Fu Dao Le

When we think Asian themed slots, we usually think stereotypical Chinese imagery and a red and gold color scheme. Nothing inherently wrong with either of those things, but we’re a bit exhausted after developers kept hammering them out like clockwork.

In our opinion, Bally did it right with Dragon Spin. Which just makes it hurt all the more when we look at this game, and see how it fails to stack up thematically.

Fu Dao Le Review

Fu Dao Le is played on a five reel board, where each reel is three symbols tall. Instead of using paylines, Bally’s release gives players 243 ways to win, which makes collecting wins simple! All you have to do is collect three or more identical icons in adjacent positions, starting with the leftmost reel. No more hassle about being one symbol off from landing that dream win!

And while we may complain about the theme, that’s a minority concern to most gamblers. We’re happy to report there’s a fair amount of special features to keep you busy! Nothing groundbreaking in this slot, however. Mystery Stacked Reels make a return from Dragon Spin. There’s a free spins bonus during which Wilds with multipliers can appear. And, of course, five fixed jackpots waiting to be won!

Theme & Symbols

That said, as reviewers, we have to take a look at every aspect of a game, theme included. The execution isn’t bad; Bally could have done a lot worse. But we also know for a fact they can do better. We’ve seen them do better. Fu Dao Le feels like they wanted an oriental themed release but couldn’t come up with a decent idea. Hence why we can’t quite wash out the taste of generic out of our mouths.

Possibly the worst offender is the background image. Not because it’s stereotypical, but because it’s barely there! You have two children holding golden figurines in the forefront, next to the reels. But the background proper is a dark red background with semi-transparent golden coins. See what we meant about an absence of actual ideas?

Symbol designs are exactly what you’d expect: a mixture of playing card royals and traditional Chinese icons. The letters and numbers are completely unchanged compared to other slots by the same developer. And we’ll be honest, crowns and heraldry don’t fit well when you pair them with crimson lanterns and citrus fruits.

How to Play Fu Dao Le

But enough negativity! Let’s talk about some good stuff now. Like how this game is played on a 5×3 board with 243 ways to win. Or how about its awesome medium/high volatility, with a jackpot worth 8888x your total stake? After our reviews of Dragon Spin and Cash Spin, we were getting a bit worried. So seeing high variances and big top prizes make a triumphant return was quite relieving.

Another improvement in Fu Dao Le is that it kept a large number of special features despite its medium-high volatility. This does keep you from getting bored from landing just one or two bonuses over and over. But this design automatically means some special features are doomed to be incredibly rare. For this Bally release, that condemned position falls to free spins.

Choosing your stake is the easy part. Tap the Total Bet button, and a drop down menu will appear! Here, scroll up or down until you find the wager that suits you best, and tap it again to confirm. Your minimum stake is €0.38, while the maximum goes up to a stunning €88 on each spin. And if you’re wondering about all the eights, that’s because the number is considered lucky in China.

Bonus Features

We could bore you about all the awesome special features you’ll be able to find. Or we could just tell you about them. We both know which one you’d prefer! So, without further waiting, here’s our first contestant of the night.

• Mystery Stacked Reels

Each reel contains a stacked mystery icon that is replaced by a random symbol after a reel spin completes. All mystery icons are replaced with the same symbol, which increases the odds of them granting a win.

• Jackpot Bonus

If you land three Wilds on the third reel, you win the Jackpot bonus! Whether you achieve this by landing actual Wilds or through the Clumped Wild special feature is up to you. Players are taken to a separate screen, where they pick through fifteen golden coins. Tapping a coin swaps it to correspond to one of the four fixed jackpot. Collect three-of-a-kind, and you win the associated jackpot!

• Red Envelope Jackpot

If red envelope Scatters appear on reels one and five at the same time, they can activate this bonus. Keyword can. They can also just increase the value of the jackpot, and not award it. The goal is to land as many increases as possible. So when you finally do win the jackpot, you get an awesome prize!

• Free Spins

Collect three gong Scatters to win eight free spins with a 2x multiplier. Each additional Scatter you collect afterwards awards one more extra turn. During free spins, it is possible to find and collect Wilds with a 2x or 3x multipliers attached.

Fu Dao Le Payouts

Fu Dao Le has a medium-high volatility, and a jackpot worth 8888x your total stake. The slot’s RTP is 96.00%, which is the current online gambling industry average.