Fu Dai Lian Lian – aka “The Bag Game” – is one of those games that quickly took hold on casino floors. So it’s not surprising that Aristocrat has already released a follow-in pair of games in the series that iterates a bit and adds a new aspect, the Boost.
In practice, it’s a small tweak to the game’s bag element, but it also made for one of the most confusing and complicated pay table write-ups I’ve seen. This is largely to the fact that since you can trigger 1, 2 or all 3 bags for a bonus, and now have a boosted and non-boosted version, that’s 14 unique bonus combinations.
I’m not going to go through them all – the original review will offer the core information you need to know – but will instead focus on what makes this game different, and that’s the Boost feature on the bags.
As the bags collect coins, they can reach a point where the bag gets full enough that the word Boost lights up – when won with Boost lit up, the bonuses can be enhanced.
As a result of this Boost feature, which is linked to a bet level, the bags are now persistent to their bet level, and this is indicated on the bet panel. However, it’s important to remember two things:
- Despite the fuller bag being boosted, it’s still not an indicator of when a bonus might happen. It’s only an indicator of how long since the last bonus.
- A boosted bonus is a chance at a better outcome, not a guarantee.
As such, this is one of those times where a persistent feature does not fundamentally improve the chances of winning, because there’s no guarantee a boost will be successful at increasing the payouts, or that you’ll get the bonus sooner.
Instead, it’s worth treating more like comparing progressives – if you’ve got a machine with the bags boosted on a bet vs. one where they’re not, it’s worth taking the boosted machine.
The boosts work (on the Peacock version, which is the focus of this review) as follows:
- Jackpot Feature (red bag): Certain coins will have a Boost border, which will increase the jackpot bonus, only on the Mini or Minor flat jackpots. You still need to collect all the letters to be awarded the boosted bonus. The bonuses reset if awarded, but can be boosted the second time around.
- Longevity Feature (purple bag): The multiplier awarded will always be x5 when the bonus is boosted. Of course you need the line hits to make the most of it.
- Prosperity Feature (green bag): Normally on a win, a full reel of wilds can grow the reels 1-4 rows; in a boosted feature it will always grow the full 4 rows. Line hits still are needed to make this pay out well.
Super features (2 bags turning in unison) with a Boost feature active will award both upgrades as listed above; Mega features (all 3 bags turning in unison) with a Boost feature active will award all three upgrades as listed above.
You can still retrigger the bonus, just like before, on the non-Jackpot-inclusive features. If a boosted bag is up on the screen and spins, you get the Boost feature.
My most successful session on the game, one of the bags was in Boost mode when I sat down, and a second went into Boost mode as I was playing the base game. I eventually got a boosted Longevity Jackpot Super Feature, about $50 in on 88 cent bets.
My bonus was $55, so it was successful at getting me a touch ahead, but it was a lot of work to get there, and the bonus could have easily been worse, given I had won two boosted Mini jackpots as part of it.
It’s definitely a fun variation, though, and if you loved the originals, you’ll definitely enjoy the new versions.
Watch and Learn
I recently shared Diana Evoni’s amazing win on the game in a Slot Moments post.
Here’s a bonus by Us vs. Slots on 2 cent denomination:
And here is KURI Slot playing the Peacock version:
