NIAN QUICK START GUIDE
Released on 21st January 2020, Nian is a Chinese New Year themed 5 x 3 reel slot game from KA Gaming. The RTP and variance are not known officially. The slot has 20 paylines and a betting range of $0.20 and $300. The game also has wilds and scatter symbols in play.
In Chinese mythology, Nian is a creature that lives under the sea. Other versions of the legend say that the Nian lives in mountains. It is a dragon-like creature that is a key character in the celebration of the Chinese New Year. This figure should not be confused with the Lion, even if they look similar.
The Nian is a dragon costume that dancers wear during Chinese festival. It takes at least to agile people to do the dance.
REEL SYMBOLS
The slot grid is 5×3, and it sits on top of a background. The slot’s setting is a Chinese castle during the Chinese New Year. There are lots of lights and firecrackers in the area.
Here are the high-value symbols in the slot game.
- Lucky paper
- Red envelope
- Lantern
- Fruit basket
- Dumplings
There are five low-value symbols that pay between $600 and $1,500 at the highest bet. the low-value symbols are 10 to A.
BASE GAME SYMBOLS & PAYS
Here are the high-value symbols and their payout values. All the prizes here are in currency, not multiplier, and they change according to your bet size. The table below is for the highest bet of $300 per round.
| PAYTABLE | |||||
| Number of Appearance in a Pay Line | SYMBOLS | ||||
| Lucky paper | Red envelope | Lantern | Fruit basket | Dumplings | |
| 5 | 7,500 | 3,750 | 3,750 | 2,250 | 2,250 |
| 4 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 750 | 750 |
| 3 | 375 | 2,225 | 225 | 150 | 150 |
| 2 | 45 | 30 | 30 | – | – |
Depending on the symbol, you need to land at least two or three same symbols on adjacent reels to win. These symbols must be on separate reels, and the combo should start from the leftmost reel. All paylines in the online slot are fixed, and all bets represent a wager for each line.
BONUS GAMES & FEATURES
Here are the game’s features that can help you win more money.
- Wild – the walking Nian is the wild. It occupies the entire reel. It substitutes for all symbols except the scatter.
NB: As a walking wild, the reels will re-spin at no extra cost to you. For every spin, the wild will walk one reel to the left. The re-spins will be over once the Nian has fully left the grid.
NB: The wild does not pay anything and it does not award multipliers.
- Scatter – the Nian stone is the scatter symbol. It awards free games and cash. You need at least three of it scattered on the grid to win a prize.
The prizes are:
- 5x – 8 free spins plus $6,000
- 4x – 12 free spins plus $1,500
- 3x – 20 free spins plus $600
The prizes that we show for the scatter are for the highest bet. During the free spins bonus round, the slot may drop multipliers that range between 2x and 8x.
SUMMARY
We rate this slot with 6 out of 10 points. While it has wilds and scatter symbols, landing the walking wild is tough. There are times when the expanded wild only appears on two slots instead of three. It is also a rare occurrence for the wild to appear on the third to the fifth reel, which could have given us more re-spins in our testing.
It is still a great game, and it is best played by those who want to maximize what they can from the base game, as opposed to slots that require you to bet the highest amount just to qualify for the bonus rounds and jackpot prizes.