Gong Xi Fa Cai slot is pure Chinese mayhem
The Gong Xi Fa Cai slot follows the well-trodden path of Chinese-themed slots and here IGT has created an all-action, highly entertaining slot where there’s never a dull moment and four Jackpots are up for grabs.
Four Jackpots in one slot, If you are like me that’s enough to decide the slot machine is good enough to be played with real money. I got your back! Below is the best online casinos in India.
Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Gong Xi Fa Cai
I was thrilled when I found out the next game I was to review was the Gong Xi Fa Cai slot. Why? Because one of the members of the G2G team insists on calling every slot by its full name.
For most of us, Gonzo’s Quest is just ‘Gonzo’, Fairytales Legends: Red Riding Hood is just ‘Red’ and Warlords: Crystals of Power is just ‘Warlords’. But for him, it has to be the full name. Apparently, an abbreviation is ‘showing disrespect to the slot from a creative, commercial and copyright perspective.’ Ok…
Cue the following dialogue:
Me: Hey, Manish. What’s the next great slot being released?
Manish: Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Me: Ah, cool. By the way Manish, which is that new IGT mobile slot that’s just come out? The Chinese-themed one?
Manish: Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Me: Oh yeah, that’s the one. But that’s not the one with the four progressive Jackpots in it? That one is…
Manish: Gong.
Who said peer pressure was dead?
Gong Xi Fa Cai slot obviously comes from…Nevada
Slot suppliers IGT will always have a special place in our hearts here at G2G. How come? Because their mobile slot ‘The 1421 Voyages of Zheng He’ was the first-ever game that was revied at G2G! Ever.
There have been a couple of other appearances from them such as Wolf Run, Cleopatra Plus and another recent release in the form of Golden Jungle. They’re good guys over there at IGT and it’s always somewhat reassuring when a provider of mobile games is based in Nevada. If you don’t know a thing or two about slots if you’re from the state Las Vegas is in, then you never will!
It’s the first time in a while that I’ve had a slot with a progressive Jackpot. There’s always something a little bit special about taking down a Jackpot rather than just securing a huge win through free spins or a particularly valuable bonus feature. So I’m glad I’ve got one here.
And what’s four times better than a Jackpot? Four Jackpots. More on them later.
If there’s one thing I can guarantee about a review of any slot here at G2G, it’s that I’ll give it a fair review. Actually, there’s another. I can also guarantee that you’ll be able to play it on any mobile device of your choice, as well as on desktop.
Gong is quite the character
I mentioned in my previous for fun slot review that there were certain themes that popped up pretty often in our newly-released slots. Jokers and dragons were two of them but another I didn’t mention (and will now) is just general Chinese-themed mobile games.
The aforementioned Zheng He is an obvious place to start. There was also Lucky Tree and Astro Cat. But let’s get to the 1 million Renminbi question: who or what is Gong Xi Fa Cai?
Well, shame on you for not paying more attention in your voluntary-just-for-the-hell-of-it Mandarin class.
It translates as ‘Wishing you a happy/prosperous (Chinese) New Year.’ It’s the standard way of welcoming someone to the New Year. Now, this is where things get interesting. The welcoming phrase is often represented by a cheerful and friendly Chinese gentleman dressed in red. And you will, of course, know from reading this piece about the two colours in roulette- red and black- that red is a lucky colour in Chinese culture. So it must follow that the Gong Xi Fa Cai character is lucky himself.
At least let’s hope so because he’s a permanent fixture in the game. Positioned just below the reels, he celebrates your wins like they were his own and just seems like a thoroughly nice, pleasant, trustworthy chap. Which is more than you can say about that Moriarty character out of Sherlock? Geez, that guy is creepy.
The symbols follow the whole Chinese theme, as you’d expect. So I’m talking dragons, lucky fish, a scary looking eagle (as opposed to a friendly looking one?) and the customary playing cards which as usual are low-value symbols.
But there are two special symbols. On Reel 1 all of the high-value symbols can appear as Multipliers of 2x, 3x or 5x. If they form part of a winning combination then your wins are unsurprisingly multiplied by that number. Then there’s a Wild which can appear on any Reel and substitute for any symbol, except for the Bonus. Which brings us to…the Bonus. It can appear on Reels 1,3 and 5 and if that happens then Free Spins are heading your way. Much to the enjoyment of Gong.
Everyone’s got a friend who’s always late. They must be the unluckiest person in the world. Their train is always delayed due to maintenance work being done (probably true if it’s in London, admittedly), it always seems to be rush hour when they’re driving or they were witnesses to a street robbery and had to spend 20 minutes telling the police what they saw. Well, if they’re unlucky then it’s lucky for you that Gong Xi Fa Cai is as awesome on mobile as it is on desktop. So play it while you’re waiting as your friend conjures up their latest lie about why they were late.
Red at the heart of Gong Xi Fa Cai’s best feature
By now you should know how to play Gong Xi Fa Cai in terms of the base game. But let’s move on to the features.
Free Spins
As mentioned already, three Scatter symbols activate the Free Spins. Here the lower value symbols are removed so pretty much any win secured during them should give you a good return on your money.
Which is more than you can say about a high street bank and their incredibly stingy interest rates? Just saying.
Lucky Fortune Progressive Picker (Jackpots)
The second and more interesting of the Gong Xi Fa Cai features. Anytime you get a Multiplier on Reel1, this feature can be triggered.
There are four Jackpots in play here similar to the set-up in Mega Moolah – Maxi (the biggest), Major, Minor and Mini (the smallest, no relation to quirky and pretty actress Minnie Driver).
When the round starts, you start picking envelopes. I think I don’t need to tell you what colour they are. Oh, we do? Ok, they’re red. Each Jackpot has a different coloured jewel associated with it and behind each envelope is one of those jewels. Whichever of the four jewels you get three of first is the Jackpot you win.
Yes, ok. It’s normally the Mini or the Minor one that you win and sometimes the prize isn’t that big but remembers that these are Progressive Jackpots so if you happen to crack them at just the right time, the prize could well be a good one.
Never a dull moment on Gong Xi Fa Cai slot
This is a busy little game with lots going on. The complete opposite of something like Lucky Tree that’s soothing and calming.
But of course, there’s nothing wrong with the somewhat hectic vibe present here. Mobile slots are meant to entertain as well as offering you the chance to win money and entertain you it does, with Gong himself a very active participant in everything that happens here.
The Multiplier on Reel 1 makes you feel like you’ve got a good chance of securing something good in the base game and the format of the four Jackpots and the envelope-picking is a nice little touch.
But if there was to be a criticism of this game, it’s quite simply that the free spins are hardly ever activated, which is a little odd. Maybe it was just that I was a little bit freakishly unlucky while I was playing but I gotta call them as I see’em.
But that alone shouldn’t put you off playing a highly fun and funny slot that never gets boring.
To see Gong celebrate your real money wins as only he can, you’ll need to play for real money. And to do that, you’ll have to have to open an account first at an Indian online casino. It shouldn’t take you any longer than saying Gong Xi Fa Cai about ten times…