Max Win Gaming’s Ali Baba’s Luck slot machine had scarcely been released before the Megaways version appeared. Partner Red Tiger’s possession of a Big Time Gaming license allowed for a speedy update to the 1,001 Arabian Nights-themed game. The outcome is a mashup of features from several eras, a sort of slot machine Silk Road crossroads where traditional Book of Ra expanding symbols meet cutting-edge Megaways.
Since only a few months separated the two iterations of Ali Baba’s Luck, it is unsurprising that there is little visual difference between them. Even though technological development is accelerating rapidly, not enough time has passed to warrant significant advancements. A few minor ones can be found. The camera has zoomed out slightly to show more of the pastel pink and purple room, but otherwise the picture is virtually same. It appears that the housekeeper has also come to add flowers to the edges of the room. An equally exotic, Arabian score drifts subtly in the background, spiking the action at key moments.
The 6-reel Megaways grid in the center of the room is the most striking new feature. Although it generates more symbols and win methods than its predecessor, its appearance is that of a smaller machine. There are now up to 15,625 possible winning combinations, with each reel holding anything from two to five symbols (the exact number varies with each spin). Instead of a cascade or response element, Max Win Gaming has introduced a growing symbol dynamic after victories. See below for details.
Playable from 20 p/c up to merely $/€4 a spin, the potential is huge, reaching up to 20,000 times your investment in this game and others like it from Red Tiger and its partners. Although the volatility is quite high, the default RTP of 96.09% is not awful. With a 5/5 hit rate, winnings are common, but triggering the free spins feature might be difficult with a 1/5 frequency. Because of the way the RTP is distributed in Ali Baba’s Luck Megaways, there is a chance of long periods of inactivity between bonus rounds, therefore patience is required.
Two high pays or three lows must appear next to each other on the first reel for a win. Even if this doesn’t set off cascades, it does trigger still another function. There are four high pays after the low pays, which are a collection of standard 9-A royals. A ring, a vase, “the girl” (Morgiana) from the game, and Ali Baba himself make up these. Wins for six of a kind are worth 3x to 25x the original bet. Anyone who enjoys spinning with the help of a wild will be disappointed that the Genie isn’t included. They were cut to make room for other, more important components of Ali Baba’s Luck Megaways.
Slot Functions of Ali Baba’s Megaways
No matter what game mode you’re in, base or bonus, you can use the expanding symbols. A bar containing the various pay icons runs vertically across the top of the reels. When a player gets a winning combination, the corresponding section of the bar illuminates and the winning symbols grow to fill the entire reel on the following spin.
If a winning combination can be made with the golden symbols that land, they will grow to fill the entire reel. Expanded reels, like those in other Ra-themed games, pay in any position—they need not be contiguous. Since many golden symbols might land in a single spin, expansion occurs sequentially as wins are calculated. In the regular game, golden symbols will return to their natural appearance on the next spin.
The Lucky Round is triggered when three treasure box scatter symbols appear on the reels. In the Lucky Round, a spinning wheel can reward anywhere from 4 to 16 bonus Dream Spins. Each additional symbol delivers +4 Dream Spins if more than one treasure chest was required to initiate the feature. In Dream Spins, if a sign is transformed into a golden symbol, it will remain in that form until the bonus game is over. It is theoretically possible for any sign to transform into a growing one, but doing so would need phenomenal good fortune.
The Verdict on Ali Baba’s Megaways Slot Machine
Players can’t get enough of Book of Ra slots, and the industry can’t produce them fast enough. Megaways, another behemoth in the slots industry, was certain to eventually come across their path. There have been previous examples, of course. Blueprint Gaming’s Legacy of Ra Megaways got the gun earlier. Fortuna of Ali Baba Megaways is an option, though, because expanding symbols are frequently used after victories in the primary game.
More isn’t always better, especially if it means sacrificing quality in order to provide features like expanding symbols that appear frequently. Bonus games provide a distinct type of excitement since, for one thing, the value of individual symbols is substantially smaller than in standard ‘Book of’ slots. While it’s true that you may win thousands of times on a single spin, the thrill here is different from that of a standard Book slot machine. The maximum payout, however, remains unchanged at 20,336 times the wager.
However, Megaways from Ali Baba’s Luck still seem like overkill. Despite offering Ra fans a new option to test, the first one doesn’t appear to have achieved much appreciation. However, the Megaways branding does tend to boost attention, and Ali Baba’s Luck Megaways does provide more chances for amusement and huge winnings than the original, so let’s see whether it’s a winning combination.
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