Time Travelers: Hacivat & Karagoz is a slot game that draws inspiration from traditional Turkish shadow puppet theater. The game features a vibrant, colorful design reminiscent of Ottoman-era architecture and artistry. The main characters, Hacivat and Karagoz, are iconic figures from Turkish folklore, known for their comedic performances and social commentary. The background depicts stylized city scenes, representing historical Istanbul or another Ottoman-era urban setting. The game's visual elements, including musical instruments, hats, and other props, further reinforce the Turkish cultural theme.
Core Game and Mechanics:
The game utilizes a 5×4 grid layout, offering players multiple paylines. The base game employs a cascading reels mechanic, referred to as “Falling Drums” in this slot. When a winning combination occurs, the winning symbols disappear, allowing new symbols to fall into place and potentially create additional winning combinations. This feature continues until no new wins are formed.
Players can adjust their bet size, with options ranging from 0.04 to 0.16 (currency unspecified). The game interface is available in Russian, indicating a focus on Russian-speaking markets. The slot incorporates both scatter symbols and multipliers, which play crucial roles in triggering and enhancing bonus features.
Bonus Features:
- Auto-play: An auto-play function is available, letting players set a predetermined number of spins to play automatically.
- Free Spins: The free spins feature is activated when four or more scatter symbols (represented by a hot air balloon) land on the reels. During the free spins round, additional scatter symbols can retrigger the feature, extending the bonus play.
- Multipliers: During the free spins, multiplier symbols appear as gift boxes. These multipliers come in values of 3x, 10x, 20x, and 100x. As the cascading reels (or “Falling Drums”) feature continues, these multiplier values accumulate, potentially reaching a maximum of 500x. This progressive multiplier system significantly increases the potential for large wins during the bonus round.
- Double Chance: Players can activate a “Double Chance” feature, which doubles the probability of triggering the free spins round. This option comes at a cost of a 20% increase in the base bet.
- Buy Free Spins: The game offers a “Buy Free Spins” option, allowing players to directly purchase access to the free spins bonus round for 100 times their chosen bet amount.
- Turbo Spins: Players can activate a turbo spin mode, which increases the speed of the reels for faster gameplay.
A notable aspect of Time Travelers: Hacivat & Karagoz is its integration of cultural elements into the gameplay. The use of traditional Turkish characters and themes in a modern slot format creates a unique blend of entertainment and cultural representation. The “Falling Drums” mechanic, while similar to cascading reels in other slots, is thematically tied to the musical elements of Turkish shadow puppet performances, adding an extra layer of immersion to the game.