9 Lions Slot - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Why you’ll love 9 Lions

If you have seen one slots game, you may think you have seen them all; however, you will soon change your mind when you discover 9 Lions. In addition to movie-studio quality graphics and a beautiful Oriental soundtrack, you will discover:

- Nine reels with no fixed paylines - just achieve four or more symbols anywhere to win a cash reward.
- Locking symbols offering increased chances of achieving a win.
- An exciting Lion Bonus offering nine free spins.
- A Dragon Bonus with generous prizes.
- You can adapt the gameplay, volatility and game quality to personalise 9 Lions exactly how you like it best.
- It is created in HTL5 for perfect gaming on mobile and tablet.

9 Lions from Wazdan

It takes huge talent and great enthusiasm to tackle the software giants in the online casino industry. Companies such as Microgaming and NetEnt seem to have the genre nicely under control; however, it is likely that even these powerhouses are looking nervously over their shoulders as they take in the rise of Wazdan. From its base in Cyprus, Wazdan has produced a formidable catalogue of slots games in quite a short space of time; however, there is absolutely nothing rushed about them. The company is committed to providing players with outstanding games that are packed with bonus features and extra chances to win, with 9 Lions conforming perfectly to this ethos.

The nine lions of the game’s title are Chinese lions, guardians of the household and bringers of luck and good fortune. It is no surprise to learn that this is Wazdan’s first venture into the booming Asian market, taking an Oriental theme and adding a host of gaming features that hold particular appeal to gamers from this part of the world. Asian slots fans demand the highest-quality gaming experience and their preference for using smartphones as their devices of choice for accessing their favourite casino games lets Wazdan play to its strengths. This is a company that was quick to see the opportunities offered by producing games aimed at a mobile-first audience, with 9 Lions created specifically to display perfectly on the small screen sizes of portable devices.

Add in some of Wazdan’s other unique game elements - such as the ability to alter volatility levels to suit each player’s own gaming style and controls that speed the game up or slow it down - and it is easy to see why the game developer has such a huge fanbase around the world. The game was awarded a Hot Product trophy at the recent G2E Asia event, guaranteeing its future success amongst this sector. With its wealth of bonus features and interesting gameplay, we think it is going to be an equally big hit in this part of the world.

Our first impressions of 9 Lions

With Wazdan’s great reputation for outstanding graphics and gameplay already firmly in our minds, our expectations were high as 9 Lions loaded in our browser. From the outset, we were not disappointed, as we were treated to a gorgeous Oriental scene with Chinese lanterns and silk banners fluttering in the breeze. The reels are set against the walls of a solitary temple and form a simple 3x3 grid. To the right of the reels is a smaller 3x3 grid, which is empty at the start of every game.

The symbols on the reels are all concerned with elements that will be well known to an Asian audience but perhaps not so much so to a western one, although everyone is familiar with the importance of lions and dragons in Oriental culture. The lion symbol is the highest paying in the game and is beautifully depicted as a golden being. This could almost be a statue if not for the fact that his eyes blink as he gazes out solemnly from the reels.

The dragon is also a living creature crafted from gold. Out of all the symbols on the reels, only the dragon pays out for achieving just three symbols anywhere on the grid. All the other symbols require four or more to be matched before they qualify as a win.

Other symbols are concerned with the Chinese constellations and are depicted as enamel tokens on which each creature has been carefully rendered. You will encounter the black turtle, the white tiger, the vermilion bird and the azure dragon, all of which represent points of the compass and seasons of the year. They also hold other cultural meanings that would be instantly recognisable to players from across Asia,

Although the game looks as though it is a three-reel structure, each symbol occupies its own reel, so there are nine reels in total. Symbols can lock in place, potentially providing more chances to win and giving the player a great degree of control over the outcome of a game. This is something we always like to see in an online slots game.

As for the soundtrack, a company such as Wazdan does not go all out to create a visually stunning game only to spoil it with an annoying background track. 9 Lions delivers authentic Oriental melodies that add to the game’s gentle, restful theme, providing the opportunity for a relaxing gaming session. This is unless you choose to ramp up the speed of the spins and the volatility of the game, in which case it becomes an altogether different beast and one that high rollers will be sure to love!

How to play 9 Lions

There are no paylines to waste time worrying about, so the player’s only decision is how much to wager per spin. There is a huge betting range as you decide on the value of the coin you would like to play and how many coins to bet per spin, so cautious players and high rollers alike will find a range that suits their playing style.

Of course, there are many ways to adapt the gameplay to suit your own circumstances. Head for the settings symbol and you will find that you can tailor the sounds, toggling them on and off according to your preference. We quite often mute a game’s soundtrack; however, the Oriental melodies are so pleasant that we could happily listen to them all day. You can also adjust the speed of gameplay, so you can tailor the action to suit your playing style whether you prefer a gentle spin or a high-octane spin that is over in a second.

Wazdan games often allow players to choose their own preferred volatility setting, which is something we particularly like. Set the volatility to low and you can expect plenty of small wins; set it to high and wins will be few and far between. When the latter do crop up, there are much more likely to be highly significant sums of money involved. Alternatively, go for medium volatility, which offers a happy medium somewhere between the two extremes.

Hitting, tapping or clicking the spin button will set each reel in motion; alternatively, opt for the bet max button, which applies the maximum permitted bet and spins the reels. There is also an autoplay function, which committed players are particularly keen on. This allows them to sit back and concentrate on the action taking place on the reels, hopefully amassing a generous prize payout in the process!

9 Lions locking symbols

Following any spin, the game may choose to lock one symbol in place. This symbol will then remain locked for the next spin of the reels, with the potential to deliver some impressive wins. The game usually picks the most promising symbol, tending to pick one where at least two instances of it already occur on the reels; however, players can click on any individual symbol to include it or to remove the lock option if they choose. If you like, you can lock two or more different symbols into place; however, the more different symbols you choose, the smaller your chances of achieving matches with your next spin. This is an exciting feature and one that we particularly enjoyed.

Max-win 1,000x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 97

9 Lions Lion Bonus

The Lion Bonus is a sub-game that plays out while you spin the reels. Remember that empty 3x3 grid to the right of the playing area? Every time a golden lion symbol appears on the main reels, a lion token appears in the corresponding space on the empty grid. Once the grid has been completely filled with lions, indicating that a lion symbol has appeared on every possible reel in the game, the Lion Bonus gets ready to initiate nine free spins. To set the bonus round going, you need to land three golden lions anywhere on the reels. They then lock in place as you take your free spins, with one lion disappearing from the grid with each spin. Once all nine free spins have been completed, you will need to have amassed at least four lions to win a cash prize. Achieve all nine lions across the reels and the rewards are potentially huge!

9 Lions Dragon Bonus

The golden dragon symbol is unique amongst all the symbols of the game in rewarding players for attaining just three matches across the reels following a spin, with all the other symbols only paying out after matching four or more. There is still more to discover about the golden dragon - land three dragons across the central row of reels and you will be offered the chance to participate in the Dragon Bonus. You will be offered a choice of three dragon eggs - pick one and you will receive the prize that it contains.

How to win at 9 Lions

We could happily talk about slots games all day - in fact, we frequently do - but one question crops up more times than any other. This is ‘How do I win at my favourite slots game?’ If we had a reliable answer to this question that worked across all available slots titles, we would be impossibly wealthy, but sadly there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer. This is because slots games vary so much in their style of gameplay, ways to win and volatility that it would be practically impossible to be able to predict the outcome of each game with any degree of certainty.

This doesn’t mean that players can’t increase their chances of winning. The best way we know to do that is to play online slots games for free. This may seem counter-intuitive, but bear with us. We suggest trying out a new slots game, such as 9 Lions, for a minimum of 500 spins in free play or demo mode. It is not just 9 Lions that this applies to, as we make it easy to Play Wazdan Slots in Demo Mode. Every single game across our site operates with a virtual balance that is purely for entertainment purposes, so you can experiment to your heart’s content; in fact, we have demo slots from all the current software developers, so the choice of games is absolutely huge. If you discover a taste for Asian themed slot games, you can search for them by theme; alternatively, you can select titles from your favourite software house, keeping abreast of all the latest titles as they are released.

Playing for free lets you experiment to find the betting strategy that works best for each game. Try out different combinations of coin values, change the volatility, and try faster and slower gaming speeds. The more time you spend getting to know a game, the greater the potential rewards when you use your knowledge to its best advantage at an online casino. What are you waiting for? It is time to spin the reels and see where they might take you.

Disclaimer: 9 Lions trademark / license is owned by Wazdan. This site is not endorsed by Wazdan.