1421 reasons why you should play Voyages of Zhen He
The 1421 Voyages of Zheng He is an easy-to-play slot that is low on bonus features and has an old-school feel to it. Which is somewhat unsurprising given that the eponymous Zheng He was a Chinese explorer and sailor in the 15th Century!
Featuring symbols related to his famed voyages, this game is a typical G2G release, comes courtesy of our American friends at IGT and will be sailing into our casino in late October.
The slot is all about the Player Decision Feature. Like a Chinese explorer plotting his next route, it’s crucial to make the right decision here.
G2G: IGT’s ‘The 1421 Voyages of Zheng He’
The 1421 Voyages of Zheng He slot, made by providers IGT, was the main topic of conversation when last week I headed out to our local Chinese restaurant, a bit of a G2G Friday night tradition. It was of course a slightly funny coincidence that I discussed a casino slot inspired by the great Chinese explorer whilst sitting in the ‘Blue Dragon’ but suffice to say that the consensus was that I am all as impressed with this quirky new game release as I was with the sweet and sour pork and black bean sauce.
Explore this slot like Zheng He explored the seven seas
Speaking of seas, the Zheng He slot comes to us courtesy of IGT – based across the Atlantic, over in Nevada.
It’s a 4×5 reel slot with 88 paylines. The number 8 is considered one of the luckiest numbers in Chinese culture so there are plenty more references to it in the game and when you choose the number of paylines you want to play, they’re always multiples of 8.
Back in the 15th Century when Zheng He sailed the seas in search of gold, spices and new lands there were no GPS…or smartphones at all for that matter. They had to make do with maps and nautical instruments to navigate their way. But back in the present day, the 1421 Voyages of Zheng He video slot is available on mobile as Ill as desktop and tablet and just as good when you play it on your phone.
‘Discover’ lots of different ways to win
The low-value symbols are playing cards but the more valuable ones are references to the sort of things that Zhen He would have brought back from his travels to Europe: artefacts such as a richly decorate Plate, a Dragon Statue made out of jade, a giant Bell. Zheng He’s ship is also a valuable symbol and the navigator himself is the most valuable symbol of all.
The 1421 Voyages video slot has a Far East theme to it, which is no surprise given it’s made by IGT, no strangers to Far East-themed games given they already have the likes of Jewel of the Arts and Red Mansions amongst their games.
The music is also Asian sounding but if I’m completely honest, I can kind of do without it. It doesn’t do much for the game and becomes a little bit repetitive. IGT should think about ‘exploring’ the option of having a different theme tune to the game!
Wins are pretty frequent, including the ‘5-of-a-kind’ win that really fills Zheng He’s ship with foreign treasure! The more valuable the symbols in the 5-of-a-kind win, the higher the rewards.
But the real loot comes when…
The Player Decision Feature on the Zheng He slot game
Unlike the much-awaited Red Riding Hood, which I’ve looked at in great detail here, this game only has one bonus feature.
Remember the map I mentioned as one of the symbols? Well, given that a Chinese Explorer in the 15th Century would be lost (literally) without it, it’s no surprise that it’s your key to opening the doors to the Player Decision feature. Any three maps appearing anywhere on the reels mean it’s decision time. As they’d say on a 15th Century Chinese game-show (if they had them): 这是你的选择.
Or in English, the choice is yours.
Decide between:
- 20 Free Spins with multipliers of 3x, 2x, 1x
- 15 Free Spins with multipliers of 5x, 2x, 1x
- 10 Free Spins with multipliers of 8x, 2x, 1x
- The Cup Feature. A ball will be hidden within one of three cups and they will be mixed around. Follow them closely. Get it right and you’ll win more coins than in any other manner on the game. Get it wrong and you leave empty-handed. A 1 in 3 chance is risky but could be worth it.
Plenty of other great, unusual and original slots lack the high-profile nature of Star Fall or Guns n’ Roses are released every month and you can read about them all right here at G2G on the Free Slots page.
But to play them for real and make you a legend like Zheng He, you first need to jump aboard the best Indian online casino ship…