Dragon Dance

Microgaming has released another oriental themed pokie, in time for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Dragon Dance is a conglomerate of quintessential Chinese caricatures.

Or to put it simply, there is a bunch of Chinese stuff. They have chosen to bring this theme to the reels, using the colour red. Red is a lucky colour in Chinese culture, symbolising good fortune and joy. The high value picture symbols are dragons, fireworks and Chinese people looking cheerful while they hold item appropriate to the culture.

Developer

Microgaming have been making online pokies for a long time. If you take their word for it, they have been making them the longest.

They claim to have created, the original online casino in 1994, which in internet time is forever. Since then they have released over 800 titles. Their games are consistent, in that they offer good jackpots, RTPs and features. What lets them down is, the aesthetics of their games often leave a bit to be desired.

Design

Dragon Dance is bordered by a traditional Chinese temple. It is a five reel pokie, with a lot of red and gold. The panel is located under the reels, and it is a simple grouping of boxes. This is a nice simplistic panel, which Microgaming have used before.

It works well with this theme, as it is small and out of the way, but a custom build panel would have been more in line with the theme. The Spin Button is on the right of the panel and the player’s bet is adjusted in the box second from the left. At the bottom of each reel there is a Reel Respin Button, more on them in the “Special Features” section. The oriental soundtrack works well with the game.

How to Play

The reels are spun with the Spin Button. A player must select their bet, before spinning the reels. Bets are adjusted in the panel. There are 243 payline in this pokie and they are played left to right. This means that, the first symbol in a winning payline must be found in the furthermost reel to the left.

With 243 paylines, almost any combination of matching symbols on the reels will be a win. But if the player would like additional information about bets, symbol value or payline, they can find it by pressing the Plays Button on the right of the interface.

Special Features

Dragon Dance has a Free Spins Game, unlocked by landing the Firecracker Symbols, anywhere on the reels. Microgaming have not be forthcoming with, how many Firecracker Symbols it will take to unlock this game mode.

The Firecracker Symbol is a scatter, which means the game will pay its wins anywhere on the reels, and not in left to right paylines, like other symbols. At a guess it will most likely take three Firecracker Symbols to unlock the game mode, as this is kind of the industry standard, and Microgaming helped make it so.

The Free Spins Game, vaguely hints at a 3x multiplier for all paylines, but it is too early say this for certain.
Dragon Dance has a Respin Reel feature. After any spin the player can opt to respin a reel. There is a variable cost associated with doing so. And the more lucrative the potential win the greater the required stake will be. This is a nifty feature that allows players a second chance at landing a big win, even if there is a bit of risk involved.

Maximum Payout

The jackpot in Dragon Dance is 8,000 coins. This is a pretty standard midrange jackpot for a Microgaming title. It translates to 160x stake in the Base Game or 480x, assuming the 3x multiplier in the Free Spins Game.

Summary

Microgaming has not done too much to differentiate this title. It looks ok but is not that visually appealing. The Free Spins Game, is pretty stock standard, and the only other feature requires an additional bet. Dragon Dance has the always welcome 243 paylines, which is a big plus. And a decent Jackpot.