Moonlit Ridge: a free Wolf Run alternative
Built like Wolf Run: five reels, four rows, forty lines, a howling Wolf that stacks tall and pays on its own, and free spins on a richer reel set. Played with chips that are worth nothing, with the machine's real numbers and a session coach beside it.
Play chips
2,000
Bet
40
Win
0
Pick a bet and spin. All 40 lines play on every spin.
40 lines at 1 a line. No real money, no prizes, nothing to buy.
Session coach
Last round
Nothing played yet. After each of your spins the coach says what the round cost and what decided it.
Decide the cost before you start
Gambling is entertainment with a price, like a concert ticket. The useful question is not how much you might win but how much the evening is allowed to cost. Pick that number first, and treat reaching it as the end of the session. You can set one below and the coach will hold you to it.
Next bet
40 chips at a 9.34% house edge: an expected cost of 3.7 chips.
- Spins played
- 0
- Chips bet in total
- 0
- Bets raised after a loss
- 0
Where the result came from
- House edge, on average
- 0
- Luck
- 0
- Result
- 0
The report fills in as you play. See how often a slot bankroll busts
Set a session limit
This table is for practice and entertainment only. How to keep gambling safe
What the lines pay
| Symbol | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf | 12 | 62 | 310 |
| Moon | 5 | 19 | 78 |
| Peak | 3 | 13 | 48 |
| Pine | 2 | 8 | 32 |
| Feather | 1 | 5 | 19 |
| Paw | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Ember | · | 2 | 6 |
Chips paid at a bet of 40, counted from the left end of the line only. The dimmer figures, Ember's dash included, are payouts that cost more than they return or do not pay at all: three Embers in a row is common enough on this machine that it only pays from four. The Wolf stands in for every paying symbol and also pays on its own; a run is priced as whichever reading is worth more.
The feature
Three Campfires, one each on reels 2, 3 and 4, pay 80 and open 5 free spins on a richer set of reels where the Wolf stacks taller. Three more Campfires on reels 2, 3 and 4 during a free spin add 5 more, up to 60 in the round.
What this machine costs
- Return to player
- 90.66%
- The machine keeps 9.34%
- Expected cost of a spin
- −3.73
- At a bet of 40
- Spins that pay anything
- 88.4%
- 55.7% pay less than the bet
- Spins that gain chips
- 31.6%
- Free spins start on 1.2% of spins
Counted from the reel strips, not estimated: 52,521,875 ways the paid spin can stop, and the free spins' own reel set counted the same way, chained through a retrigger that a long seeded run of the engine checks this count against. See what a return like this does to a bankroll over a session
This session
- Spins
- 0
- Chips staked
- 0
- Net chips
- 0
- Expected at this return
- 0
- Spins that paid
- 0
- Free spins rounds
- 0
The machine lights up for every paying spin. The free-spins count is how many times the camp has flared this session.
Built by Alexander Korsager · last updated October 4, 2026 · corrections
- Of the chips bet, paid back over the long run
- 90.66%
- Of spins pay something
- 88.4%
- Of the spins that pay, the share that pay less than they cost
- 63%
- Of the return, the share that arrives through the free spins
- 8%
01 / 03
A stacked Wolf, and a long wait for the Campfires
Moonlit Ridge is a free Wolf Run alternative: our own slot machine, built to play the way IGT's Wolf Run plays.
Five reels, four rows, 40 lines that pay from the left, a Wolf that stacks tall on the reel and stands in for every paying symbol while also paying on its own, and a Campfire confined to reels 2, 3 and 4 that opens 5 free spins on a reel set with taller, more frequent Wolf stacks. If you came looking for a free game like Wolf Run, this is that mechanic, with reels that spin and stop, lines that light up and wins that are counted up in front of you. The name, the art, the sound, the reel strips and the pay table are ours.
- Wolf symbols in the tallest stack on the paid reels
- 3
- In the tallest stack on the free-spin reels, on a screen 4 rows high
- 4
One screen the paid reels can stop on. W is the Wolf, which stands in for every paying symbol on any reel. C is the Campfire, which is only on reels 2, 3 and 4. One on each of them in the same spin opens 5 free spins.
What is different from Wolf Run, and from any real machine, is everything a real machine leaves out.
This one returns 90.66% of the chips bet on it and keeps 9.34%, and that figure is counted from the reel strips, which are printed in the code this page runs. 88.4% of spins pay something, but 63% of those pay less than the spin cost, so only 31.6% of spins leave you with more chips than before. The machine lights up for all of them. The status line under the reels and the coach beside them tell you which kind you just had.
- Pays nothing
- 11.6%
- Pays something, and less than the spin cost: a loss
- 55.7%
- Pays the bet back or more
- 32.7%
88.4% of spins pay something, and 63% of those pay less than the spin cost. Only 31.6% of spins pay more than the bet. The reels light up the same way for all of them.
The free spins are where this kind of machine keeps a real share of its return: 8% of everything Moonlit Ridge pays back arrives through them, and they start on about 1 spin in 84.
There is no decision in a slot to get better at. What this page is for is entertainment, and seeing clearly what this kind of machine does: how often it pays, how it dresses up a small payout, how long the wait for the feature is, and what a session of it costs on average.
- Through the paid spins
- 92%
- Through the free spins
- 8%
Shares of the 90.66% the machine pays back. The free spins start on about 1 spin in 84, and once started they run to 5.6 spins on average.
- In 10 spins11%
- In 25 spins26%
- In 50 spins45%
- In 100 spins70%
The session lengths are the ones autoplay offers. Every spin has the same 1.19% chance, whatever came before it.
02 / 03
Rules at this table
| Symbol | Five in a row | Three in a row |
|---|---|---|
| Wolf | 310 | 12 |
| Moon | 78 | 5 |
| Peak | 48 | 3 |
| Pine | 32 | 2 |
| Feather | 19 | 1 |
| Paw | 13 | 1 |
| Ember | 6 | No pay |
One line of three Paw symbols pays back 1 of the 40 line bets the spin cost: a payout smaller than the bet, which is a loss. Ember pays from four in a row only. A line counts from the leftmost reel.
The paid reels
- Stops on each strip
- 35
- Wolf symbols on the five strips
- 15
- Share of all stops that are a Wolf
- 8.6%
- Campfire symbols, reels 2, 3 and 4
- 6
Tallest Wolf stack
3 of 4
Rows of the screen the stack can cover on a paid spin.
The free-spin reels
- Stops on each strip
- 29
- Wolf symbols on the five strips
- 20
- Share of all stops that are a Wolf
- 13.8%
- Campfire symbols, reels 2, 3 and 4
- 6
Tallest Wolf stack
4 of 4
Rows it can cover on a free spin. A round runs to 60 free spins at most.
- Five reels, four rows and 40 fixed lines. Every spin plays all 40 lines at a bet of 40, 80, 200 or 400 chips, which is one 40th of that on each line.
- A line pays for three, four or five of the same symbol in a row, counted from the leftmost reel only. Two of a kind pay nothing. There are six paying symbols and the Wolf. Wolf is the highest: five on a line pay 310 times the line bet. Ember is the lowest and, on this machine, only pays from four in a row, not three: it is common enough on the strips that three in a row is not worth pricing as a win. Paw is the lowest symbol that pays at three of a kind: 1 times the line bet, which at a bet of 40 is 1 chips back on a 40 chip spin.
- The Wolf lands on any reel and stands in for every paying symbol. It also pays on its own: a run of nothing but Wolves prices at the Wolf's own entry in the pay table. A line that can be read two ways, Wolves alone or Wolves extending into the next symbol, pays whichever reading is worth more.
- The Campfire lands only on reels 2, 3 and 4. When all three show one on the same spin, the spin also pays 2 times the whole bet and opens 5 free spins.
- Free spins play on a separate, richer reel set: the same mechanic, with taller and more frequent Wolf stacks. They are not a multiplier on the base reels.
- Three Campfires on reels 2, 3 and 4 again during a free spin add 5 more, up to 60 free spins in the round. The count puts the chance of a trigger ever reaching that cap at about 1 in 224,247,133: a real rule the engine enforces, not a figure this page pretends is close to being tested.
- A round pays at most 5,000 times the bet. If it gets there, the free spins end.
- Autoplay plays 10, 25, 50 or 100 spins at the current bet. It needs a loss limit before it starts, and it stops at that limit, when the spins run out, or when you stop it. Free spins are a bonus feature: if a spin wins them they play out in full, and then autoplay continues or stops on its own rules.
- Turbo shortens the animation. It does not change the odds, the return or any result.
- The whole round, free spins and all, is decided when Spin is pressed. The animation plays it back and cannot change it.
Sound starts on, and the Sound button switches it off.
- Enter
- Spin
FAQ
- Is this slot played for real money?
- No. The table uses play chips that have no value, cannot be bought, and cannot be cashed out or exchanged for anything. If you run out, you are handed another stack for free. There is no account and nothing to download.
- What is the RTP of Moonlit Ridge?
- 90.66%. That is the share of all chips bet that the machine pays back on average, so it keeps 9.34%. The paid spin's distribution is counted exactly, and the free spins' average value follows from the richer reel set's own exact count combined with the exact expected number of free spins a trigger runs to, retriggers and the 60-spin cap included. At the smallest bet of 40 chips that works out at about 373 chips per 100 spins on average, with wide swings around it in any one session.
- How often does it pay, and how often do the free spins start?
- 88.4% of spins pay something, about 1 in 1.1. But 55.7% of spins pay less than the bet, which is a net loss that looks like a win. Only 31.6% of spins, about 1 in 3.2, pay more than they cost. The free spins start on 1.19% of spins, about 1 in 84, so the chance of seeing them at all in 100 spins is about 70%.
- Is Moonlit Ridge a free alternative to Wolf Run?
- Yes. It is built like Wolf Run: five reels, four rows, 40 lines paying left to right, a Wolf that stacks tall and is also the top-paying symbol, and a Campfire confined to the three center reels that opens free spins on a richer reel set, retriggerable up to 60 spins. It is free, it needs no account, and it is played with chips that have no value. It is not Wolf Run itself, which is IGT's game, and it is not made, licensed or endorsed by IGT.
- How is it different from Wolf Run?
- The mechanic is the same family and everything else is our own: the name, the art, the sound, the symbols, the reel strips and the pay table. So the numbers are different too. Moonlit Ridge returns 90.66% with a 88.4% hit rate, and those are this machine's figures only. They say nothing about Wolf Run's. The other difference is what sits beside the reels: the published figures, a status line that calls a payout smaller than the bet a loss, and a session coach.
- Does autoplay or turbo change the odds?
- No. Every spin is drawn the same way and the return stays 90.66%. Turbo only shortens the animation. Autoplay only changes speed: more spins fit into an hour, and the cost of an hour is the number of spins times the 9.34% the machine keeps on each, which is why autoplay will not start without a loss limit.
- How much do the free spins pay?
- On average 6.2 times the bet once they start, over an average of 5.6 spins once retriggers are counted. That average is made of a few large rounds and many small ones. 8% of the machine's whole return comes through the free spins, which is why a session that never reaches them runs well below 90.66%.
- Can I tell when the free spins are coming?
- No. Each reel stops on its own, every stop on a strip is equally likely, and a spin starts from nothing. A run of blank spins does not make the feature due. Two of the three trigger reels showing a Campfire with the third blank is not a sign of anything: the next spin has the same odds as every other.
- What is the most a spin can pay?
- A round is capped at 5,000 times the bet, free spins included. In a simulation of 20,000,000 rounds no round reached that ceiling, and the largest paid 223 times the bet. A round that pays 100 times the bet or more came up about once in 222,222 spins in that simulation. Almost all of the machine's return arrives in far smaller payouts, and there is no jackpot.
How this game works
Each base reel is a fixed strip of symbols, 35 long on reel 1 (the strips are not all the same length). A spin picks one stop on each strip with your browser's random number generator, every stop equally likely, and the four symbols from that stop down are what shows. Nothing else decides a result. There are 52,521,875 ways the five base reels can stop, and the free-spin reel set, shorter and richer in Wolves, is counted the same way on its own strips.
The 90.66% return is counted, not simulated, for the mean: every one of the base reel's stop combinations is priced against the pay table, which gives the exact chance of every amount the paid spin can pay, and with it the hit rate and the 1.19% chance of the free spins. A free spin is drawn from the richer reel set's own exact count, and the expected number of free spins a trigger runs to, retriggers and the 60-spin cap included, is an exact, finite recursion over every reachable spins-remaining state, not an estimate of an uncapped series. An automated test repeats the base count a slower way, one combination at a time through the same code the machine plays with, and requires the two to agree. The house edge on the common casino bets puts the 9.34% this machine keeps in context.
What is not counted is the full spread of a whole round once free spins and retriggers chain together: a chain that can run to 60 spins, each with thousands of distinct outcomes, does not convolve into one distribution in a reasonable time, and this page says so rather than hiding it. The standard deviation, 1.3 bets, and the odds of a round paying 100 times the bet or more, about 1 in 222,222, come from 20,000,000 whole rounds played from a fixed seed through the same rules the engine plays with. An automated test replays that seed and requires the same result. That run returned 90.69%, within 0.03 points of the counted 90.66%, which is the cross check standing in for a full convolution, and no round in it reached the 5,000 times ceiling.
The expected figure in the session panel is the share the machine keeps multiplied by the chips you have bet on finished spins. The coach's count of spins in the last minute is taken from when you pressed Spin.
Limits
- The reel strips and pay table were designed for this page. They are not a copy of Wolf Run or of any other real machine, and these figures describe this machine only.
- Wolf Run is IGT's game and its name belongs to its owner. Moonlit Ridge is an independent alternative built on the same kind of mechanic. It is not made, licensed or endorsed by IGT.
- A real slot is usually shipped in several return settings and the casino chooses one. The same title can keep noticeably more than the figure quoted for it, and a real machine does not print its reel strips.
- The reels are stopped by an ordinary browser random number generator. It is not an audited or certified generator, and nothing here should be read as a test of one.
- Autoplay and turbo are here because the machine this one is modeled on has them. Autoplay makes a machine cost more per hour, so it will not start without a loss limit, and the coach prices the pace while it runs.
- The standard deviation and the large-win odds are estimates from a simulation, and carry its sampling error. The return and the hit rates are exact for these strips, before the win ceiling.
- Play chips do not feel like money. A long wait for the free spins is harder to sit through, and to stop after, with a real stake.
This is a practice game for adults. It has no real-money play and links to none. Wolf Run, or any slot played with money, keeps its share of every spin, and no way of timing or sizing the spins changes that. On this machine 63% of the spins that pay anything still cost more than they return, and 8% of the return sits in free spins that most short sessions wait a long time for.
Gambling can cause serious harm. The National Problem Gambling Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), or chat at ncpgambling.org/chat.
03 / 03
Go deeper
- Slot RTP and volatility simulator What a return and a volatility level do to a bankroll over hundreds of spins.
- Variance simulator Why two sessions at the same expected cost can end in very different places.
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