Ingots of Cai Shen is a 5×3 reel slot on the Microgaming casino website. The developer is the Estonia-based team at All41 Studios. They’ve been making casino games since May 2019 and signed a deal with Microgaming shortly afterward, demonstrating the behemoth’s confidence in this studio and their games.
Video Ingots of Cai Shen™ – Microgaming
The colours of Ingots of Cai Shen are, unsurprisingly, red and gold. Anyone who has played East Asian-themed casino games will recognize the traditional red for luck and gold for money. And while this isn’t original, slot has kept the colours deep and jewel-toned rather than loud and flashy.
Ingots of Cai Shen’s music is a catchy Asian drum theme that we found exciting but not intrusive. The sounds change with wins to become more dramatic, which adds to the fun.
Cai Shen is the Chinese god of wealth and the main character of Ingots of Cai Shen, a smiling, dancing man in traditional garb holding a gold ingot who laughs when you win.
Playing Ingots of Cai Shen
The slot betting range is 0.10 to 100 credits, which should be enough to please risk-takers and cautious players alike.
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There are 243 ways to win Ingots of Cai Shen, with a wide variety of patterns available that run across the reels from left to right. The total payout is the sum of all ways from a single spin. The RTP for Ingots of Cai Shen is 96.42%, and the volatility is high. The maximum win is 1,000x the stake, which is a bit lower than many games.
Ingots of Cai Shen Symbols and Features
Slot has the usual royal symbols, and then the higher paying themed symbols: Paper Lanterns, Gold Koi Fish, Gold Bells, Gold Coins (the scatter symbols), and Gold Ingots.
Other Ingots of Cai Shen special symbol features include:
- Scatters - gold coins, and when three scatters land, you win eight free spins. They have no payout on their own.
- Respins - if you land three scatters during the free spins, it will retrigger the free spins.
- Free spins with nudges - this is a great bonus where any Gold Ingots that land in reel one will be nudged to fill the whole reel, which sets off the Cai Shen cash collection Feature.
The Ingots of Cai Shen cash collecting bonus, the Cai Shen Feature, is the most prominent and frequent bonus that appeared while we were playing. This bonus can be triggered by landing three ingot symbols on the first reel or can occur randomly with a “Luck has Arrived” announcement. The god of wealth will suddenly disappear and reappear in the first row of slots, which then becomes a row of three ingots.
Once the first reel fills with ingots, these stick and the remaining reels continue to spin, and the ingots stick as they land, increasing the win. Filling the screen with ingots will award you the Mega Jackpot of 1,000x the stake.
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Even if you don’t win the Mega Jackpot, you’ll collect cash on all ingots that land and have the chance to win several smaller jackpots:
- Mini Jackpot - 25x your bet
- Minor Jackpot - 50x your bet
- Major Jackpot - 250x your bet.
Overall, slot is enjoyable and worth your time, even with the lower maximum payout. The base game is entertaining enough to keep you playing, and the bonus features kept it exciting with plenty of free spins, the respin trigger, and the nudge feature. For those players who enjoy the East-Asian Theme, it’s visually pleasing, and the Cai Shen Feature is a lot of fun when “luck arrives.”