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There was a time when slot games used to have just a single pay line across the middle. Then that increased to a couple or three, then five and then nine and when the online slots gaming industry really began to take hold, we saw slots with 15, 20 and 25 pay lines. Soon that became 50 and then the ground-breaking 243 Ways to Win slot was born.
Since then the number of ways to win across the reels has increased, with some games now offering 512 or even 1024 ways to win. However, the Tiger and Dragon slot from Red Rake Gaming, released in 2019, is pushing the boundaries of what is possible by offering a staggering 1 Million Ways to Win across the reels. That is certainly a number of potential wins that I have not come across before in all my years of slot gaming.
Of course, that many ways to win requires a bigger than average reel set and so in Tiger and Dragon we have six reels in play and there are 10 symbols visible on each reel. Some quick math means that there are 60 symbols on screen on every spin, which is how you get to have a million ways to win across the reels.
This sounds ambitious and the question is, does the Tiger and Dragon slot manage to pull it off without becoming unnecessarily complicated, too difficult to play or offering too few wins? We decided to take a look at this innovative slot and find out.
Overview
Where can I play the Tiger and Dragon slot?
If you want to try your hand at the million ways to win Tiger and Dragon slot from Red Rake Gaming, then the place to head to enjoy this and a large number of other high-quality slot games is the Black Diamond Casino.
The reason for this is because not only do you have a fine selection of slots and other casino games to play but as a new customer, you will also benefit from a generous no deposit required bonus, where if you sign up and register, you will receive 25 Free Spins with which you can trial a number of different games available on site.
That is not all though as if you enjoy playing through your spins then you will be able to qualify for a huge 200% Matched Deposit Bonus on your first deposit. Then on your next few deposits, you can earn similar matched deposit bonuses to swell your coffers! At any point in your membership, if you refer a friend who also signs up and deposits, then you will receive a $50 bonus as a thank you, and you can redeem this bonus as many times as you are able.
Presentation
The presentation on the Tiger and Dragon slot is very nicely done but I don't think it is quite on a par with some of the company's more recent releases such as Marco Polo or Bonnie and Clyde. The graphical backdrop of the Great Wall of China tells you what the general theme of the slot is (Dragons and Tigers are key creatures in Chinese tradition) and it has been realized very nicely indeed with misty mountains in the distance with the wall running along them.
The reels have been set up in the middle of the screen and the fact it is a 6x10 reel set means that this is a large set of reels. They do dominate the screen (as they need to) and the controls for the slot are down the right hand side. All in all, it is easy to ascertain the slot without it being confusing, although those 6 reels and 10 rows do make it all look a little daunting, especially for newer slot players.
What's on the reels?
Of course, with a small number of symbols and a million pay lines, it is tempting to think that every spin would be a winner and indeed it would, but to counteract that, Tiger and Dragon has a trick up its sleeve.
The most common symbol on the reels is the Dragon and Tiger Roulette symbol. This symbol will likely cover between 50% and 75% of the reel spaces on each spin and unfortunately, it does not offer any wins at all. However, the number of symbols landed is collected and converted into a number which is then added to the meter on the left-hand side of the reel. Complete the meter and you can launch the Dragon and Tiger Roulette bonus.
The winning symbols start with the playing card low symbols and these range from the nine through to the ace. Alongside these six symbols, there are just four others, three of which are Chinese symbols (distinguishable by being different colors, blue, green and red) and there is the highest paying symbol, the Tiger and Dragon symbol. Symbols can appear stacked on the reels and this can increase the number of lines hit in a win.
When you land a standard symbol on the reel and it forms part of a win. The symbols will disappear and be replaced by new symbols from above as part of the Rolling Reels feature that is part of the Tiger and Dragon slot.
Alongside these standard symbols there are just a couple of others, the Wild and the Bonus symbol which are the keys to the slots main bonus features.
Wild features
The green Wild symbol is easy to spot, and this can appear on all of the reels and it acts solely as a substitute symbol. It does not substitute for the Tiger and Dragon Roulette symbol, nor does it replace the Bonus Scatter symbol either.
The Wild does not offer any multipliers on wins it completes in the base game.
Free Spins features
To trigger the Free Spins feature you need to land winning combinations. When you do, this activates parts of the Bonus Panel which is located on the left hand side of the reels. When you have activated all the different elements of the bonus panel, you will access Free Spins.
The most common way to do this is by landing five or more consecutive Rolling Reels wins in a row. By doing this, you will activate the Bonus panel in full and then trigger free spins. You can see on the progress bar how many free spins you have been awarded, with obviously more winning re-spins meaning you trigger more Free Spins.
In the Free Spins game, you spin the reels as you would in the base game, but every time you hit a Free Spin, a multiplier is applied to any wins you land. With each free spin, the multiplier increases by one and of course, you can trigger additional Free Spins from within the bonus game, which means you could in theory earn massive multipliers on some wins.
One nice touch is that if you trigger Free Spins you are guaranteed to win at least 15x your total bet as if you complete Free Spins and have won less than this amount, you will be given a further 5 additional spins until you win at least this amount, if not more.
Other bonus features
The other bonus feature on the Tiger and Dragon slot is the Roulette Mini Game. This is triggered when you fill the panel by collecting the non-winning Tiger and Dragon symbols in the base game. It can take some time to complete the progress bar, but when you do, you will then launch the Roulette mini game.
In this game, you have to choose whether you want the spin to end up with a Dragon Multiplier or a Tiger Multiplier. Each animal has the same multipliers available (2x, 4x, 8x and 20x) and if you spin and pick the correct animal, you will win the cash prize shown by the multiplier, which is based on your typical spend per spin.
If you pick the right animal, you can elect to keep spinning to try and increase the value of your spin. Up to a maximum win of 100x your bet. Of course, the flip side of this is that if you pick a losing spin, you lose any bonuses you have earned.
Best feature of the Tiger and Dragon slot
There is a huge amount packed into the Tiger and Dragon slot and while the 1 Million Ways to Win sounds like an amazing thing, with the vast majority of spaces on the reels taken up by non-winning symbols, you don't ever feel like your chances of winning are that great. As such, the Free Spins bonus is the real winner of the Tiger and Dragon slot, although it can be incredibly difficult to trigger at times. However when it does, you are guaranteed at least 15x your standard bet and can often win far in excess of that.
What does the Tiger and Dragon slot lack?
Odd as it may seem with a million ways to win across the reels, I feel this slot doesn't have enough wins. Those blocking symbols which are collected to trigger the roulette game are not a great feature of the game and they just simply hinder your chances of regular wins. I'd have rather doubled or even trebled the number of symbols in the game to try and vary things rather than having the blocking symbols, even with the associated bonus that comes along with it.
Conclusion
I was really excited to play the Tiger and Dragon slot when I heard what it had as the integral parts of the game but after spending a few sessions playing the game, I am a little underwhelmed. Yes it does have some great features, it is innovative and unusual and the million ways to win is a huge selling point, but in terms of actual enjoyment and risk versus reward, I don't think the balance is quite right just yet. It's either too much yin or too much yang for me. It does have immediate impact because it is so unusual but that excitement does wear off over time.
Ratings
Good Luck!
Next Offer: Bonnie and Clyde
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