Explainer
Gonzo’s Quest II: Expanding Reels, Calamity Wilds and Free Spins
The short answer
Gonzo’s Quest II starts on six reels with four rows. Winning Avalanches can add up to four more rows, while Calamity Wilds place extra Wilds before the next Avalanche. The useful distinction is between the grid’s height, the symbols occupying it and the multiplier applied to an award.
In this article
Follow one round in three stages
NetEnt’s launch guide describes a 6×4 starting grid that can reach eight rows. In the base game the expansion resets for the next spin; during Free Spins, expanded reels stay until the feature ends. A Calamity Wild involved in a win introduces three to six additional Wilds.
Imagine a demonstration round that begins with 24 visible positions. At six rows the same six reels contain 36 positions; at eight they contain 48. These are position counts, calculated as reels multiplied by rows. The expansion makes the next screen easier to interpret: count the current rows before following the next group of matching symbols.
Regular Wilds and Calamity Wilds have different jobs
A regular Wild helps complete combinations. The Calamity version adds a second event: a qualifying win leads to more Wilds before play continues. Watch the order of events—initial combination, extra Wild placement, then the following Avalanche. That sequence explains why the screen can change after an award has already appeared.
For a reading exercise, write three columns: “award just paid,” “Wilds now on screen” and “next multiplier.” Fill them after each animation. This produces a useful account of a feature without treating every visual change as a separate paid spin.
What the colossal Scatter changes
The official guide distinguishes ordinary Free Spins from Super Free Spins. A qualifying 2×2 colossal Scatter starts the Super feature at 2× with steps of +2; a 3×3 starts at 3× with +3; a 4×4 starts at 5× with +5.
| Illustrative starting point | After one increase | After two increases |
|---|---|---|
| 2×, step +2 | 4× | 6× |
| 3×, step +3 | 6× | 9× |
| 5×, step +5 | 10× | 15× |
These are arithmetic progressions, rather than a prediction of how many Avalanches a feature will contain. If an illustrative eligible award is $0.80 at 6×, the multiplied amount is $4.80. Apply the multiplier to the eligible award shown by the game.
Questions worth answering in the rules
Which Scatter size activated the round? What is the current height? Does the next Avalanche retain that height? Those three answers describe the feature more clearly than the title alone.
For the broader arithmetic, use our multiplier guide. Product features described here follow NetEnt’s international specification; the rules in a particular US edition establish its available options.
