Dragons Playground immerses players in a fantasy world where dragons reign supreme. The game is set against a backdrop of a dragon's treasure hoard, with piles of gold and precious artifacts scattered around. Two dragons, one red and one green, flank the reels, actively participating in the gameplay.
Unlike traditional Asian-themed dragon slots, Dragons Playground leans into the Western fantasy trope of dragons as treasure hoarders. This concept has roots in ancient mythologies, such as the Norse legend of Fafnir, a dwarf turned dragon due to his insatiable greed for gold.
The slot features a vibrant, cartoon-style aesthetic with rich, warm colors that create a cozy yet exciting atmosphere. The dragons are depicted as helpful creatures rather than menacing beasts, adding a friendly element to the game's theme.
Core Game and Mechanics
Dragons Playground operates on a 6-reel, 4-row grid with 4,096 ways to win. Winning combinations are formed by landing matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. The game employs an Avalanche feature, where winning symbols disappear and are replaced by new ones, potentially creating chain reactions of wins.
The slot's symbol set includes lower-value card royals (10-A) and higher-value fantasy items such as shields, rings, crowns, and treasure chests. Six-of-a-kind combinations with high-paying symbols award 3 to 10 times the bet, while low-pay symbols offer 1x to 2.5x for six matching symbols.
A unique aspect of the base game is the Cycle Rounds mechanic. Spins occur in cycles of 10, with a spin counter displayed in the top right corner of the screen. This system builds anticipation as players approach the 10th spin of each cycle, which triggers a special feature.
Bonus Features
- Flame Frames: Symbols may randomly appear with flames attached. When these flamed symbols are part of a winning combination and disappear, they leave behind a frame in their position. If a position is already framed, a new frame is added to a random position on the grid.
- Cycle Rounds: On the 10th spin of each cycle in the base game, all framed positions transform into wild symbols. This feature can lead to significant win potential, especially if numerous frames have accumulated during the cycle.
- Dragon's Breath: The dragon characters can randomly activate on any spin except the 10th spin of a Cycle Round. When triggered, they breathe fire onto the reels, adding wild symbols to random positions.
- Wild Symbols: Wild symbols substitute for all regular symbols to help form winning combinations. They appear through the Cycle Rounds and Dragon's Breath features.
- Free Spins: Landing three scatter symbols triggers 10 free spins, with four additional spins awarded for each extra scatter. During free spins, three scatters award 5 extra spins, plus 2 spins for each additional scatter. In the free spins round, a modified version of the Flame Frames feature is active. After each spin's Avalanche sequence ends, all remaining flames are removed, and frames formed during that spin transform into wilds. This occurs on every free spin, not just the 10th as in the base game.
- Feature Buy: Players have the option to purchase direct entry into the Free Spins bonus round for 50 times their bet. This guarantees a spin with at least three scatter symbols to trigger the feature.
A standout aspect of Dragons Playground is its innovative combination of the Cycle Rounds and Flame Frames features. This mechanic creates a compelling gameplay loop, encouraging players to continue spinning to complete each 10-spin cycle. The anticipation builds as frames accumulate, culminating in the potential for a grid filled with wild symbols on the 10th spin. This system adds a layer of strategy and excitement to the base game, keeping players engaged between bonus rounds.