5 Lions Dance

Introducing 5 Lions Dance slot from Pragmatic Play

5 Lions dance sees the developers at Pragmatic Play return to one of their favourite themes, which is Asian, and this slot provides Lions and several other symbols from this genre, although the slot is more subdued on all fronts. The slot plays out over 5-reels and offers a massive 1,024 ways to win. Set within a Chinese village in the middle of a festival, the reels which are sitting on a traditionally tiled roof surrounded by the same type of buildings, as is common in this type of slot. This slot will come as a surprise or shock for those who have only ever visited the Asian culture to discover glass skyscrapers and steel. The soundtrack fits the slot perfectly with its piano keys and flowing musicality.

Get your Reels Dancing

The slot can be played on any devices and the bet range starts from just 20p per spin to £100 per spin which is a good range that should appeal to numerous players. The developers have toned down the math model and this slot offers a more modest potential when compared with others of this type. When you open the pay table you will see the slot is classed as having medium volatility and it has a solid return to player rate of 96.5% however it is wise to check as this can be significantly lower depending where you play. When I tested the game, although I had periods of low and no wins, I did find that I returned to my original balance and even a profit over a period of play.

When it comes to landing wins, the developers decided to go for 1,024 ways to win system rather than fixed pay lines. Landing winning combinations of three to five of the same symbols are possible starting from the first reel on the left on any row. The system does not make the game flow better, however, it does compliment the symbol transformation feature which we will look at below.

Time for the Symbols

When it comes to the symbols these are divided into low and high payers. The low paying symbols are the usual playing card Royals whilst the higher paying symbols are represented by the Lion heads. There are five Lions heads of various colours and they will pay you 4x to 20x your stake when you land five of the kind. Finally, the wild in this slot which is represented by the golden ball and can substitute for all the symbols except the bonus scatter to create winning combinations.

Features explained

There are two features that are at the centre of this slot, these being the lion reel bonus and the free spins. The lion reel bonus is triggered when you land three or more lion reel symbols on the same spin. Once you do, the first 2 reels will combine into a lion reel with these special reels display multipliers of 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 75x, 100x, 150x or 200x. The reels will spin once and whichever value they stop on is applied to your total bet and then paid out.

The second feature is the 10 free spins which you will be rewarded with if you land three scatter symbols which are represented by the drum on your 1st, 3rd, and 5th reels. On every free spin your wins are calculate first and then should you land another win all the lion haired symbols will be transformed into the same matching lion to provide you with an extra pay out. This feature is often responsible for providing some of the best wins in the game. The scatter symbols are also part of this feature and if you land three in view you will be rewarded with a further 10 free spins and there are no set limits on how many times this can occur.

Closing Thoughts

It would be easy to dismiss this slot as a generic Asian themed lightweight game. The kind of game that gets overlooked or forgotten about. However, this is a well-presented game and great to play. Personally, I would see this as a steady slot rather than an all or nothing style, and it is perfect for novice players and all of those who do not want to risk everything on the table. When it comes to positive factors the math model provides some high inertia, and when I played, I found that my balance was where I started although it had moved backwards and forwards during play.

With regards to activating the free spins I did find this slot to be a little all over the place, as sometimes they would trigger within a reasonable amount of time whilst at other times I had to endure many spins to see a Free spin make an appearance. True to form, the free spins appeared to bring my balance back to where I started. The gameplay is saved by the 1,024 ways to win and it is this that prevents the base game from being utterly boring and works very well transforming the symbol feature in the bonus round. Using the 1,024 ways to win made the feature far more potent and I did manage to land 2,700x my stake which I think was very impressive.

5 Lions Dance it is not the most exciting slot I have ever played, but it is well designed and presented, offers solid ways to win and is an enjoyable way to unwind, kick back and relax. I would rate this slot as a 6.5/10 and well worth giving a spin or two.