China Mystery Slot Machine
- Bonus Features:
- Coin Values $/£/€:0.01
- Max Coins:
- Max Per Spin $/£/€:150.00
- Winning Lines:
- Wild Symbol:Yes
- Scatter:
- Progressive:No
- Software:
China Mystery Slot For many years, online slot machines have provided a very unique take on the different cultures around the world, bringing players tales of legends and myths that otherwise would not be told. China Shores is the first of many new releases slated to come from Konami, with the renowned land based developer having already laid out plans for an aggressive schedule. You can see what it is all about with real cash and bonuses up for grabs by heading over to the casinos featured at the top of this review, which are among the biggest. China Mystery Slot Machine China Mystery is a 5-reel 30-payline video slot brought to you by Konami and can be played in Las Vegas casinos as well as here (for free). The game draws inspiration from Chinese tradition, with Chinese symbols, golden turtles, porcelain jars and lanterns representing high-value symbols.
An Asian Inspired Slot where Free Spins are Gold
The China Mystery slot machine takes you to the Far East where you’ll find a series of symbols all relating to the region. On the reels you’ll find a golden tortoise, an ancient vase and a Chinese lantern. The ‘mystery’ in the title might refer to the mysterious looking lady in black who frequents the reels as the wild. Look out for the ‘Action Stacked Symbols’ system, where one symbol is chosen at random to fill the reels.
The highlight of China Mystery is the free spins bonus round where you can land 15 spins on each win line. When you figure there are 30-win lines, this could lead to a mammoth 450 free spins!
The Base Game and Winning Symbols
This Konami designed 5-reel slot pays from left to right. Take away the wild and the scatter and you’ll find a total of 10 ‘standard’ symbols. The highest paying symbol of these is a Chinese inscription in gold on a red background. Hit this symbol five times in a row on a win line and you’ll win 1,000 coins – the only four-figure win in the game. The golden tortoise is the next highest paying symbol. Look closely and you’ll see the creature arching his head up to the sky, perhaps praying for a win. Five tortoises in a row pay 500 coins. The ancient blue vase has a top prize of 250 coins, which is matched by the pink coloured Chinese Lantern.
At the lower end of the pay table you’ll find six playing card symbols. These are all different in colour and range from 9 through to Ace, with a top win of 150 coins (for both the Ace and the King).
Action Stacked Symbols
Before every spin takes place the ‘Action Stacked Symbols’ kick in. Each reel contains a number of adjacent (or stacked) positions which will all be replaced by the same symbol. This random symbol can be any of the symbols above as well as the scatter. With these randomly assigned stacked symbols, you can find the same symbol dominating the reels. This can in turn lead to wins across many of the 30 win-lines.
The final symbol in the game is the wild, represented by the mysterious looking lady. This wild appears on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5 and will substitute for any other symbol in the game apart from the scatter.
Multiple Free Spin Opportunities
The feature available in China Mystery is a free spins bonus round. To activate this feature, you’ll need to land 3, 4 or 5 scatter symbols in a row on a win line. This will give you 8, 10 or 15 free spins respectively. This is possible at any time, but is most likely when the scatter (represented by a gold coin) is chosen as the random symbol of ‘Action Stacked Symbols’ system. The good news is that you can win up to 15 spins on EACH win line. The dream scenario could find you looking at 450 spins – this is a tough ask, but you will regularly find yourself looking at some large numbers.
Do you want some more good news? Every win you land during the feature is doubled! Even more good news? The feature can be retriggered during the free spins.
If you prefer to save time, you can take a random fixed amount cash win instead of the free spins. This isn’t the most exciting option, but it’s ideal if you’re short of time.
Mysteries of the Orient – China Mystery Design
China Mystery is framed by a deep, electric blue frame showing an ornate pattern above the reels. The small dark green title sits above the reels on a rail of gold, framed by golden dragons at either end. The reels, in contrast, have a pale green background, while the mix of symbols add a nice range of colour. The design is a little basic in comparison to many other more modern looking slots, although the animation with the female wild symbol is very effective. The basic soundtrack works, but isn’t representative of the Chinese theme.
Mystery or History?
Like many other designers, Konami have come up with another slot with the tried and trusted Far Eastern theme. While this clearly works, it can mean that many of the games are similar and this applies here. Nevertheless, there are parts of this game that stand out. The ‘Action Stacked Symbols’ system is the best aspect of the game, offering both large wins and the opportunity to land an incredible feature.
China Mystery is one of the most popular video slot machines you’ll find in any casino. The game is owned & manufactured by Konami Gaming and it comes in a variety of platforms.
In casinos, you’ll find the China Mystery in standalone cabinets like most slot machines. You’ll also find it as part of the massive multi-machine progressive game Titan 360, which is available in less than 10 casinos around the country. Another place you might come across the China Mystery machine is outside of casinos as part of the popular MyVegas Facebook game and mobile app.
There will be a different amount of pay lines depending on which configuration and denomination of China Mystery you play. There are 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-line versions of the game available. Similarly, you’ll find multiple denominations of China Mystery ranging from $0.01 to $1 per credit. You’ll find the penny slot machine version of this video slot machine on the main casino floor while the quarter and dollar denominations are often found in high limit rooms. Depending on the casino you visit you may also find a nickel version.
China Mystery is somewhat of an anomaly in casinos today. It doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles that you’ll find with some newer slot games. Despite the lack of crazy bright lights and loud noises, the game is still fun to play because of its familiarity and the simplicity of gameplay. China Mystery can be considered a classic video slot machine in a similar way that Wheel of Fortune is considered a classic reel slot machine.
China Mystery Bonuses
Bonuses with China Mystery are fairly simple. There’s only one way to earn a bonus with this video slot game. You simply need to line up at least 3 bonus symbols per pay line to earn free games. What turns the bonuses from simplistic and boring to awesome is the fact that you can win up to 15 free bonus games per active pay line. If you have 25 active pay lines in play you can win up to 450 free bonus games if you fill every video reel with the bonus symbol.
After playing China Mystery often it doesn’t seem as though the bonus games are difficult to come by. Then again that could be memory bias as this is one of the more highly volatile slot machines from Konami Gaming. Bonus free games are helpful to winning big jackpots.
Some versions of China Mystery offer progressive bonuses but they’re not very high. The progressive jackpots aren’t the Wide Area Progressives that tie in games from multiple casinos that you’ll find in Wheel of Fortune and some other slot machines. The progressive jackpots are offered on fewer machines and, therefore, have smaller jackpots.
China Mystery Jackpots
There aren’t any fancy bonus games with China Mystery so your jackpots come from big wins in the base game or free bonus games that play the same as the base game. The free bonus games don’t have any multipliers so you’ll receive the same wins in free bonus games as you would during regular games. The biggest max bet wins may pay more than a grand prize win in the progressive jackpots offered in some of the games.
The reels in many video slot machines often have randomly placed symbols on each reel but that’s not always the case with China Mystery. Reels have stripes of symbols appearing together and it can look as though a jackpot is right around the corner. Jackpots aren’t easy to come by when playing penny slot machines but when they hit it’s quite a site. The striping of symbols allows for a cover all effect with the same symbol appearing on each of the video reels and this pays out handsomely.
When you have the potential for 450 free games and cover all wins you have the potential for a magical hand pay jackpot. The biggest jackpots in China Mystery have a little fireworks show which psychologically can make jackpots feel even bigger.
Similar Games to China Mystery
The gameplay for China Mystery is so popular that it has spawned a few games that play like it. If you’re looking for a video slot machine with similar gameplay as China Mystery but with a different theme you can look for Mayan Chief, Lago Di Amore and Roman Tribune. The casinos often place these games near one another so they shouldn’t be too difficult to locate.