Pachinko 5 Casino Game
One of the knocks we have against many online bingo games is that they’re all more or less the same. Sure, the winning patterns might vary a bit, but the basic gameplay never changes, and even the occasional bonus round doesn’t really do much to ratchet up the tension or excitement. That limits their appeal to those who are looking for something a bit more complex or challenging.
Patagonia Entertainment’s Pachinko 5 is an attempt to change this dynamic. Yes, there’s still the basic bingo action that features random drawings, making patterns, and collecting prizes. But a collection of different special features does enough to make this game stand out from the pack, offering up enough variety to challenge the notion that these games can’t entertain a wider variety of players.
Five in a Row
Despite its name – taken from a popular type of Japanese gambling or amusement machine – Pachinko 5 is a bingo-based game that is similar to many of the others developed by Patagonia. These games cover both major types of bingo, and in this case, you’ll be playing the 75-ball variation with five-by-five cards, the version that’s most familiar to players in North America.
At the start of each round, you’ll have the ability to customize your cards and your bets in several ways. First, while four cards are shown at the start, you can toggle each one between active and inactive by clicking on them. If you don’t like the numbers provided, you may also hit the new tickets button to generate new cards.
Next, you can set your bet size using two settings found at the bottom of the screen. First, there is a small gold coin that you can click on to set the credit size for the game; by default, this is 0.25 units of your currency, but options between 0.01 and 0.5 units are typically offered. Finally, there is a setting for the total number of credits you wish to bet, which will always be evenly divided between your cards.
Once you are happy with all of your settings, it’s time to get the game started by hitting the play button. This will begin the action, with balls dropping down into a holding area in the center of the screen. Each ball has a number; if this number matches any found on your cards, they will be marked off, just as in a typical bingo game. In total, 44 numbers will be revealed at this point in the game.
If at any time you make a winning combination, there will be a slight pause to alert you to this before the game continues. There are a number of patterns, ranging from very simple, low-value combinations to difficult-to-make but high-paying layouts that cover most of the card. The following is the payout chart; if you don’t understand what all the patterns are, don’t worry, as they are clearly illustrated in the game itself.
- Four Corners: 2x
- Two Lines: 8x
- Cross: 10x
- Small Square: 10x
- Checkerboard: 25x
- Three Lines: 50x
- Pachinko Letter: 100x
- Pound Sign (#): 150x
- Perimeter: 250x
- Four Lines: 500x
- Perimeter and Inner Corners: 1,500x
- Full Card: 3,000x
Many of these patterns can be very difficult to make in just 44 balls. However, the action doesn’t necessarily have to stop there. After the initial rollout, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase additional numbers by clicking the extra ball button. The price for the next ball will be featured in the top center of the screen. That price will vary depending on the situation: the more you stand to win, the higher the cost.
If the cost is not acceptable to you, you can hit the NO button instead, ending the round entirely. If you do take another ball, you’ll get the option to do so again, often with a different price based on how your cards have changed. You may take individual balls up to 10 times, after which the round will end without the ability to buy more balls.
The Spelling Bee
You may have noticed above that one of the patterns you might make to win a prize is a Pachinko Letter. That pattern begins displayed in game as a large “P.” Should you make that P combination on one of your cards, two things will happen: the P in Pachinko will be filled in, and that pattern will now change to the next letter in the word: this time, an A.
As you keep making the patterns associated with each letter, the work will continue to fill in, and the target pattern will continue to change. Should you manage to finish the entire word in a single play session, you’ll win yourself a bonus equal to 1,000 times your bet amount, a worthy prize for such a long-term project.
That’s not the only large prize you can win. There’s also a special jackpot available to players, though you will only be eligible if you play all four tickets for three or more credits each. If you’ve met this requirement, you can win the jackpot amount by covering a full card during the initial 44-ball period, without buying any extras.
Finally, there are a couple of smaller bonuses players can see during their play. First, there are occasionally free spins awarded; this will allow you to play another round with the same bet settings as your last one without having to pay for it, though you’ll still need to pay for any extra balls you might want to purchase. Finally, you may also be rewarded with a free extra ball from time to time. This will be designated by a little cat icon over the appropriate extra ball slot. You may still have to pay for some numbers in order to get to this free ball, so be aware of exactly where it is in the order if you start paying to reach it.
Be Willing to Reach for Awards
As in most of these bingo-based games, Pachinko 5 is not won or lost based on your skill level. Instead, almost everything about this game is based in luck: the numbers that come and the patterns you make are random, so there isn’t much you can do to change what takes place.
However, there are a couple of decisions you can make that will help you get the most out of the money you’ve invested in your play. First, as a general rule, it is usually a bad idea for players to buy the extra balls: the pricing model used is designed to overcharge for these numbers, making sure that the house still makes a profit each time you buy. But there is one very notable exception: if you have a free ball coming your way, it is often profitable to buy the first few extras in order to reach your freebie, as the overall price (when factoring in your free shot) will be low enough to be profitable.
Finally, we also have to recommend continuing to play if you have made most of the Pachinko letter patterns during your current session. If you are closing in on the end of this task, it makes no sense to quit and throw away the 1000x bonus at this point. If there are still several letters to go, you probably aren’t giving up much by quitting; on the other hand, if you only need to get that K and O to win, there’s no sense in throwing away your progress.
An Interesting Variant
In our opinion, Pachinko 5 is one of the better options in the Patagonia Entertainment lineup. While their bingo games are all very similar, this one has a very appealing mix of features that keep gameplay exciting and fresh for longer than you’d normally expect from such specialty games. From the small perks players frequently receive to the major jackpots and the occasional decisions players have to make, there’s a surprising amount going on here.
There are a handful of things left out of this game: for instance, you won’t see a second-screen bonus round as you will in many of Patagonia’s other offerings. There’s also not quite as fancy a theme as in some of their titles (though the green/white color scheme is rather attractive, and the cat is pretty cute). But for most players who want to give bingo-style online casino games a try, Pachinko 5 is an excellent option that should appeal to a wide swath of bingo fans.
