How To Win On Gifts of Fortune Slot - Features & Mechanics

You may wonder why we're so hung up on those paper envelopes, but there's a good reason for it, and once you fire up the game, you'll know it after just a handful of spins. But first, the very raw base game responsible for all the regular fortune. As with many other Megawaysᵀᴹ slots, we're dealing with a 6-reel grid where symbols on each reel are randomized between 2 and 7, producing a different number of ways on every spin. On top of that, the mechanism is cascading (or "reacting", as BTG calls it), meaning that all successful combinations disappear, making room for more symbols. Lastly, there's a horizontal reel at the top, where you can land the red packets acting as Wilds and supplying one more neat mechanism.

Fortune Prizes

Right after you hit several regular wins, you'll notice that golden coins appear underneath the exploding symbols. They carry a cash value, which size depends on your active bet, and on most occasions, they will fall without granting any reward. That's where the envelopes come into play. As mentioned, you can only score them on the extra reel, and when you do, every coin revealed after the successful combination disappears will be collected there. As long as the reaction chain keeps going, or until the envelope reaches position one on the extra reel and contributes to a score, all instant prizes land in the red pocket and fuel up your total win for that cascading sequence. 

Additionally, the Treasure Pot in which the coins land may acquire a random multiplier up to x10, which will apply to all collected envelopes. On top of all that, let's not forget there are 4 positions on the horizontal reel, meaning you can land more than one packet simultaneously. When that happens, each will attract all visible prizes, doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling the outcome.

Gifts of Fortune Free Spins & Enhanced Free Spins

Landing 3 or more Scatters activates 10 free spins, plus 2 extra for every additional Scatter. If one of the special symbols is a Megascatter, an enhanced version of the bonus round will trigger. In the regular mode, the gameplay progresses similarly to the base game, except for the multiplier in the Treasure Pot, which is now persistent and increases by 1 for every red packet appearing on the horizontal reel. Like in most other games from the Australian studio, the growth is unlimited. The enhanced variant guarantees the appearance of at least one envelope on every spin, significantly speeding up the multiplier increment. It's possible to partially retrigger the bonus in both modes by landing 3 Scatters that award 4 extra spins, plus 2 for each additional beyond the third.

Gifts of Fortune On Mobile

The slot is available in the latest HTML5 technology on all mobile devices in landscape and portrait modes. The former is nothing else than a copy of the desktop view, with all elements identically distributed on the screen. The portrait version doesn't bring any ingenuity to the design, as it's just the same frame squeezed into the narrow viewport. We can't help but think that sacrificing parts of the reel cage on the sides to expose the symbols would result in a slightly better mobile experience.

Final Thoughts

Handling Chinese themes in slots usually equals following the same ground rules - plenty of red, gold, and traditional decoration elements in the form of lanterns, paper cuts, and dragons. A studio may dare to venture beyond those frames, but by doing so, it risks a mixed reception from the target audience. Big Time Gaming apparently understands that concept flawlessly because the setting in Gifts of Fortune emanates the classic Chinese feel without taking as much as a half-step outside the traditional Asian zone. The animated background is incredibly thoughtful, with paper-cut clouds flowing across the view as if pulled on strings during an amateur theatrical play and crinkled flower discs rotating lazily between them. The reel frame and symbols brim with an oriental atmosphere, presenting high-paying symbols as gold statues of animals (well, except for the dragon) closely connected with Chinese symbolism. From those, we move on to the titular gifts, which take the form of coins hidden in red envelopes, and the connection couldn't be more consistent. Tying the game's primary and most significant feature with a genuine custom enriches the experience and forms an unbreakable bond between the theme and the mechanics. The red packet functionality also feels rewarding and frequent, turning every win into a potential surprise, not to mention its outstanding potential in free spins and their enhanced version. Gifts of Fortune is a perfect choice for players who enjoy the classic Asian aura, and it should also hit the spot for anyone who appreciates ingenious mechanics with a solid win potential reaching nearly 14,000 times the bet.