Chinese New Year 2 Slot Review

Rules and Gameplay in Chinese New Year 2

Chinese New Year 2 is a 5x3 video slot from Fa Chai Gaming with 243 ways to win on every spin. I get wins by landing matching symbols on at least three adjacent reels from the left. Premium symbols are red envelopes, gold ingots, lucky fish and a golden pineapple that sits at the top of the paytable. The Chinese dragon wild substitutes for pay symbols and often links those premiums into tidy combinations.

The slot has a high volatility profile and an RTP of 96.5 percent, so I treat it as a long haul game with sharp spikes. The base game can feel calm while I wait for scatters, but wilds do enough work to keep things ticking over. Overall the gameplay feels like a step up from the first Chinese New Year slot, with a mobile first layout that still looks fine on desktop.

Chinese New Year 2 Bonus Features

Feature wise, Chinese New Year 2 keeps things focused but potent. I can activate the Extra Bet and pay one and a half times my normal stake, which doubles the hit rate for the free spins round according to the developer. It does not change symbol values, just the bonus frequency, so I flick it on when I feel the balance can handle longer swings between features.

The bonus round itself arrives when five firecracker scatters land across all five reels on the same spin. I then pick one of five packages, from eighteen free spins with a x2 starting multiplier down to three free spins with a hefty x18. During the bonus, landing another full set of scatters retriggers, giving the same number of spins again and moving the multiplier to the next level.

If things go my way, I can climb those multipliers very high. The x2 path can reach x8, the x3 path stretches to x12, while the x6, x9 and x18 options can reach x24, x36 and a massive x72. Up to one hundred free spins are on the table through retriggers, and with all wins multiplied that far the game can hit the max payout of 16,800 times stake.

Chinese New Year 2 Symbols and Paytable

The paytable in Chinese New Year 2 is stacked with classic Asian style imagery that fits the festive dragon above the reels. On the premium side I look for the golden pineapple, which pays 16.6 times my bet for five of a kind, followed by ingots, fish and envelopes. Those hit between about 4.1 and 6.6 times stake for five, so lining them up with wilds gives tidy screen hits.

Lower down I get the usual royal symbols, paying from 2.3 to 3.3 times stake for five across, with smaller returns for three and four of a kind. Wilds are where the game springs into life, standing in for all normal symbols and dropping fairly often in my sessions. Scatter fireworks do not pay cash by themselves, which keeps their job focused on feeding the free spins trigger.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	5	x16.6
	4	x5
	3	x1.6
	5	x6.6
	4	x2.6
	3	x1.3
	5	x5.8
	4	x2
	3	x1
	5	x4.1
	4	x1.3
	3	x0.8
	5	x3.3
	4	x0.6
	3	x0.3
	5	x3
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.2
	5	x2.6
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x2.3
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.1
	Scatter
	Wild

Payouts and Paylines in Chinese New Year 2

Chinese New Year 2 uses a 243 ways engine rather than fixed paylines, so wins land whenever matching symbols fall on adjacent reels from the left. For me that keeps the action flowing, as even scattered premiums can link up for solid returns. With a stated max win of 16,800 times stake and high variance, the game clearly has punch, though the biggest hits will nearly always come through the free spins multipliers.

Minimum and Maximum Bet in Chinese New Year 2

Staking on Chinese New Year 2 starts at 0.60 per spin, so it is not really one for tiny bankrolls, though it does give a fair number of spins for moderate budgets. On the higher side I have seen bet caps of 90 and up to 600 per spin, depending on how the casino sets it. That range works well with the volatile maths and the chunky top prize on offer.

Summary of My Experience with Chinese New Year 2

From a player's point of view, Chinese New Year 2 feels very close to the first game in spirit, just louder in the right places. The dragon still dances above a courtyard stuffed with gold, the sunset glows behind the temple and the reel set sits neatly in the middle. I like the simple Chinese style soundtrack, as it keeps things cheerful without getting in the way during longer free spin hunts.

Where this sequel shines for me is the control it gives over risk. I can go for long sessions on the lower multipliers, or chase that wild x18 start when I feel brave. Extra Bet and, in some regions, the Bonus Buy option shorten the wait for those rounds and suit my impatient side. Overall, when I fancy a high variance festival slot, this is the version I load up.

Screenshots