Chests of Cai Shen

Chests of Cai Shen is an Asian-themed slot that immerses players in a tranquil Chinese village nestled in the mountains. The game's central character is Cai Shen, the God of Wealth in Chinese mythology, who is revered in both Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Accompanying Cai Shen are various animal symbols, including mythical creatures like Kim Quy (the golden turtle) and Jin Chan (the money toad).

The slot's visual design features a serene landscape with a small lake in the foreground and mountains in the background. Traditional Chinese music and sound effects enhance the atmospheric experience. While Pragmatic Play has developed several Asian-themed slots before, Chests of Cai Shen focuses specifically on the treasure chests that can trigger bonus features.

Core Game Mechanics

Chests of Cai Shen is built on a 5×3 reel structure with 25 fixed paylines. Winning combinations are formed by landing three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. The game offers a betting range from 0.25 to 250 credits per spin, accommodating both casual players and high rollers.

The paytable consists of lower-value royal symbols (10, J, Q, K, A) and higher-value themed symbols including a koi fish, a rooster, the golden turtle, the money toad, and Cai Shen himself. Five matching high-value symbols award payouts ranging from 1.2x to 2x the total bet.

Wild symbols appear on the reels, substituting for all regular symbols to help create winning combinations. The game's volatility is rated as high (5/5), indicating the potential for significant but less frequent payouts.

Chests of Cai Shen's main attraction is its Chest Respin feature, which can be triggered in multiple ways and with various modifiers:

1. Colored Coin Bonuses:
   • Green “Prosperity” Coin: When collected, it can randomly activate the Chest Respin feature. During respins, up to three Money symbols may have their values upgraded randomly.
   • Red “Double” Coin: This can trigger the Chest Respin feature played on two 5×3 grids simultaneously. Both grids start with the same triggering Bonus Coins transformed into Money symbols.
   • Purple “Longevity” Coin: When activated, it triggers the Chest Respin feature with an extra respin, resetting up to 4 respins instead of the standard 3.
2. Chest Respin Feature:
   • Triggered by Colored Coins or through the Feature Buy option.
   • Only Money symbols and blank spaces appear during this feature.
   • Money symbols display values from 0.6x to 30x the bet, or show Mini (10x), Minor (20x), or Major (150x) jackpot prizes.
   • The feature begins with 3 respins (or 4 with the Purple Coin bonus).
   • Landing new Money symbols resets the spin count.
   • The round ends when respins are exhausted or all positions are filled.
   • Filling all positions awards the Grand prize of 5,000x the bet.
3. Feature Buy:
   • Players can purchase direct entry to the Chest Respin feature.
   • 50x bet: Triggers the feature with 1, 2, or 3 random modifiers.
   • 100x bet: Guarantees all 3 modifiers for the Chest Respin feature.

Interesting Feature

A notable aspect of Chests of Cai Shen is its innovative approach to the hold-and-win mechanic. By introducing three distinct modifiers (Prosperity, Double, and Longevity) that can be combined, the game adds layers of strategy and excitement to the bonus round. This system allows for varied gameplay experiences within the same feature, potentially leading to more engaging and rewarding bonus sessions.