Spinomenal introduces you to the magic of Asian symbology with “Bovada 8 Lucky Charms”. The number 8 itself is considered to be lucky in China and other Asian cultures because it sounds like the Chinese word for “wealth”, pinyin. You’ll often find many businesses using the number 8 in their names for this reason. But Spinomenal’s appeal to luck and good fortune don’t end with the name of this enchanting new Bovada slots game. You’ll also find references to Yin and Yang, the powerful dragon and tiger, the Maneki Neko (lucky white cat), a gold coin (considered lucky because of the square hole in its center), the tortoise, and old man reminiscent of Jurojin (one of the seven lucky gods of Japan), and a beautiful woman similar to Kishijo-ten (Japanese goddess of luck and beauty) or Change (Chinese goddess of the moon). If playing the bovada slots is all about luck then “Bovada 8 Lucky Charms” is pulling out all the stops for you, at least as far as using lucky symbols from Chinese and Japanese myth and culture. The game’s exquisite artwork is almost Manga quality but the game itself was designed to remind players of other traditional Asian Bovada slots games (think “50 Dragons”, for example). “Bovada 8 Lucky Charms” is 5 reel, 3-row Bovada slots game with 50 pay lines, a free spins feature, and a pick game bonus round.
Tiles in Bovada 8 Lucky Charms Game
The Tiger is the game’s Wild symbol. When the Tiger can help form a winning combination it transforms into a dragon. If three Wilds contribute to a prize the value is tripled. If four Wilds contribute to a prize the value is multiplied by five. The Maneki Neko (lucky white cat) is the game’s Scatter symbol. When three or more White Cats appear anywhere on the screen the Free Spins bonus is triggered. See below for details. The Yin and Yang Bonus symbol triggers the pick game when three or more appear. See below for details. The Old Man pays 400 times to bet per line for 5 of a kind, 200 times bet per line for 4 of a kind, and 50 times bet per line for 3 of a kind. The Maiden pays 200 times to bet per line for 5 of a kind, 150 times bet per line for 4 of a kind, and 40 times bet per line for 3 of a kind. The Tortoise pays 150 times to bet per line for 5 of a kind, 100 times bet per line for 4 of a kind, and 30 times bet per line for 3 of a kind. The Gold Coin pays 100 times to bet per line for 5 of a kind, 75 times bet per line for 4 of a kind, and 15 times bet per line for 3 of a kind. Remaining symbols include the traditional “A”, “K”, “Q”, and “J”. They are drawn in a highly stylized fashion evoking Asian calligraphy. The highest prizes are 80 or 60 times bet per line. The lowest prizes are 10, 7, or 5 times bet per line.
Free Spins Bonus in Bovada 8 Lucky Charms Game
When three or more lucky cats trigger the Free Spins bonus game you are taken to a new screen where you choose the kind of game you want to play. You are also awarded 2 times your Total Bet for winning the free spin game. Your choices are represented by three Maneki Neko sitting on pedestals. The Purple pedestal awards you 5 free spins where all prizes are multiplied by 4. The Blue pedestal awards you 10 free spins where all prizes are multiplied by 2. The Green pedestal awards you 20 free spins where all prizes are multiplied by 1 (normal payouts). You can win a Bonus Round (pick game) while playing the Free Spins game. You can also win more free spins. During the free spins game, the Wild symbol becomes an Expanding Wild when it lands on reel 3.
Bonus Rounds in Bovada 8 Lucky Charms Game
When three or more Yin and Yang symbols appear anywhere on the screen you are taken to the Bonus Round, where you see a screen filled with twelve symbols. There are four colored bars on the right side of the screen. You are prompted to click on the Yin and Yang symbols to uncover prize amounts and colors. Each prize you uncover is added to the bar of the same color as the prize’s circle. When you accumulate three circles of any one color you win that prize (the total for all three colored circled displayed on the bar) and the game is concluded. There are three indicator lights above each colored bar to help you keep track of how many circles you have uncovered for each color.
Game Controls in Bovada 8 Lucky Charms Game
All of the game controls are positioned below the playing reels area in two rows on a combined dashboard. The Bet Per Line widget uses Minus and Plus buttons to adjust the value of your bet up or down. The Total Bet is adjusted and displayed below the Bet Per Line amount as you change the values. Available valuations are: 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10. Be careful because this sets the Total Bet to 500. The Win widget displays the sum of all prizes you were awarded on the last spin or bonus game. The Balance widget displays how much money you have left to play with.
The Help button (denoted by a “?” icon) activates the pay tables help system. You use the arrow keys at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the 7 available screens. An indicator ball shows you which of the 7 screens is active and the screens wrap to the right and left as you cycle through them.
The Fast Play button causes all five reels to complete their spin animations at the same time. When Fast Play is not active each reel completes its spin animation in sequence from left to right. Using or ignoring Fast Play does not alter the outcome or probability of any game.
The Auto Bet button initiates continuous play. Spins continue until you exit the game, win a bonus round, click on the Stop button, or your balance drops below the amount of the Total Bet.
The Play button is a large red triangle on the far right side of the dashboard. It initiates one paid spin.
Final Thoughts about Bovada 8 Lucky Charms Game
The game’s soundtrack music is quite relaxing. The song, performed by a flute and zither, is well-suited to this game.
The free spins and bonus pick games are a little simple. Modern Bovada slots games tend to have much more sophisticated action but Spinomenal seems to prefer a simpler approach to designing Bovada slots games. That is not necessarily a bad thing because players will keep playing as long as they enjoy the game, and if it pays well they may enjoy it despite the simplicity. Of course, someone has to lose in order for anyone to win and so you have to expect some dry spells. Asian-themed Bovada slots games have a certain style that I find appealing, at least for a while per game. Their simplicity challenges game designers to introduce innovations that don’t complicate the process. A lot of Asian ingenuity revolves around practicality and I can see why game developers keep these games from getting too complicated. The appeal to a desire for good luck should resonate with most gamblers, who tend to be superstitious by nature. We all want to get lucky when we gamble.
The pick game bonus is nothing new but it’s a nice variation on an old routine. The suspense is heightened by the color counters while at the same time you have a pretty good idea of which colors you’re getting close to completing. While there is no hope of developing a strategy around a random pick game most players will probably try to randomize their choices in the hope of not getting three of the low paying color circles. Playing with a max bet will be exciting enough. I tried doing that in “Practice Mode” and quickly ran up over 25,000 credits. But that’s random chance and you can’t count on it happening when you’re playing for real money. While this is not the most interesting Bovada slots game I have ever played, it does show promise.