Slot machine excitement is a big part of what drives offline and the online casino industries. Big wins and bonus entertainment are the name of the game for slot players. But anticipation of new ways to play are part of the excitement too.
Casinos and their suppliers know that and they keep the new games coming. Here are some of the prime coming attractions – games you can get excited about as they make their way into casinos in 2019.
GOLDEN JUNGLE GRAND, IGT
A 75-line video slot on a grid with five reels, each four symbols deep, Golden Jungle Grand generates some statuesque payouts when icons turn wild.
When a statue symbol lands anywhere on a reel, it activates an icon displayed above that reel. As players continue to wager and spin, they’ll collect additional statue symbols. All reels that have collected two statue icons will turn wild for the 10th spin for the chance to win big.
In the free games bonus, players can select their bonus play volatility by choosing between 25 free games with two wild reels, ten free games with three wild reels or two free games with four wild reels. And the graphics are really wild, too on CrystalCurve cabinet.
FORTUNE LINK, IGT
Long a pioneer in slots with progressive jackpots, IGT turns it all up a notch with a new lock and re-spin feature.
Initially, the feature is available on two themes: Feline Fortune and Egyptian Fortune.
Collecting either four, five or six fortune link symbols in the base triggers the Fortune Link series. The difference in the requirement is your bet: Higher coin denominations mean you can launch the feature with fewer symbols
Once you’ve collected the required number of symbols, they remain locked in place during the Fortune Link feature. You then get three re-spins to collect more Fortune Link symbols.
There’s a twist: Every time you add a Fortune Link symbol, you reset to three re-spins. If you get no Fortune Links on the first two re-spins but get one on the third, the meter returns to three re-spins.
The more Fortune Link symbols you collect, the bigger your prize. Filling the entire screen with Fortune Links symbols wins the top jackpot.
SMOKIN’ HOT STUFF WICKED WHEEL
Everi: Hot Stuff, the little devil of comic book fame, was a red-hot winner in the original Smokin’ Hot Stuff slot. Now the mischievous imp with his asbestos diaper and trusty trident returns in a 243 ways to win at slot, perfect for pennies, packed with multipliers, a progressive pick bonus and progressive jackpots available at all bet levels.
The progressive pick bonus is triggered randomly after any base game spin. Players pick from 25 coins to reveal either a progressive jackpot or pitchfork symbol. Hot Stuff removes the lowest remaining jackpot each time his pitchfork is revealed, thus guaranteeing higher prizes.
Also available is the Wicked Wheel bonus, triggered when three wicked wheel symbols land scattered on reels 3, 4, or 5. When a Hot Stuff symbol is part of a winning combination on reels 2, 3, or 4, it multiplies the winning combination by 2x, 3x, or 4x for some smokin’ payoffs.
PENN & TELLER, EVERI
The magical duo team up in a 9-payline slot with three mechanical reels, targeted at 25-cent and $1 play.
Loaded with an innovative feature trigger and eight interactive bonuses, players get constant assistance from famous stage magicians Penn & Teller as they wonder what will happen next. Game play incorporates some of Penn & Teller’s most famous tricks, including Vanish a Rabbit, Miser’s Dream, and Shadows. And Everi has added some magic of its own.
In a nudge bonus, a reel nudge may be triggered after any losing reel stop where one “Penn,” “&” or “Teller” lands one position away from a winning progressive combination or where one wheel symbol is one position away from awarding the wheel bonus. Then presto! The symbol nudges into place.
The wheel bonus is triggered when three wheel symbols land on any active payline awarding one wheel spin. Wheel prizes include the mini, minor, mega, major, and grand progressives or from 25 through 250 credits.
THE GAME OF LIFE – CAREER DAY, SCIENTIFIC GAMES
WMS Gaming, which now is under the Scientific Games corporate umbrella, had success with it’s the Game of Life slots a while back, Now, under license from board game owner Hasbro, Scientific Games creates a new land-based and online slot adventure with a new three-reel game, The Game of Life – Career Day.
Players spin the reels and travel through life while collecting credit prizes, bonuses, and jackpots. Career Day is a 3-reel, 9-line game on the TwinStar J43 with iReels cabinet. The game boasts a life-changing single-level, wide-area progressive jackpot that can be won in the base game and is part of Scientific Games’ Cash Connection or Reel Adventures links.
The game’s centerpiece is the Game of Life Bonus where players are assigned one of four careers - a firefighter, pro athlete, construction worker or culinary chef. You then spin for paydays, raises and spins of a wheel that award moves around the game board.
Stops along the way award credit prizes, additional spins of the wheel, and extra bonuses such as the Weekend Getaway with free spins where reel 2 is Wild and all pays are multiplied by three; or the Groundhog Day Bonus where the reels spin and stop until a winning combination is awarded.
The goal is to reach the Retirement Island Bonus board game where even more prizes, multipliers, and bonuses are available.
JIN JI BAO XI – RISING FORTUNES, SCIENTIFIC GAMES
The No. 1 game in Asia, Jin Ji Bao Xi making its North American debut with 5-reel, 243 ways game. Rising Fortunes, available on the TwinStar J43 or the new TwinStar Wave XL cabinets, includes the popular ALL UP bet structure where players can make an extra wager to buy higher-paying symbols.
One game highlight is the Jin Ji Bao Xi Feature where players pick icons to win one of four jackpots.
If six or more Red Gong symbols displaying credit prizes land on the reels, a Feature Selection is triggered and you can choose your casino bonus. The sum of the credit prizes creates the Shou Bonus, is one of the feature selection options.
Players also can choose between a Top Up Bonus and Free Games Bonus where eight free games are awarded. During free games, players can win additional free games while each Gold Gong symbol that lands on the reels award the Shou Bonus.
In the Top Up Bonus, a lock and spin feature, Gold Gong symbols award the Shou Bonus and lucky Green Gong symbols award the sum of all Gong symbols, resulting in a rising fortune.
CASH SPIN 360, SCIENTIFIC GAMES
The latest version of the iconic Cash Spin game is a 5-reel, 30-line game.
The star of the show is a U-Spin Wheel Bonus where players swipe the touchscreen to spin the big wheel. With one spin, players can win credit prizes, a Free Games Bonus or one of three near-area progressive jackpots. If the wheel stops on the Free Games Bonus wedge, players choose from five free games scenarios where they can be awarded up to 30 free games with a corresponding multiplier of up to 5x pay.
There is also a Money Bag Bonus which is triggered when three scattered Money Bag symbols land on the reels. Players pick one of the money bags and are awarded a credit prize, a credit prize with an additional pick, or the U-Spin Wheel Bonus.
SHOU HU SHEN XTREME JACKPOTS, AMERICAN GAMING SYSTEMS
The Asian-themed Shou Hu Shen is based on the good luck and guardian lions along with four progressive jackpot levels. Together, they promise fun and the chance to win big.
Featuring fireworks and sparks animations that add excitement to gameplay, Shou Hu Shen can award massive progressive jackpots. The Jackpot Pick Bonus is randomly triggered any time a Wild symbol lands on the reels during base-game play. Players touch and pick from 12 Lucky Fu symbols until they get three matching progressive symbols to win one of the four jackpots.
During the Free Games Bonus, which is triggered by three or more Bonus or Wild symbols in any position on each of reel one-three, the number of free spins that can be won depends on the reel configuration selected by the player – 243 ways to win gets 15 free spins; 1024 ways to win gets 10 free spins; and 3125 ways to win gets five free spins.
MAYAN CHIEF GREAT STACKS, KONAMI GAMING
Mayan Chief, a Konami favorite, gets a fresh look with six reels, each five symbols deeo, on the curved Concerto Crescent and tall Concerto Stack cabinets.
Mayan Chief Great Stacks is a 60-line game that features Action Stacked Symbols and top free game awards. Action Stacked Symbols are hidden at first, but once all reels are stopped they transform into matching symbols – part of the fun is waiting to see if your Action Stacks will match symbols already on the reels to form winning combos.
A free games feature gives you up to 15 free spins with a 2x multiplier. And for extra bonus excitement, players get to choose their event in the Balance of Fortune feature. When Balance of fortune launches, you can choose regular free games, a random credit prize, or super free games combinations with different combinations of more or fewer free games matched with lower or higher multipliers.
