A Pig’s View of Slots
Did you know that some people believe it to be unlucky to use the term “pig” when on a boat since pigs are poor swimmers? The use of the p-word aboard a ship might result in a slap to the nose, as some think that drawing blood is a means of breaking the curse. The converse is true in the gaming industry, where pigs are frequently linked with wealth and luxury. Microgaming partner and independent developer Gong Gaming Technologies has released a new online slot game, Piggy Luck, with pigs as the main attraction.
Pigs are a common sight on the silver screen, where they frequently assume aristocratic roles. Pigs in Piggy Bank Bills and Piggy Riches Megaways have the high life, complete with homes and all the amenities money can buy. Not so with Piggy Luck. The emphasis is on cheerful hues and a minimal design scheme. Unfortunately, after only a few turns, our optimism shattered. A 5×3 grid matrix, a luminous logo at the bottom, and three meter-toting pigs at the top are almost all that players receive.
Piggy Luck has a high hit rate of 49.19%, meaning virtually every second spin will theoretically be a winner, which may help players forget about the game’s lack of visual signals. Together, the low-volatility mathematical model and the 95.12% RTP (of which 58.62% goes to the core experience and the rest to the extras) make for a potent combination. Playable on any platform, Piggy Luck offers wagers ranging from 20 pence to £/€25 every spin.
To keep things simple, the game only makes use of six different pay symbols, which combine to create winnings when identical tiles fall into place on any of the game’s twenty paylines, which run from left to right. Crowns, stars, and diamonds are the higher paying symbols, while Q, K, and A are the lesser paying ones. Players that get five of a type get five times their wager for low payouts and between seven and twelve and a half times their wager for the three high pays. Five wilds in a row are worth 50 times the wager, and they can be substituted for any other symbol to form a winning combination.
Pigskin Pays: Slot Machine Options
Above the reels in Piggy Luck, you’ll see three pigs, each representing one of the game’s three bonus features: the Golden Path, free spins, and Cash Collect. Players may also spin a Wheel of Luck to increase their odds of entering one of three bonus rounds.
Luminous Road
The Golden Path bonus is activated when three Piggy King icons appear anywhere on reels 2, 3, and 4. The winnings appear on a ladder, and a wheel with six slots and the numbers one through six spins. As the wheel revolves, players may see how far along the reward ladder they have progressed. The lowest number on the wheel becomes Collect after each spin. When the arrow on the ladder reaches the Collect position, the bonus round is over. The reward money for each participant is determined by their position on the ladder.
No Risk Turns
Get 15 extra spins when the Piggy Queen appears on reels 3, 4, and 5. If you get 3 Piggy Queen symbols while the feature is active, you’ll get 15 extra free spins. Basically, that’s all for the free spins round.
Receipt of Money
If you get Piggy Joker symbols on reels 1, 2, and 3, the Cash Collect bonus round will begin. Twenty coins are seen here. Bet multipliers are hidden below them, and players must select them one by one. When a selected coin exposes a monetary value and a tick, the feature concludes. The total of all multipliers is then given out.
Spin the Wheel
In the main game, three wheels sit above the grid, one for each of the three bonus features (free spins, Cash Collect, and Golden Path). There are two distinct regions on each wheel: the trigger region and the non-feature region. Players may raise the size of the corresponding trigger region on the wheel by collecting Joker, King, and Piggy Queen symbols. You can spin each wheel once for 10 times your wager, and the feature will activate if the arrow lands in the wheel’s trigger region. When a Wheel’s trigger region is completed, the wheel’s function is activated immediately. Also, keep an eye out for the wolf’s paw design. When this icon lands in the trigger section of a wheel, it resets that section.
Lucky Pig: A Gambling Outcome
The initial impression of Piggy Luck was one of brilliant amusement, but this rapidly shifted to one of irritated boredom. Features tended to trigger quickly and then fizzle out due to the low volatility mathematical model and low prize amounts in the bonus rounds. Sometimes, though, that’s not the case. For instance, we saw the most tedious free spins session in recent memory when the first trigger resulted in three more retriggers, for a grand total of 60 free spins. It took 60 spins to accumulate a 79.6x the stake win, which wasn’t a terrible return on investment, but it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, either. The fact that free spins can be retriggered ‘infinitely,’ as stated on the game sheet, is a cause for concern.
Similarly futile was the Cash Collect. You have a good chance of winning, and you know that the prize will be modest. If you play The Cash Collect to its greatest potential and choose all of the coins, you’ll win 39 times your initial wager.
The final option, the Golden Path, offers a respectable ultimate reward. But when you check the numbers, something doesn’t add up. There are 36 rungs on the ladder, but when you sum up the digits on the wheel, you get 21. While it’s possible that filling the Golden Path meter aids players in the main game, this wasn’t how it worked in the demo, and at that point it was meaningless.
Have you ever experienced what seemed like reverse motion while traveling on a straight stretch of road? The feeling you get from playing Piggy Luck is quite similar. If you don’t enjoy Piggy Luck’s breezy, repetitive tone, you might as well give up on it now.
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