November kicked off with a large number of exciting new slots that are all vying to be the next players’ favorite. But do they have what it takes? We have weeded through all the new releases and chosen four this week that stand out from the crowd with suspenseful gameplay, new pay mechanics or high win potential.
Just a few weeks ago, we presented Da Vinci’s Treasure from Pragmatic Play with a sky-high win potential of 48,000x the stake and thought that was a blaster. Well, we have to rethink that, as Pragmatic Play has just presented Peking Luck – a new video slot with a crazy-high 180,000x the stake as the maximum win on a single spin.
Blueprint Gaming has been also busy creating more slots with the licensed Megaways engine. Buffalo Rising is adding a feature-buy option as well as four options for the free spins round to the already rich gameplay on its other Megaways slots.
And then we have two new slots with expanding reel layouts, which seems to become quite popular these days. They won’t reach the 60 odd million ways to win of Laser Fruit from Red Tiger Gaming, but should be sufficient for exciting gaming sessions with high win potential.
Luxor from PariPlay is an HD graphics marvel with the three middle reels extending gradually to increase the 243 ways to 1,944 ways. Play’n GO is taking it a notch further with Dragon Maiden, a five-reel slot that expands to up to 7,776 ways and comes with the potential to win Gold Spins that are played on the fully expanded game window.
Pecking Luck | Pragmatic Play
We all had a WOW moment when Pragmatic Play released Da Vinci’s Treasure as it represented, at the time, the highest win potential on a non-progressive slot and that by a mile. Only three months later and we have to think again. Peking Luck is, as the name suggests, an Asian-themed slot that takes the win potential into crazy numbers of up to 180,000x the bet. No doubt, the game scores an 11 out of 10 on the volatility scale.
What looks like a rather simple 25 liner with a free spins round actually has some hidden features that will make it possible to hit that insane maximum win. After hitting a minimum three scatters, players can first choose from six Asian fans to reveal five to 50 free spins, followed by a second batch of dancing dragon masks where they take one pick to reveal a win multiplier for the round from x2 to x18.
To score the maximum win of 180,000x the bet, players will need to hit a full screen of stacked wild symbols in a free spins round with an x18 multiplier. A single five-of-a-kind wild symbol pays 400x the stake, and taking that by 25 pay lines will result in the base game in an already massive 10,000x the bet. Adding the x18 multiplier will make that number explode to the maximum win in a single spin.
Buffalo Rising | Blueprint Gaming
There seems to be no stopping Blueprint from releasing slots with the Megaways engine, which it licensed from Big Time Gaming in early 2018. After Diamond Mine, Genie Jackpots, Slots O’ Gold and Irish Riches, it is now presenting its next creation – Buffalo Rising Megaways.
Yet again, the game has six reels while the number of ways to win can go up to 117,649. Mystery symbols unveil a common symbol after the reels have stopped, plus a free spins round with four choices and an unlimited multiplier, as well as an option to buy the free spins feature at a fixed amount of 100x the stake.
Hitting a minimum three scatters or buying the feature, will open up a second screen with four choices for the bonus round. Players can pick to get 15 free spins starting at an x1 multiplier, 10 free spins starting at an x5 multiplier, 5 free spins starting with an x10 multiplier or a mystery choice. Opting for the latter will open up three choices for the free spins and three for the multiplier. Players can now pick one from each row to reveal five, 10 or 15 free spins and a starting multiplier of x1, x5 or x10. The most desirable is, of course, to pick the 15 free spins starting with an x10 multiplier as even small wins will amount to mega wins right from the start. But caution is recommended as it could reveal the worst option with only five free spins and a x1 multiplier as well. The good news is that the feature can be retriggered.
Luxor | PlariPlay
We have probably had hundreds of Egyptian-themed slots so far and there are surely more to come. Adding one to the tally is PariPlay with its creation called Luxor. While that is not reason enough to include it in this newsletter, we had to take a closer look as the game comes with a partially expanding reel set, going from 243 ways to a maximum of 1,944 ways to win. Not only that, but PariPlay also included two fixed jackpots at 100x and 2,000x the total stake.
What impresses first on Luxor are the immensely sharp graphics in HD and intricate animations when the game window expands. Any wild scarab on reels two, three or four in the base game will initiate the reel expansion while awarding a respin. Any further wild scarabs landing on the respins will see the feature repeat until no further scarabs land on a respin, or the full 1,944 ways have been opened up.
Three Tutankhamun scatters will lead to the Pharaoh’s Tomb where players are presented with 19 lucky urns. The aim is to pick urns until three matching prizes have been unveiled. The choices are 10 free spins at 243, 576, 1,125 or 1,944 ways, a major jackpot and a grand jackpot. There is a single +5 spins prize that will add five extra spins to the 10 free spins when uncovered and substitute for any other free spins option. The spins are then played out at the number of ways won in the pick-and-click game. The free spins can be retriggered up to nine times. Winning the major or grand jackpot will award the respective jackpot win and end the bonus game.
Dragon Maiden | Play’n GO
Ready to face a ferocious dragon on an expanding game window? Then rush to the aid of the Dragon Maiden as she will randomly transform into a majestic wild symbol up to three symbols high. Play’n GO has had a little look at some of the creations from Big Time Gaming and took a few parts from White Rabbit and Dragon Born to create its own version of a slot that can go in free spins from the standard 243 ways to a maximum of 7,776 ways. But that’s not to say that Dragon Maiden is not an exciting game. On the contrary, it has some superb graphics and animations as well as a huge win potential of up to 5,000x the stake.
The slot features include random wild transformations, scatter respins, free spins and the ultimate, golden free spins. The top symbol on the game is the Dragon Maiden and it will randomly turn into a wild symbol on any spin in the base game and free spins. Hitting just two scatters on a spin will award a respin for a chance to score that vital third scatter which will then trigger the free spins round.
Eight to 12 free spins are awarded with each scatter landing in the free spins increasing the reel by one position up to six symbols high. Once a reel is fully expanded, the game will award one golden spin, plus any further scatter landing on a fully opened reel will grant one additional golden spin. Opening all reels to the full size will result in the maximum of 7,776 ways to win. The collected golden free spins will be used after the standard free spins have finished and will be played on the full game window with five reels and six rows.