Play N’ Go have hit on an interesting theme with Chinese New Year, and created a beautiful slot to honour it. Indeed, you won’t find any lazy symbols on this games grid. They are all lovingly rendered representations of the animals that make up the Chinese zodiac and thus lend their name to the Chinese calendar years. It’s a thoughtful slot with a few fireworks up its sleeve – quite literally. That said, you’ll truly need the stars to align if you’re going to make a sizeable sum of cash from Chinese New Year.
WHAT IS THE CHINESE NEW YEAR SLOT ABOUT?
Sometimes game providers lazily apply themes to online slots. For that reason, it’s pleasing to see the amount of effort that Play N’ Go have put into Chinese New Year. Most of the 12 animals of the zodiac are represented in the symbol selection. There are snakes, horses, pigs, rabbits, and dogs. Then there are a few special animals, who are given elevated status, such as the monkey scatters, tiger wilds and dragon bonus game triggers.
The theme is further extended to those bonus games. The monkey plays a starring role during free spins, spinning a wheel of fortune to grant you an additional scatter and a randomly generated number of extra rounds. Meanwhile, the slot’s bonus game allows you to control a beautifully animated firework display. The fireworks explode and leave a pile of smouldering cash in their wake. There are plenty of elements to Chinese New Year and Play N’ Go can be proud of the way they’ve created the theme.
CHINESE NEW YEAR BONUS FEATURES
So, you get a free spins round and a bonus game when you play Chinese New Year. Nobody can complain about that, although we would apply a word of caution. The core features don’t come along all that often. Yes, that might seem like an obvious statement, but it applies more keenly to some games than others. We’ll come on to the volatility of Chinese New Year later, but for now let’s concentrate on the mechanics of the bonus features, and how they can help you win.
TIGER WILDS
First things first, if you hit a whole payline of tiger wilds, you win 5000 times your stake. Lucrative indeed but as rare as the proverbial rocking horse s**t we’d imagine. We’ve not seen it happen but there are stories around the internet. From our experience, it’s more likely that the tiger wilds will help you tick along nicely during the main game, picking all small wins between x2 and x10 your stake.
RED DRAGON BONUS SYMBOLS AND PICK ME BONUS GAME
There’s always something particularly exciting about bonus games. Even though they are frequently less profitable then free spins round, they are often more creative. That’s true of Chinese New Year, which incorporates a great little bonus game triggered by 3 red dragons across the 3 middle reels. You’re presented with five fireworks on a bridge. Start clicking on the fireworks to set them off and reveal cash amounts. You return to the main game if you select a dud. It’s possible to win up to x150 your stake during the bonus game but x15, x20 or x30 is more likely.
MONKEY SCATTERS AND THE FREE SPINS ROUND
The bonus game is fun but it’s the free spins round that provides your best chance of a big win on Chinese New Year. Three monkey symbols anywhere on the first 3 reels (the monkey doesn’t appear anywhere else) activate your spins. You’re taken to a wheel of fortune full of different zodiac symbols. The monkey is on hand to spin the wheel, and whichever symbols it lands on becomes another an extra scatter during free spins. The number of free spins you receive varies, the monkey reveals the number as the wheel closes. Scatters can expand to fill entire reels during free spins, if that happens then you have a good chance of a chunky win.
WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING ON THE CHINESE NEW YEAR SLOT?
As we’ve covered, the bonus game is unlikely to win you more than 20 or (at a push) 30 times your bet. It’s free spins that provide you best bet. You often get 15 and with the extra scatters and the possibility of expanded symbols covering entire reels, you can see how kind they could be to your wallet. You need to be patient and show a bit of nerve. We class Chinese New Year as a medium volatility slot, but it would edges close to high volatility so could do with a bigger maximum win. That said, you will see wins across the 15 paylines in the main game, certainly enough to keep you spinning in search of the good stuff. The visuals will help you stay interested and engaged as well.
OUR VERDICT ON THE CHINESE NEW YEAR SLOT
Play N’ Go have produced an attractive slot with a handful of classic bonus features here. We’d like to see those features land a bit more frequently because you may have a frustrating time waiting for them, but the free spins round, in particular, is usually worthy of your patience. Despite the minor gripes around the potential to win big on Chinese New Year, it’s still a prominent member of the Play N’ Go games inventory.
