Barb’s Best Bet: Ring In The Chinese New Year With 88 Fortunes!

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Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 was not only day 1 of the first long holiday weekend of the year but also the start of the Chinese New Year. It’s a celebration that continues for two weeks. That makes February an especially lucky month for NJ Gambling Website readers and the perfect time to celebrate with two fantastic NJ online slots–88 Fortunes and 88 Fortunes Megaways.

Either one or both of these action-packed games would be a fitting choice to bid farewell to the Year of the Pig and see what the Year of the Ox has in store.

This article describes both games. But the one I think most of you will prefer is the original 88 Fortunes. The main reason why is that besides being great fun to play and having a very high return to player, you have a chance to win any of four jackpots.  It’s Barb’s Best Bet for the holiday weekend.

8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Is it yours?

The title of this slot is apropos. First and foremost, there are four jackpots up for grabs, so if you’re lucky, you can indeed win a fortune.

Secondly, the number 8 plays a prominent role in this slot game, as the minimum amount you can bet is not one coin but eight coins, and the maximum is 88 coins.

In fact, the optimal way to play this game is to bet 88 coins on every spin because that’s what you need to do to have a chance to win any of the four jackpots, including the mega jackpot.

88 Fortunes Basics

88 Fortunes is an online video slot created by SG Interactive and Shuffle Master. It consists of 5 reels, 3 rows, and rather than a fixed number of paylines like most slots, 243 ways to win.

But for avid, action-loving slot players, the more ways to win the better, so the same manufacturers now also offer the sequel 88 Fortune Megaways with 7 reels, a Cascading Reels feature, and a mind-boggling 117,649 ways to win! I’ll tell you more about that game and its special features later.

In both games, all you need to form a winning combination is for three or more matching symbols to line up on adjacent reels from left to right, starting with reel 1. It doesn’t matter which payline the symbols are on.

It’s nice to see that the Chinese theme is well represented in these slots in both the choice of symbols and the upbeat Oriental music.  There’s even a gong sound to accompany your bigger wins. But you certainly don’t have to be Chinese to enjoy playing.

These brightly colored slots with red and gold the two predominant colors have been carefully designed to make you feel good with every spin you take. But especially when the screen lights up with a big win and gold coins are flying all over the place, the effect is magical.

Will you hit the jackpot?

The ultimate dream of any slot player is to hit the jackpot, Lots of slot games offer that possibility, but for players who are concerned about their bankroll, they can be an expensive proposition.

Much more often than not, in exchange for the potential for a mega-size payout that’s an extreme longshot, the game will reduce the frequency of other payouts, and/or the overwhelming majority of “winning” combinations won’t even pay enough to cover your bet size. So, the bottom line is that even when you think you’re winning, your bankroll keeps going down.

88 Fortunes Megaways does not offer any jackpots.  But the original 88 Fortunes does, and with much better odds than most jackpot slots. Its return to player (RTP), instead of being below average for NJ online slots is well above average.  There’s no progressive jackpot, but instead, you can win any of four fixed jackpots—a Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand Jackpot.

Regardless of how long you play, the amount of each jackpot does not increase. It is based solely on your bet size. Therefore, your best shot at winning a really big jackpot is to bet big—but only if you can afford it.

If you win the Grand Jackpot while only playing with 1 cent coins, you will win $2,000. If you win the Grand Jackpot while playing with $1 coins, you will win $200,000!

However, no matter what coin size you have selected, to maximize your chances, you must bet 88 coins on every spin. If you bet less than 88 coins per spin, while you can win a lesser jackpot, you have no shot at winning the Grand Jackpot. You can check the display in the upper right part of the screen to see exactly what each jackpot will pay.

88 Fortunes bet range

You don’t have to be a high roller to play these games. In fact, you can select a coin size starting with as little as .01. Or, if you prefer, you can choose any of the following larger coin sizes: .02. .03, .06, .10, .20, .30, .60, or $1.00.

But here’s the catch.  The cost of each spin must be a minimum of eight coins. In other words, the actual minimum bet is not 1 cent but 8 cents

Moreover, in order to be eligible for each jackpot, including the Grand Jackpot, you must multiply whatever coin size you decide upon by 88. This makes the minimum bet per spin .88 and the maximum bet per spin $88.

Although you can bet less than 88 coins, (by choosing to play at level 1, 2, 3, or 4 rather than level 5), it is not a good strategy. You will forfeit any chance you might have otherwise to win the top jackpot. If you need to reduce your bet size, the best way to do it is to select a smaller coin size so you can still bet 88 units.

Alternatively, if you’re not sure what would be a good bet size for you, or if you simply want to get a better feel for the game before you risk real money, you can play for free in demo mode.

88 Fortunes RTP and volatility

As mentioned, many slots that offer a jackpot have a mediocre RTP. That is the price you have to pay in return for the opportunity to chase what could be a ginormous windfall.

However, 88 Fortunes, with an RTP of 96.00 percent, is the exception.

Therefore, as long as you play within your means and don’t overbet your bankroll, you shouldn’t have a problem. You should be able to stay in the game and be sufficiently capitalized to play again even if you’re not a big winner.

This slot also has medium volatility. That means there is enough variation in the results from one spin to the next to keep the game interesting but not so much that the risk of huge negative bankroll swings becomes a major concern.

By the way, 88 Fortunes Megaways, which doesn’t offer any jackpots but instead offers many thousands of ways to win, has an even higher RTP of 96.36 percent. It also has medium volatility.

Which NJ online casinos offer 88 Fortunes and 88 Fortunes Megaways?

You can play both games on your computer or currently used iOS or Android mobile devices. They are available on the following NJ gambling websites:

• Betfair
• BetMGM
• Borgata
• Caesars
• DraftKings (88 Fortunes only)
• 888 (88 Fortunes Megaways only)
• Golden Nugget
• Hard Rock
• Harrah’s (88 Fortunes only)
• Mohegan Sun
• Party
• PlaySugarHouse (88 Fortunes only)
• Resorts
• Unibet

88 Fortunes Symbols

This game includes 11 regular symbols, a wild symbol, and a bonus symbol.

Regular Symbols

The five higher paying regular symbols are easy to recognize because all of them are gold. They are listed below in descending order of value.

• Bird
• Ship
• Turtle
• Pile of gold ingots
• Chinese dollar

We already mentioned that in order to be eligible to win any of the four jackpots, you must select bet level 5 and bet 88 coins at a time. Another important reason to bet in this manner is that you need to do so to have all five of the higher paying regular symbols in play.

The remaining six lower paying regular symbols are the playing cards 9-A.

Wild Symbol

A Fu Bat icon (a Chinese character) is the wild symbol for this game. It is a gold symbol with an intricate red background.

It can only appear on reels 2, 3, and 4. But it is capable of substituting for any other symbol, including the bonus symbol, to help form winning combinations or trigger the Free Games feature. It can even randomly trigger the Fu Bat Jackpot Game.

Bonus Symbol

The bonus symbol is a gong.  When three or more of these symbols land simultaneously on adjacent reels starting with reel 1, you will trigger the Free Games feature.

88 Fortunes Special Features

88 Fortunes includes two special features, which not only make the game a lot more exciting, but open the door for some potentially spectacular wins.

Free Games Feature

In order to trigger the Free Games feature, three or more bonus symbols (or wild symbols) need to line up on consecutive reels starting with reel 1.

Getting four or five bonus symbols won’t award you with extra spins. You get the same 10 free spins that you get for three bonus symbols. However, during the free spins, all of the low paying playing card symbols are removed, so you have a better chance for high payouts.

The Free Games feature can be retriggered.

Fu Bat Jackpot Feature

If you’re very lucky, like I was when I played in demo mode betting the $88 max, one or more wild symbols will trigger the Fu Bat Jackpot Game.

This game is played on a different screen displaying 12 gold coins. Each coin hides a certain mystery symbol, Your task is to keep picking one coin at a time until you get three matching symbols.

The type of symbol you match will determine your prize–a Mini, Minor, Major, or Grand Jackpot.

Unless you have been making big bets, the mini and minor jackpots won’t pay much.  But one great thing about the Fu Bat Jackpot feature that you can take to the bank is that everybody who triggers this feature is guaranteed to win something. No one walks away empty-handed.

88 Fortunes Megaways: An exciting new way to play online slots

This game might not be every player’s cup of tea, and keep in mind that while the original 88 Fortunes has four fixed jackpots up for grabs, this slot game doesn’t have any. But the more adventurous players among you who would welcome an exciting change from the traditional might want to give 88 Fortunes Megaways a try.

The theme is the same, and so are most of the symbols. But having taken away the added lure of the Fu Bat Jackpot feature, what does 88 Fortune Megaways offer you instead? 117,649 ways to win, made possible by adding two extra reels a Cascading Reels feature, and multipliers to your Free Spins!

88 Fortunes Megaways basics

Instead of the far more traditional five reels and three rows, this slow has six main reels and four rows. On any given spin, reels 1 and 6 can each reveal 2-7 different symbols while reels 2-5 can each reveal 2-6 different symbols per spin.

The 4th row in this slot is actually a bottom reel that spins horizontally rather than vertically. As if you don’t already have enough potential for lots of winning combinations on the main reels, the extra reel gives you even more by acting as an extra row for reels 2-5.

Winning combinations are formed in the same way as in 88 Fortunes. You need three or more matching symbols (which can include a wild symbol substitute) to appear anywhere on consecutive reels starting with reel 1.

88 Fortunes Megaways bet size

This game uses the same range of coin sizes as 88 Fortunes. Also, as in 88 Fortunes, the optimal way to play is to make each bet 88 coins.  You need to bet this much to have all five of the high paying gold regular symbols in play. If you use the minimum coin size of 1 cent, your cost per spin is 88 cents. If you use the maximum coin size of $1, your cost per spin is $88.

88 Fortunes Megaways symbols

Whereas 88 Fortunes gives you a total of 13 symbols, this game adds four more, for a grand total of 17.

Regular symbols

Just like in 88 Fortunes, the five highest paying regular symbols, all of which are gold.  In descending order of value, they are as follows:

• Bird
• Ship
• Turtle
• Pile of gold ingots
• Chinese dollar

However, each of these symbols except the Chinese dollar can also appear in a different color. These non-gold symbols are worth considerably less than their gold counterparts. In fact, they pay no more than the playing cards 9-A.

That’s a bummer. But there’s an easy way to get rid of all of those low paying non-gold symbols, and that’s to bet the maximum number of 88 coins per spin.

Wild symbol

The wild symbol is–you guessed it–the Fu Bat. In this game, it can only appear on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The Fu Bat is capable of substituting for any other symbol except the scatter symbol

In addition, it can randomly trigger the Picker feature (described below).

 Scatter symbol

The scatter symbol is a gong. This symbol can appear on any of the six main reels but not the extra reel at the bottom of the screen. However, one, two, or even three of them won’t do anything for you. You need four or more gong scatter symbols to appear simultaneously anywhere on consecutive reels starting with reel 1 to trigger the potentially highly lucrative Free Spins feature.

88 Fortunes Megaways special features

We can’t guarantee that you’ll win a fortune playing 88 Fortunes Megaways. But one thing we can guarantee is that the action is nonstop. There’s never a dull moment because this game comes loaded with special features, including all of the following:

Cascading Reels feature

Each time you form a paying combination,  it could be the start of a long string of wins. That’s because each symbol contributing to the win explodes, leaving an empty space for a new symbol to cascade down from above. This exciting feature continues until no new winning combinations can be formed.

Picker feature

Whenever one or more Fu Bat wild symbols appear on the reels, coins are added to the Coin Pot. Also, at that point, the Picker Feature can be randomly activated.

At the start of the Picker feature, you will be taken to a new screen displaying 15 coins. You will be asked to keep picking coins until you get three of a kind, which will reveal your reward.

The possible rewards include 10, 12, or 15 Free Spins with a 6x, 4x, or 2x multiplier, respectively.

Free Spins feature

If you trigger this feature during the base game, depending on whether 4, 5, or 6 gong scatter symbols land on the reels, you will receive 8, 10, or 12 Free Spins, respectively.

If you trigger the Free Spins this way rather than via the Picker feature, you always start with just a 1x multiplier. However, with every win, the multiplier will go up by one.

While the Free Spins are in progress, you can retrigger the feature by getting 3 or more scatter symbols to land properly on the reels. Depending on the total number of scatter symbols—3, 4, 5, or 6–you will trigger 8, 10, 12, or 15 Free Spins, respectively.

The bottom line

There you have it—two exciting online slots that can elevate your Chinese New Year celebration (and your bankroll) to a whole new level.