Master Chens Fortune - Review for Canadians, Demo Play & Payout Info

Newly released in November 2018 by well-known game maker Pragmatic Play, Master Chens Fortune's brightly-coloured and light-hearted entry complements the many other slots available in the popular asian slots category, bringing with it a simplicity that could well be a breath of fresh air.

Pragmatic Play develops and provides a variety of content to the international gaming industry. Through its slots, scratchcards, bingo and live casino games, it reaches nearly 80 countries and provides content in 26 languages. If you are familiar with the any of Pragmatic Play's other hundred or so HTML5 video slots, you will know what to expect from Master Chens Fortune in terms of quality, but what is the rest of this new video slot like?

Master Chens Fortune - overview

When it comes to the world of video slot machines, games that have been inspired by the Far East are certainly nothing new. Having said that, this particular category is a broad one and its popularity cannot be underestimated. Whether the games are based on well-known fictional stories and characters or are developed around new and unique characters and settings, there always seems to be room for a new video slot within this style. Perhaps it is the scope for infusing the game features with the rich visuals and mysticism that this theme can offer that makes this type of video slot so popular with developers and such a big hit with the players. Whatever the reason for the success of this category, it means that there is an even greater challenge for developers such as Pragmatic Play to try to keep their new titles original and fresh.

Master Chens Fortune certainly does this. It incorporates playing card symbols on its reels, keeping it firmly connected with its casino-based roots as a slot game while retaining a strong Far Eastern theme. A similar example would be Quickspin's Eastern Emeralds Slot, which was released a few months before Master Chens Fortune. The jack, queen, king and ace symbols of this Quickspin offering are seamlessly blended with its Far Eastern-inspired golden animal symbols. If you have played Eastern Emeralds and are a fan of this game, Master Chens Fortune could well be right up your street.

This is not to say that Master Chens Fortune is a clone of Eastern Emeralds, however, with the gameplay and features offered by the two video slot games differing significantly. While they are both in the same theme category, there is a distinct difference in the look and feel. Unlike the tranquil, magical atmosphere conjured up in Eastern Emeralds through its background outdoor vistas and its mesmeric, atmospheric music, Master Chens Fortune takes its inspiration from traditional lucky symbols and evokes a jolly, tongue-in-cheek and distinctly urban vibe.

For example, a prominent symbol on Master Chens Fortune is the beautifully crafted maneki-neko symbol. These feline figurines, which are usually made of ceramic or plastic, are often found in the front window or by the cash registers in Japanese and Chinese shops and restaurants with one paw slowly beckoning. Although these figurines originated in Japan - maneki-neko means beckoning cat in Japanese - they are more popularly known as lucky cats or fortune cats. It therefore seems appropriate for there to be one included as a high-scoring symbol on this video slot machine!

Two more of the symbols found on the reels are the oranges - which are associated with wishes of good luck in Chinese culture, particularly around the time of the New Year celebrations - and the Feng Shui money tree, which also symbolises good fortune. The symbol depicting the jovial Master Chen himself presides over them all, with the reels set against a rich, indoor red-gold background.

Master Chens Fortune graphics and sound

When you first look at this game, it may seem to have a simple design; however, the detail of each symbol on Master Chens reels is beautifully rendered and animated; in particular, the effects achieved on the shiny lucky cat, with her blinking her eyes and beckoning at you with her paw, stand out. The background, while rendered in shades of red, is far from static. Deep red spirals and geometric patterns rotate in a way that brings the scene to life, yet the swirling animation is subtle enough not to distract you while you play. The spiral effect is cleverly echoed in the background detail of the lucky cat, the pot of coins, oranges and money tree symbols, connecting the reels with the background. As you play, golden tassels hanging from the reels swing gently and independently of one another at either end.

The visuals are accompanied and matched with a quirky, catchy tune with rich layers of music as gameplay commences. The musical theme gives way to a quieter tune each time you take a break from spinning the reels. Cascading motifs will play, and Master Chen will laugh and clap when he finds himself on a winning line. Listen out for the lucky cat's delicate mew when she beckons and brings in a win.

While there are no bonus screens taking you away from the main set of reels, a 'mega' or 'sensational' win will present you with an amusing image of Master Chen holding up a scroll on which you can watch your winnings totting up whilst being showered with cascades of gold coins.

Master Chens Fortune gameplay, features and paytable

Compared with many slots, Master Chens Fortune has fewer features, yet it is this simplicity that makes this slot stand out amongst some of the more complicated games. Whilst it has not made this video slot particularly daring in its gameplay design, Pragmatic has managed to keep Master Chens Fortune exciting and engaging without saddling it with too many over-the-top features. Despite its simplicity, the company’s chief commercial officer has hailed this game as one of its most action-packed offerings yet.

The quicker action, in part, appears to be down to the low volatility of the game and the two-way win lines across its five reels and nine paylines. The resultant small but frequently available payouts through the double the amount of the win opportunities will keep you playing; in addition, Master Chens Fortune will surprise you with a big win every so often.

The theoretical RTP is a reasonable 96.48 per cent. With a betting range from $0.09 minimum to $45.00 maximum, this is a video slot that will suit any budget.

The frequent win feature coupled with the use of the space and enter keys to start and stop the spin animation means that you can speed up the game. Hold the spacebar down for a turbo spin and you will soon be watching those frequent small wins roll in!

Having the two-way paylines means that you can score a win from the left or the right, with one, two, three or four symbols appearing on consecutive reels starting from either the first or fifth reel. Any wins from five of a kind will only be paid once in one direction.

As with the majority of video slots, Master Chens Fortune has two pay tiers. The low paying tier is represented by the playing card symbols 9, 10, J, Q, K and A. These payouts begin with three of a kind of each symbol on consecutive reels, starting from either the left or the right.

Based on a maximum bet of 45 coins, at the lowest payout the number 9 will give you 25 coins for three appearances and 75 for four, rising to 500 times your bet for five. The number 10 will bring in the same winnings for three and four appearances as the number 9; however, if you spin five number 10s, your payout will be 625 coins. Jacks and queens will pay you 25 coins for three of each and 100 for four, with the payout rising to 750 coins for five jacks and 1,000 for five queens, which is the equivalent of 22.22 times your bet.

Three, four or five kings will pay 25 coins, 125 coins and 1,500 coins respectively, while three, four or five aces will yield 50, 250 and 2,500 coins, representing 55.5 times your bet.

In the upper tier, the highest paying symbol is, of course, the lucky cat. She is the only symbol that will bring a win with just one appearance on either the first or fifth reel, which based on a bet of 45 coins is 10 coins. This is not much, you might think, but two consecutive cats will get you 50 coins; three will pay 500; four is a big jump, bringing in 2,500 coins; and five cats across the reels will earn a top payout of 25,000 coins - a whopping 555.55 times your bet.

Next down comes the money tree - two money trees will give you 25 coins, 250 for three, 1,250 for four, and 12,500 for five. The oranges and the green pots of gold will each pay 15 for two, 100 for three and 500 for four appearances. Five oranges will award you 6,250, while five green pots of gold will pay 3,750 coins.

As with almost all slots, Master Chens Fortune comes fully equipped with its scatter and wild features. In Master Chens Fortune, the scatter is represented by the golden coin. Again, based on a maximum bet of 45 coins, five scatters will get you 45,000 coins, with four fetching you 450, three yielding 225, and two appearances awarding 45 coins.

Master Chen himself represents the wild card and can substitute for all other symbols. He will only appear on reels two, three and four; however, when he does, he will laugh and clap his hands and at least double all your winning combinations. This means that if you are lucky enough to turn up four lucky cats along with the wild, you will get 50,000 coins, equivalent to 1,111.11 times your wager based on a 45-coin bet.

The no-frills design of Master Chens Fortune means that the wild is the biggest paying feature of the game. This may not be everybody's cup of tea; however, with so many slots laden with complex features vying for attention, it is refreshing to find a simpler game that can be figured out quickly without any bonus screens interrupting the main set of reels that make up the basic game. The player can just sit back and enjoy the game for what it is.

Play Master Chens Fortune on the go

The simple and straightforward play means that Master Chens Fortune is an ideal video slot for playing while out and about; therefore, it is great to know that this game can be played on just about any device, from tablets and phones to desktop and laptop computers. This flexibility is to be expected from a provider that develops much of its new content with the mobile market uppermost in its mind. As with most of the games available from Pragmatic Play, there is no need to install any apps or downloads; instead, you can play the Master Chens Fortune video slot for free right here at Slots Temple.

In a market full of video slots stuffed with innovative features, the simplicity of this video slot provides easy game play that it is quick to get on board with. It is ideal for the novice or the occasional player and is likely to be a welcome change for the more seasoned online players. Master Chens Fortune is a video slot that is certainly worth a try, especially when its two-way payout means that there is a great win potential and the size of the bets can be very small.

Max-win 1,000x

Volatility Low

RTP 96.48%

Disclaimer: Master Chens Fortune trademark / license is owned by Pragmatic Play. This site is not endorsed by Pragmatic Play.