The Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) is this week and while not everyone has a chance to travel to Sydney, it is still an important event for every Club as all the games being released this year are on display.
There are a number of new links and SAP games with the popular hold and spin mechanic, but I suspect there is also a move by the game designers across all companies to find new features, or combine a hold and spin mechanic with an interesting twist.
Aristocrat
Aristocrat is leading with the Super Grand Star game family. This game is a five-of-a-kind and retains the feel of the original games but boosts a few features such as the ‘rainbow star’, a favourite among players, so they will see it more often. Other tweaks include ‘blue pot’, which gives players a second chance respin, and more interesting character-driven themes are likely to be popular among players.
Aristocrat are trying something very different with the Werewolf Wild games. These games are 15-reels with each position on the screen “spinning” as a reel with the focus on the centre position on the middle reel.
These games feature a strong character theme with a cute werewolf and a new instant win cash on reels concept.
Ainsworth
Ainsworth is featuring some very interesting new games. Their Dig ’n’ for Dollars game includes fantastic graphics and animations with ‘Mine Carts’ coming from a gold mine and delivering instant wins and accumulating cash prizes to the player in a tweak to the Hold n Respin feature.
Their new Ancient Treasures game family includes three new games: Persian Dynasty, Pyramid Riches and Mayan Gold, and does include a hold and spin style feature, but with a 5th reel that holds multipliers designed to boost credit and bonus prizes.
IGT
IGT’s new Fire Dragon series includes four games as both Link and SAP. It delivers a familiar hold and spin gameplay experience but with a completely new twist that is teamed with a centre reel “chase”, providing the chance for players to enhance prizes.
A player favourite Pot of Gold Cash Pot is also making a comeback.
Players will be looking to unlock the ‘Platinum Feature’ which takes hold and spin to the next level. During the ‘Platinum Feature’ the Platinum Pot releases a random number of gold pots and then transforms itself into a Gold Pot. The awarded Gold Pots then spin to award credit prizes, mini, minor, maxi or major jackpots.
Konami
Konami will be featuring a new game family, Fortune Hearts, with two new games, Emperor’s Choice and Lunar Dragon. The series adds a new bonus feature with sticky bonuses and multipliers and introduces a new character-driven bonus game with two unique ways to trigger the feature, with each trigger involving different colours, sounds, animations and heroes!
Light and Wonder
Following on from the success of Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon, Light and Wonder is showing their new Shenlong Unleashed series with four games: Khan of Khans, Gifts of the Goddess, Golden Emperor and Fortune Town.
And… there will be two more new games for Dragon Train: Here Comes Cai Shen and Force of Fortune, as well as an update to the popular original Huff n Puff theme with Huff ‘n’ Even More Puff.
Peak Purchase Time
There’s always lots of great new games released at this time of year and it’s the perfect timing to be ordering new products for installation in September, as we head into summer. It doesn’t matter what size Club you are, now is the peak period for gaming, so make sure you have something new on your gaming floor for players.
If you need any assistance or advice with deciding on new games for your gaming floor, please don’t hesitate to contact me at justine@dws.net.au
About the Author
DWS is pleased to introduce our Strategic Gaming Specialist, Justine Channing.
Justine is an Executive Gaming Manager with over 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, has worked with prominent Australian Clubs and Hotel groups. She brings deep insights into gaming operations from her tenure with industry leaders like Aristocrat and IGT. Today, she leads a successful Gaming Specialist organisation, providing expertise in gaming analysis, revenue enhancement, and mentoring.
Additionally, Justine is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and holds pivotal roles as Editor, co-owner, and Managing Director of The Drop.
