started

Stick 'Em launched in September 2019 as Hacksaw Gaming's first-ever slot. Before Wanted Dead or a Wild, before Chaos Crew, before the studio built a reputation for volatile, feature-heavy designs - there was a yellow thumbs-up character named Canny and a 5x4 grid with 1,024 ways to win. It debuted exclusively on LeoVegas before rolling out to other operators.

By 2026 standards, it's bare. No wild symbols. No buy bonus. No FeatureSpins. No cascading. Three features that each do one thing. But it's worth understanding what Hacksaw thought a slot should be when they were starting from zero.

The Sticky Win Spin

The main feature revolves around the Thumbs Up symbol. When three or more land in a winning combination, all triggering positions stick to the grid and a free respin fires. Any new Thumbs Up symbols that land during the respin also stick. Respins continue until no new Thumbs Up symbols appear.

It's a simple accumulation mechanic. The more positions that fill with sticky symbols, the bigger the final payout. On a 5x4 grid with 1,024 ways, filling significant portions with the same symbol creates overlapping way wins. The maximum payout through this feature reaches 2,048x.

The Thumbs Up symbol itself has an unusual payout curve: just 0.2x for three of a kind, but 1x for four and 2x for five. It's designed to be worthwhile only when you're collecting a cluster of them through the sticky respins, not as a random three-hit.

Free Spins and the Bonus Wheel

Three scatters trigger 5 free spins. Four give 10. Five give 15. During free spins, the reel strips shrink from 46 symbols to 20 per reel, concentrating higher-paying symbols. No retrigger possible - the scatter doesn't appear during the feature. Spins play automatically.

The Bonus Wheel triggers from three separate bonus scatter symbols. It spins a multiplier wheel with prizes up to 1,000x bet. Simple, instant payout. No picks, no levels, no interaction beyond watching it land.

Both features are disconnected from each other and from the Sticky Win Spin. Each does its own thing independently. There's no compounding between them, no scenario where the bonus wheel feeds into free spins or the sticky mechanic gets enhanced during a bonus round.

A 2019 Time Capsule

Stick 'Em has three separate features that never interact. The paytable tops out at 3x for five of a kind on the best symbol. The maximum win is 2,048x - Hacksaw now routinely ships games at 10,000x or higher. There's no modern convenience like a buy bonus or ante bet.

The art is cheerful cartoon work. Underground caves, treasure imagery, a yellow thumbs-up mascot celebrating wins. It looks like a mobile game from that era, which is exactly what it was - Hacksaw initially focused on the mobile-first casual market before pivoting to high-volatility feature-rich designs.

As a game to play today, Stick 'Em is basic. Medium volatility, low ceiling, limited features, no modern quality-of-life options. As a piece of Hacksaw history, it's the template that everything after it reacted to and improved upon.