Those other machines

30 December 2018

By John Grochowski

Most of the slot machines I write about come from a few large companies – International Game Technology, Aristocrat Technologies and Scientific Games (which now holds both Bally and WMS) command the most attention, with Incredible Technologies, Konami Gaming, Everi and international giant Novomatic claiming pieces of the pie.

In the midst of all that, American Gaming Systems has grown into real player in the slot market. AGS initially served the Native American casino market with a heavy focus on Class II slot machines. Today, it has RNG slots (designated “Class III” in tribal gaming), table games and Class II games, and serves both commercial and tribal casinos.

As with all slot manufacturers, and constant flow of new ideas and game themes is essential. Here are three new games you can expect from AGS in the coming year.

• Rakin’ Bacon Xtreme Jackpots: A cherubic pig in a gold coin-filled room is a central figure in this five-reel game with a multi-level progressive that’s packed full of player-favorite features, including free spins, multipliers and scatter pays.

As the wins add up, the golden pig gets fatter and fatter, until the player wins the Free Game Bonus and the golden pig explodes to reveals a pick screen. That screen gives you the chance to choose three different reel layouts for up to 3125 ways to win.

Additional free spins can be won during the free game bonus, making this game even more potentially lucrative. During the randomly awarded jackpot pick feature, you touch and select icons until you match three of a kind, which awards a guaranteed jackpot pay.

• Shou Hu Shen Xtreme Jackpots: The Asian-themed Shou Hu Shen is based on the good luck and guardian lions along with four progressive jackpot levels. Together, they promise fun and the chance to win big.

Featuring fireworks and sparks animations that add excitement to gameplay, Shou Hu Shen can award massive progressive jackpots. The jackpot pick bonus is randomly triggered any time a wild symbol lands on the reels during base-game play. Players touch and pick from 12 Lucky Fu symbols until they get three matching progressive symbols to win one of the four jackpots.

During the free games bonus, the number of free spins that can be won depends on the reel configuration selected by the player – 243 ways to win gets 15 free spins; 1,024 ways to win gets 10 free spins; and 3,125 ways to win gets five free spins.

• Emerald Princess: The second game in AGS’ Fa Cai Shu family again features a lucky money tree.

Among the features are a three-level progressive jackpot, a free game bonus, and a jackpot bonus. During base-game play, three or more bonus symbols award eight free spins. The jackpot bonus may be triggered randomly during any base-game spin in which one or more wilds appears.

A nudge feature may be triggered randomly on any base-game spin in which one or more wilds appear. When you win the nudge, all wilds on the screen will form full stacks of wilds.

Three or more bonus symbols awards the free game bonus, and during the free spins, the nudge is in full force — any wilds on the screen nudge to form full wild stacks. Free spins can be retriggered, adding anticipation to gameplay.

The jackpot bonus is randomly triggered if one or more wilds appear. During this feature, the player touches and picks from 12 coins until they match three coins to win one of the three jackpots or another free game bonus.


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