Nian - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

It has 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 paylines. At the time of writing, the game’s RTP is not recorded, but its variance level is judged by some sources to be medium. It features a beast called Nian from Chinese mythology that features in Chinese New Year celebrations. It includes wilds, scatters and free spins.

Introduction

KA Gaming is based in Taiwan and has made its name with slots that draw in the very rich culture, history, folklore and mythology of the Far East. You may already be familiar with KA Gaming's Nine Lucks slot. The game developers are also players and enthusiasts, and their dedication to the form has helped spread KA Gaming demo slots to online casinos around the world. Each of their games has an individual character, but KA Gaming understands that gamers are looking for essentials, such as a slot with free spins, even if more sophisticated features aren’t always present.

Nian has 5 reels and 3 columns with 20 fixed paylines. The minimum bet size is 0.20 and the maximum is 300. There are 10 regular symbols: a red cloth, a purse, a lantern, a fruit basket, a plate of dumplings, and the top 5 playing cards. The scatter is Nian’s head and the wild is the full-length Nian, which in certain circumstances becomes a walking wild.

Theme, graphics and soundtrack

The graphics don’t look like the usual western approximation. The background is a busy, blurred street scene, and the grid is nicely rendered with a tile roof. The symbols are fairly simple and the animation is slight until the walking wild materialises, along with a small wooden doll who seems to control the action. The soundtrack is a fairly upbeat Chinese piece that turns decidedly western on a big win. For the free spins round, the scene changes discreetly from day to night.

Nian RTP and variance

KA Gaming has not made much information available, so Nian has an unrecorded RTP and variance. However, some sources estimate the variance to be medium and the RTP to be high, which suggests it might be above the average of 96 per cent, although this is not officially confirmed.

How to play Nian

1. All symbols except scatters pay left to right on the active paylines. 
2. All wins except scatters are multiplied by the per-line bet. Scatter wins are multiplied by the total bet. 
3. The wild substitutes for all symbols except scatters. 
4. Only the highest win is paid on each payline.
5. Before you begin, you need to choose your bet level by clicking on New Bet and choosing a figure. Alternatively, you can click Max Bet to select the highest possible wager.
6. Click the play button to start playing using the current total bet value. Press play again to stop the reels at any time during the spin.
7. The Auto-play menu allows you to set the number of spins from 25 to infinity. The button displays the number of auto spins remaining. Press it again to end auto play mode.
8. The balance meter at the bottom right of the screen displays your current balance, which is calculated using the result of every spin.
9. We encourage you to always play gambling games responsibly. If playing for money, make sure you stay within affordable limits. Remember to make use of the time-out and exclusion functions in your account. When the game is no longer fun, you should stop playing.

Bet sizes and paytable wins

The bet size ranges from 0.20 to 300. 

The paytable values run from 2x or 3x to 5x, and the highest multipliers are as follows:

Red Cloth

5 = 5.00

Purse & Coins, Lantern

5 = 2.50

Basket, Plate

5 = 1.50

Ace

5 = 1.00
        
King, Queen

5 = 0.75

Jack, 10

5 = 0.50

Scatter (Nian’s head)

5 = 4.00

Nian bonus features

Free Spins

If 3, 4 or 5 scatters land anywhere on the reels, they will award 8, 12 or 20 free spins respectively.

Walking Wild Feature

Whenever a Nian wild fills a reel, the Walking Wild Feature is triggered. During this feature, the reels will respin and the Nian wild symbol will move one reel to the left. The Walking Wild feature continues until the Nian wild leaves the reels. During free games, there is a chance to win a random multiplier of 2x, 3x, 5x, 6x or 8x in each respin.

Nian review: our verdict

There is not much substance to the game, with no bonus game and only free spins and the walking wild. It looks better than it plays, but it’s hard to judge what return you might get and we feel it will only be of passing interest to most players.
 

Disclaimer: Nian trademark / license is owned by KA Gaming. This site is not endorsed by KA Gaming.