Da Hong Bao Slots
Online casinos are full of oriental-themed slots that take the player on a journey into mystical Chinese mountains populated by cheery bearded men and alluring women. Except in Skywind's Ji Xiang Long slot, which has lucky figurines and various characters that dominate the reels. Mostly, however, the symbols are a mixture of gold coins, lanterns, alluring women, and big cheery bearded men.
Adding their contribution to this genre is leading software developer, Genesis Gaming, with the Da Hong Bao online slot machine. The game provider already has several 5-reel Asian-inspired slots in its arsenal like the bonus-heavy Cai Shen's Fortune, but not many with authentic Chinese titles.
Can the Da Hong Bao slot break the mould? At first glance, this slot has quite a volatile range of payouts and an RTP hovering around 97%. Perhaps a more in-depth review of the Da Hong Bao slot will reveal whether the game causes any fireworks.
Bet 50 Paylines From 0.05 a Line
Da Hong Bao roughly translates as 'big red cloak tea' in English, but there's little in the way of tea in Genesis's new Chinese New Year-themed slot.
In fact, what players do get is lots of classic Chinese icons that you will find in any standard Asian slot. You want firecrackers? You got it. Hankering after a bunch of gold coins? Yep, they are there too. Won't play the game without having a carnival dragon to land and give you big prizes? He is here in all his glory.
Genesis Gaming have been supplying slots to online casinos since 2008, and they've built up a solid portfolio since then. While a lot of Genesis's best games are 5-reel slots, they are known for their innovative, and oftentimes generous, bonus features.
The Da Hong Bao slot game is no different. It has a free spins feature, and special sticky wilds will lock in place during one of the spins. Free spins can also be retriggered.
Coins start from just 0.05 in the Da Hong Bao video slot. With the 50 paylines being fixed, that makes for a manageable 2.50 minimum stake for gamblers. Max bets vary from casino to casino, but we have found some pretty substantial real cash stakes available.
Remember to check out the turbo button before play, represented here by the lightning symbol, which allows fast spins during play.
Win up to 5,000x With the Fierce Dragons
Most of the low limit icons in the Da Hong Bao slot are represented by Chinese characters. Essentially, they take the place of the low-paying card symbols common in most 5-reel slots. The purple, red, and blue characters pay 3-50x line bet for three to five of a kind. However, when playing 50 win lines you would hope to be hitting at least two winning combinations per spin.
Slightly better in the pay stakes are the green and yellow characters, which both pay 5-70x. The Chinese oranges pay the same prize.
The high limit symbols will be familiar to anyone who has played an oriental-themed slot game. The Chinese coins and firecrackers pay 5-100x while the palace pays 3-250x. You will only need to hit two matching symbols on a payline to win your 2x, however. Finally, look out for the dragon in the Da Hong Bao slot. This classic icon of Chinese New Year awards the player with 5-1000x when you hit two to five of a kind on any of the 50 lines.
Trigger Lucky Spins With Big Sticky Wilds
If you know your Chinese New Year heritage, you'll know all about the God of Wealth. On the fifth lunar day of Chinese New Year, the Chinese celebrate their Welcome Day for the God of Wealth. Firecrackers are let off so that the god will be "let in" to people's houses and bestow great fortune on them.
The God of Wealth won't bestow anything too great on players in the free Da Hong Bao slot machine, but he will act as a wild symbol. When he makes an appearance, he will substitute any regular symbol in order to complete a winning combination. Scatters aren't replaced by this cheery bearded god, however. And Wilds only appear on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Look out for the red and gold scatter symbols in the Da Hong Bao slot machine. Three or more of these will trigger a Lucky Spins feature. It's a great feature if you are a fan of free spins bonus rounds in online slots. After a single spin, you are offered a respin to try and improve your win. If it does improve, you will earn a second respin to try and once again improve the prize.
The free spins work in two ways in the Da Hong Bao slot game. First, nine 'Lucky Spins' free spins are awarded if you land three scatters. If a wild appears it will double your combo win. Best of all, you can retrigger the feature by landing three further scatters anywhere on the reels.
However, if you activate the feature with four scatters, the 'Fortune Spins' bonus will begin. At the start of the feature, a God of Wealth wild will lock in place in the middle position on reel 5. Before each subsequent spin, another wild will lock into position. Locked wilds stay in place for the remainder of the bonus round. Players can also retrigger Fortune Spins by landing three more scatters.
Now for the coolest part of the free spins in the Da Hong Bao slot. If you trigger the feature with FIVE scatters, not only will the God of Wealth wild lock in place on reel 5, but all wild wins are doubled throughout the bonus round. It's a beast to trigger, and our review team didn't manage it when testing out the Da Hong Bao slot game, but it can reap some truly huge jackpot wins.
Like the sound of the Da Hong Bao slot machine? Check out more from Genesis Gaming below.
Hunt Out Big Respins in Goddess of the Moon Slot
If you like free spins and enjoy Genesis Gaming's respin features, make a beeline for the sumptuous Goddess of the Moon video slot. In the game, a respin bonus is activated whenever you hit two scatters anywhere on the screen. In this feature, the player gets to respin any reel he chooses that does not contain a scatter. This gives you the chance of landing further scatters in order to activate the free spins feature. Respins are charged at an extra stake.
For more conventional oriental thrills from Genesis Gaming, seek out the cool Dragon's Scroll online slot. There are 100 paylines to choose from in this 4-row, 5-reel game, and the RTP is similar to that of the Da Hong Bao slot. Three or more scatters landed anywhere will activate a free spins feature with 15 games awarded. When wilds aren't locked in the bonus feature, dragon wild symbols can appear stacked to make 4-high reel icons.
Celebrate Chinese New Year in Style
If you've ever been out at Chinese New Year, you'll know that it’s a time of celebration and wishing your friends and family good fortune.
There is certainly good fortune to be had in the Da Hong Bao slots game, but it can be tricky to find. With 50 paylines a lot of our regular real cash wins came from hitting wilds and jackpot symbols in the base game. The free spins scatters are somewhat trickier to find.
If you persevere with this Genesis 5-reel game, there are definitely big prizes to be had. See if the God of Wealth is on your side and try the Da Hong Bao slots game for free on this page today. You can also play it for real money at one of our recommended casinos below.
