Water Dragons

A Classic Asian Theme with Progressive Wilds in the Free Spins Bonus

Rather than fierce Asian dragons, this slot features a lot of lucky koi carp. There are 4 variations on the reels, all of them are leaping out of the water. These are accompanied by a bonsai tree, lilies and a mayfly with transparent double wings. While you spin a gentle traditional Asian soundtrack plays. There is a big contrast in the music during the free spins bonus game – which has a somewhat Caribbean flavour.

When you trigger the free spins, a new symbol can appear on reel 5. This is a pearl, and you collect them up turn each of the Water Dragon’s wild. This game-play was first introduced in the classic slot ‘Kitty Glitter’, also from IGT. In terms of design and overall feel, these two slots could not be more different.

Water Dragons: How the Game is Set Up

This aquatic Asian slot is played over a regular 5×3 grid of reels, with 30 win-lines (which are adjustable). It can be enjoyed in live casinos, and also played online. If you are playing online, you’ll find an auto-spin button available. With bets starting at just 30c for all the lines, this game is a classic ‘penny slot’.

Logo Wild Symbols on Reels 2 to 5

A symbol showing the logo of this slot is a wild symbol. This acts as a substitute for most of the other symbols – the only exclusion is the oyster bonus symbol. As there are no wilds on the first reel, it does not have a win amount of its own. Instead it replaces other symbols – often helping to create multiple wins in the same spin.

Carp and Lilies: Regular Winning Symbols

The water dragons (Koi Carp) are the highest paying symbols. These are headed by a darker orange fish, which is leaping out of the water with a giant splash. Line up 5 of these and 1000 coins will be headed your way. The others look similar, though have different colouring. Next is one which is mottled orange and white, at 400 coins. This is followed by one with the classic ‘goldfish’ look at 400 coins – with a darker fish at 300.

No playing card symbols are used in Water Dragons. You’ll find lilies, mayfly a tree and a pagoda making up the smaller wins.

Oyster Bonus Symbols and Progressive Free Spins

Bonus symbols show oysters full of pearls. These are oversized and hit the middle 3 reels only. You need all 3 to trigger the free spins bonus game.

You’ll get 15 free spins to start with. Above the reels, there is now a line of fish, each has 3 holes next to it. The idea is that you collect special pearl symbols, which appear on reel 5. Each pearl fills one of the 3 holes. When all 3 are filled, that fish turns into a wild symbol on reels 2 through 5.

To get the biggest benefit from this bonus game, you need to get 3 or 4 fish wild. Though it is possible to do this with one bonus, you’ll usually need one or more retriggers to collect enough pearls. There are a maximum of 225 free spins available in any one bonus game.

Relaxed Aquatic Asian Design

I found the combination of the graphics and game-play to be very relaxing. The reels are baked in a mustard-orange hue, and the symbols are a mix of colours and shapes. Higher paying symbols come in boxes, while the filler symbols like the tree are highlighted by lighter orange surrounds. While you spin there are splashing sounds, as well as a mesmeric traditional Asian song.

When you hit a big win, a gong sounds – jolting you out of that relaxation for long enough to watch the credits count up. Big wins get a sign in front of the reels, with a fish jumping over it. The upbeat sounds during your free spins bonus sounded more Caribbean than Asian for me!

Will the Water Dragons Turn Wild for You?

While the game-play is almost identical to Kitty Glitter, Water Dragons feels like a completely different experience. The mix of slow music, water sounds, and beautifully drawn koi carp make for a relaxing slot.

Things liven up fast when you hit the free spins bonus game. Here you collect pearls, which slowly increase the number of wild symbols on the reels. With 3+ fish wild, the chances of big wins when the reels stop shoots up – much like those Koi carp leaping out of the water that decorate the reels.