Fortune Lions Slot
It seems that online casino players can’t get enough Asian-themed slots, so Playtech have added Fortune Lions to their extensive range, packing it full of traditional icons such as golden bowls, jade statues and pots of even more gold, while setting it all against a backdrop of cherry blossoms and pagoda-roofed buildings. It may be a little generic and un-original, but certainly looks very nice and will undoubtedly appeal to players across the world.
It’s not all about good looks though, as the gameplay of this 5-reel, 20-payline slot machine is up to the usual high quality that players expect from the Playtech casino games range. The highlight is a reel respins feature where expanded wild symbols should ensure a few winning combinations, plus there’s scatter awards and high-value symbols that only have to stop on a couple of reels to be worth a prize.
Bright reds dominate the view of the Fortune Lion video slot, with the columns to either side of the reels, and the red-tiled roof above them, both being in much the same shade as the reels themselves. Softer pink blossoms in the background contrast nicely with the red, and the symbols stand out in various golds and greens. You can turn up the volume to hear some Chinese-inspired music playing as the reels spin, but it gets drowned out by virtual mechanical noises and we found ourselves reaching for the ‘Mute’ button pretty quickly.
Spinning up a Fortune
The game pays in the conventional way, with gamblers needing to land matching symbols across a payline from the left side to win in the base games. Spinning for real cash can be done for just 0.20 a time, and the stakes can be raised to the generous upper limit of 2000.00 per spin, so even the highest of high rollers should be able to find a bet value to suit. There’s no option to play less than all 20 lines though, so Playtech have supplied free Fortune Lion video slots to practice on.
Landing the 9 or 10 high card symbols on 3, 4, or 5 reels across a payline will see returns of 5, 20, or 100 coins, while the J and Q are worth up to 150 coins and the K or A across a line will pay out 250. While playing card symbols are seen across countless slot machines, the ones here are in a nice swirling style that looks like they are cut from patterned ribbons, so they blend in nicely with the overall Asian ambience.
Unique picture symbols, which only need to land on the first 2 reels of a line to be worth a prize, include the gold ingot and golden bowl, either of which is valued at between 2 coins and 500, depending on how much of a payline they fill up. A jade-coloured lion statue in traditional Chinese style is valued anywhere between 3 coins when it’s on reels 1 and 2, up to 1,000 for full lines, while the top-paying standard symbol is a big bowl full of gold coins. This returns wins of between 5 and 5,000 coins depending on how many reels it comes to a rest on.
A Red Door Leading to Scatter Awards
There’s an imposing scatter symbol in this game, with the red doors only having to appear in any 3 places to award 3x the total triggering bet amount, while 4 of them are worth 10x and the best outcome is for this symbol to land in 5 or more places, as you open up winnings of 100x the stake.
But the Fortune Lion itself is a beautifully design bronze statue, with flashing eyes that turns up on reels 2 and 4, triggering the main bonus features of the game. It’s a wild symbol that will substitute for all but the scatter, completing winning combinations when it’s in the right places, but if this icon lands on reels 2 and 4 in the same spin, you earn 8 ‘Shi Shi’ reels respins.
During these bonus games, the Fortune Lion becomes an expanded wild symbol, filling both reels throughout, and it’s also able to substitute for the scatter symbol, potentially leading to extra bet multiplier awards. Because the spins are triggered by the Lion, and it’s on the reels for all 8 bonus games, you can’t retrigger the round, so once done, you are returned to the base reels.
A Roaring Success?
Playtech are well-known for producing slots with a high standard of graphics and gameplay, so you won’t be surprised to see that this mobile-optimised game looks so good and comes with some nice features. While reliable win-lines are to be expected in a slot game from such a respected and independently audited source, the way that reels are filled with wild symbols, almost guaranteeing a few prizes, is a special treat.
There’s a huge range of Asian-themed online slot machines, with just about every developer having a few in their portfolios, so it may not be the most original game, but Fortune Lion is sure to become another big hit for Playtech.
