Pragmatic Play already has many Asian themed games in its portfolio, and 5 Lions Dance will certainly fit right in. The lion heads honestly look more like dragon heads, but that’s the way it is with Asian slots. They don’t make as much sense to us Westerners as they do to the audience they’re mainly aimed at. There are two main attractions here, and the one that stands out the most is the merging of the first two reels into one mega multiplier reel, capable of dishing out wins up to 200 times your bet.
This is mainly a feature that helps keep the base game a bit more interesting, since the main attraction is the bonus round. This is where the bigger payouts will most likely occur, and where you can win up to 2,700 times your bet. The game is set on a rooftop with a beautiful Asian architecture in the background. The oriental zither soundtrack is a given and you play with 5 reels, 4 rows and 1,024 ways to win. You can place bets as low as 20p or as high as €100 per spin here, and the medium volatility and 96.5% RTP make for somewhat forgiving gameplay (always remember, though, that Pragmatic works with adjustable RTP ranges on their games).
We had a relatively good time testing this game in our 200-spins session (read more below in the review and watch video highlights), but we also got plenty of dead spins and smaller wins in our session. The free spins bonus round was triggered once, however, and the symbol transformation feature proved to be quite lucrative. Of course, a game like this will have limited appeal in the West, but if you enjoy a bit of exoticism to spice up your day, 5 Lions Dance is a good choice for casual players.
What are the bonus features?
Like many other Pragmatic Play games, 5 Lions Dance slot offers few bonus features. The base game offers a Lion Reel bonus, which is triggered when you land at least 3 Lion Reels symbols on the same spin. You will then see reels 1 and 2 merge into a Mega Lion Reel filled with multiplier values as follows: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 75x, 100x, 150x and 200x.
The lion reel spins once and each multiplier you get is applied to your total bet. Thus, you can win up to 200x your bet with this feature. In this game, there is also a golden ball wild symbol that indicates all the regular symbols to help you form winning combinations. The wild symbol has no value of its own and neither does the scatter.
Free Spins in 5 Lions Dance
However, the drum scatter triggers the bonus round and you need to land 3 scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 to get this feature. You start with 10 free spins and get an additional symbol transformation. On each spin, the regular win is calculated first, then all the lion head premium symbols are transformed into the same randomly selected lion head symbol.
However, this only happens when you actually win from it, which is good, since it would take a lot of time if you had to see the animation even on non-winning spins. Anyway, you can also retrigger the free spins by landing 3 new scatters. There is no upper limit or cap on how many times you can do this.
Game instructions
In this part of the review, we will take you through all the important things you should know before you start playing. This is mainly aimed at beginners, and people who have already played Pragmatic Games may want to skim through this part or skip to the next section.
The game interface is still recognizable and you will find everything you need to change this game below the reels. The game settings can be opened from the small hamburger menu at the bottom left. Here you can activate the Quick Spin feature, which increases the game speed. You can further enable the battery saving mode. This is good if you are playing on the go and have nowhere to charge at the moment.
You can also turn the game sounds and background music on and off separately, which is always beneficial. Also, you can adjust the in-game volume and check your game progress if you have played before. Lastly, you can also turn off the intro screen to save time the next time you load the game.
The “i” icon will take you to the dynamic paytable and you will see the symbol values updated according to your chosen bet level. You need between 3 and 5 matching symbols from the far left to the right to win. The golden lion head is the highest value symbol here, followed by 4 other lion heads in different colors. The lion heads pay between 20x and 4x for 5 on adjacent reels, while the 5 low value royals pay either 3x or 2x for the same amount.
You can now choose your bet level using the plus and minus symbols on either side of the spin button. The range is from 20 pence to £100 per spin. This is a pretty standard betting range that should be suitable for most types of players, with the exception of perhaps the hardest high rollers. You can also set up the autoplay feature with 10 to 100 autospins if you like, or you can simply spin the reels manually.
The 200 Spins 5 Lions Dance Experience
Video slots with an Asian theme are not really something that usually goes down well with most Western players. However, they can sometimes be an exotic detour and add a different flavor to your day. We were definitely looking forward to our 200 spins test session, as we always do with any new game.
We set our bet level at the maximum of $100 per spin, as it doesn’t really matter when you play the demo game. The volatility here is medium, but this is pragmatic medium, so we still expected a lot of dead spins. You can check out all the highlights of our session in the video or read on as we lay it all out for you below.
We had a couple of 1x wins before 2 scatter symbols landed to tease us with the possibility of triggering the bonus round. At this point, however, nothing happened and we got more Dead Spins and a 0.5x win before finally landing the 3 scatters we needed. This is where things really took off, although the free spins were slow to start.
We had some smaller wins at first, but then the symbol transformation feature was activated a few times. This led to more significant wins, but nothing out of the ordinary happened yet. We only had 4 spins left, so we were now crossing our fingers for a massive win or two or maybe a feature retrigger.
Our prayers were at least somehow answered when we scored a “mega win” of 36x our bet with only 2 free spins left in the list. On the final spin, the symbol transformation feature gave us a “sensational” win of 64x our bet, and it took a small eternity to put it all together. We won a total of 111.2x our bet in the bonus round, which was not enough to make up for our losses from the 200 spins session.
Summary
5 Lions Dance is a decent Asian themed game and contains a math model that is more forgiving than many other pragmatic games. It can sometimes take a while for the bonus round to trigger, but bigger wins are possible even in the base game here. This is due to the 1,024 ways to win that you can play with at any time, and premium symbols that have a decent value.
Still, the potential maximum win of the game is a somewhat mediocre 2,700 times your bet, but this is fine for a medium difficulty title. Break Even is not that hard here, and players who enjoy long sessions instead of hit or miss games will probably feel right at home. The Lion Multiplier reel feature also helps break up the base game from time to time, but can only get you up to 200x wins.
Pros
Multiplier reel for wins up to 200x
Free spins with symbol transformation
Medium volatility and 2,700x maximum win potential
Cons
Asian theme may not appeal to all western players
Look out for customizable RTP ranges
5 Lions Dance (Pragmatic Play) Slot FAQs
What is the RTP of 5 Lions Dance slot?
The game’s default Return to Player is 96.5%, which is slightly above the industry average. However, keep in mind that Pragmatic Play games come with customizable RTP ranges. This means that operators can adjust the payout percentage lower at will. Available RTP values are 96.50%, 95.50% and 94.50%.
How volatile is 5 Lions Dance?
This is a medium volatility game and gets 3 out of 5 points on Pragmatic’s own volatility scale. Still, we encourage you to be a bit cautious until you get a feel for the ups and downs of the game.
What is the biggest possible win in 5 Lions Dance slot?
You can win up to 2,700 times your bet, which is decent enough for this kind of volatility. Play with the highest possible bet of €100 and you can pocket up to €270,000 on a single spin.
How does the Lion Reel feature work?
You trigger it by landing 3+ Lion Reel symbols, and it combines the 2 first reels into one huge multiplier reel. You then get a win between 5x and 200x, depending on which multiplier you land.
Is there a free spins mode in 5 Lions Dance slot?
Yes, you can win 10 free spins in this game. The premium lion head symbols here are converted into a randomly selected matching lion head symbol on every spin, if this means that a winning combination is created.
How many winning ways are available?
5 Lions Dance offers 1,024 ways to win and, in combination with decent symbol values, opens up the possibility of bigger wins even in the base game.
Can I play 5 Lions Dance slots for free?
Yes, you can play 5 Lions Dance for free at the very top of this page. We have the demo game installed there, but UK players will need to verify their age before they can play.
