The success of the cascading reels game Invaders of the Planet Moolah, which recently has seen a remake, has been enduring, with the original game out about 20 years at this point.
While sequels like Invaders! Planet Moolah and Planet Wombat followed, Invaders Return from the Planet Moolah builds directly off the original in terms of animation, format and sound.
It follows the slot sequel formula of bumping up the bets 40% (although only from 25 to 35 credit increments, still quite affordable for the time) but adds a lot of new components. First off, the game increases from 25 to 30 lines, so you get a bit more on the line hits. But then, it adds additional features.
First off, the top free games available has increased. The original Planet Moolah let you win up to 50 free games (which could be retriggered), but Invaders Return can go up to 200, which can be doubled under the right circumstances.
Those right circumstances come from a second enhancement, the specialty cow wild symbols, which give you the ability to enhance your wins and bonus. They include:
- Double Bonus: The number of free plays available for this series of cascades is doubled. So if you get free plays, the number awarded is effectively doubled.
- Drop-in Wilds: On either reel 2, 3 or 4, it is shifted to put a stack of wilds lined up to begin at the very top space of the reel, improving the chance of more cascades.
- Blast Reels: From 5-11 symbols are blasted away on the next cascade that does not provide a win/cascade of its own. Jackpot and wild symbols selected will not blow up, however, so the number that actually blows up could be less than the number selected. Only one blast can occur in a single cascade.
- Moolah Bonus: If enough cascades occur to enter free plays, and the Moolah Bonus is awarded, all wild symbols will gain credit prizes for the duration of the free plays. If this happens inside the free plays, the credit prizes initiate after the fourth cascade of the current free play.
The Unicow is the specialty cow of all specialty cows. When you line up a winning line that includes the Unicow, you’re awarded an array of all of the above specialty cows that guarantee an upgraded bonus of some sort:
- Double bonus
- Moolah bonus
- Drop-in wilds
- 3 Blast reels
The 3 Blast reels above guarantee a free spins bonus, and combined with the drop-in wilds hopefully get you further down the free play tier. But it is entirely possible to get the Unicow with a very small amount of spins, so while it is an upgrade, it is not a guarantee of a massive bonus.
Free Plays
The number of free plays you win is based on the number of cascades in a row you achieve. If a double bonus specialty cow is included in a line hit, the numbers below will double for that cascade streak:
- 4 Cascades: 7 free plays
- 5 Cascades: 10 free plays
- 6 Cascades: 15 free plays
- 7 Cascades: 20 free plays
- 8 Cascades: 50 free plays
- 9 Cascades: 75 free plays
- 10 Cascades: 100 free plays
- 11 or more Cascades: 200 free plays
During the free plays the game works just like the base game, meaning you can retrigger for more free plays if enough cascades occur. You can also get specialty cows in the free plays, including the Unicow.
In the base game, a Mystery Blast can occur to give you another cascade; this feature does not occur in the free plays. Otherwise, there’s no differences in payouts or structure.
My partner and I have both accumulated 200 free games (100 with the Double Bonus specialty cow doubling it) without the Unicow coming into play.
With the potential for many retriggers, this is definitely an example of a game where you can get a lengthy bonus where you can sit back, relax, and hope for some big wins.
Watch and Learn
RandomSlots has bonuses and pay tables for you:
Slot Queen has had great luck getting the Unicow
Channel Alice in Casinoland was with me last year when I achieved my 200+ spins. Here’s a video featuring it, with my section starting at 2:38:
Well Joshua, just an FYI, I was playing the Invaders from the Planet Moolah slot machine at a local Casino where a special unicow appeared. The next thing I know is I have 100 free games, which of course I kept receiving more free games within the duration of those 100. Total spins in all was 317 free spins and took over 30 minutes to complete my bonus round. Upon completion of my 317 free spins I had earned over $1,600. That was the first time the players, including myself, had seen this Unicow.
Hi Rebecca, and congratulations! The Unicow is a rare achievement so it’s definitely something that doesn’t pop out that often, and even less frequently is won. It sounds like you did quite well!