A Year of Laoshu Slot - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

It’s obvious as soon as you open this slot that it’s set in East Asia - the golden dragons above the reels, the shrine in the background and the symbols associated with Chinese New Year. It’s also one for the animal lovers among you, as it revolves around a little white mouse.

The layout is pretty simple, and with 20 paylines it’s also pretty simple to figure out how to win. You have ten paying symbols in total: the six basic card symbols from 9 to A that you find in so many slots, then four themed symbols that pay a bit more.

There’s a normal Wild, represented by the word “Wild” and substituting for anything but the Scatter, but there are also Special Wilds (Laoshu himself) that can trigger the Random Multiplier Feature, and Expanding Wilds can sometimes appear. The Scatter is Chinese writing, and three or more will trigger the free spins round.

You can play the game for free right here if you want to give it a try. If you enjoy it, you can also check our guide to the best slot sites to find the real money version, but make sure you practise first.

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

There are plenty of slots that celebrate Chinese New Year - it’s one of the biggest festivals in the world, after all - but this one takes an unusual perspective by placing you side-by-side with Laoshu the white mouse. This little 3D fellow floats next to the reels in his best red and gold uniform. He smiles and dances as you play, whilst an upbeat Chinese tune plays in the background. It wouldn’t be New Year without lanterns and firecrackers, and those can be found on the reels to keep everything thematically relevant.

A Year of Laoshu might be unusual in theme, but it’s not unique. The mouse or rat is one of the 12 symbols of the Chinese Zodiac and has none of the negative associations you might find in the West. If you like mice in your Chinese-themed slots, you could also try Money Mouse online slots from Pragmatic Play. It comes with free spins and re-spins as well as sticky symbols and stacked wilds.

RTP & Volatility

There’s no official information on volatility, but this slot has a solid 95.34% RTP.

How to Play A Year of Laoshu

This is a pretty simple slot, so it should be quite easy to figure out how it works.

1. Click the “i” to the top left of the reels to view the paytable and game instructions so you know what you’re doing.

2. There’s a little volume button at the top right if you want to mute the sound.

3. Adjust your bet using the plus and minus buttons above and below “Spin”. You can see your current bet opposite the total balance in the display under the reels.

4. Want autoplay? Click the play symbol and circling arrows under the bet adjustors. It’ll open a page with controls for the bet level, number of spins (5-100) and loss limit that you want whilst autoplay is running.

5. There’s a turbo button under autoplay if you want it.

6. Now all your settings are in place, so all you have to do is click the biggest button of all: the circling arrow that represents spin. Do make sure you set your budget and limits before you start playing.

Bet & Win Sizes

Your minimum bet is 0.20 and maximum bet is 40, which is a good range. Card symbols are the lowest paying, whilst themed symbols are higher. Your win also increases depending on whether you have three, four or five matches, with maximum rewards as follows:

9 - 10x
10 - 15x
J - 20x
Q - 40x
K - 75x
A - 100x
Kites - 150x
Firecrackers - 200x
Cards - 300x
Lanterns - 750x

Bonus Features & Free Spins

Spring Couplet Scatter

The Scatter is a poem written by Laoshu to bring happiness, and it certainly will. Three Scatters will trigger ten free spins, four will give you 15 and five will give you 20, all with a 2x multiplier. Free spins can be retriggered, with the multiplier increasing by 1x each time until it reaches a maximum of 5x.

Fortune Plaque (Special Wild)

Represented by Laoshu himself, this special symbol only appears on reels two and three. It can trigger the Random Multiplier Feature, which allows you to choose between three mystery coins to pick a random multiplier.

Laoshu Is Coming (Expanding Wild)

It doesn’t appear during free spins, but in the main game reels two and four can see Wilds expand to fill the reel from top to bottom.

Overall Review

This isn’t the most ground-breaking slot in the world, but it’s not without its charms. Laoshu himself is a cute figure to base a game around, the rest of the slot looks good and there are enough extra features to keep things interesting. If you like it when Chinese New Year appears on the slots, this one is certainly worth giving a few spins. You make also want to check out other Maverick slots.

Disclaimer: A Year of Laoshu trademark / license is owned by Maverick Slots. This site is not endorsed by Maverick Slots.

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