Mahjong Ways (PG Soft) Slot Demo & Review

How many of you have some form of solitaire skill game on either your mobile phone or desktop that you like to pit your wits against occasionally? These are entertaining games, aren’t they?, so it’s surprising that more of them haven’t been upgraded in some way to be themed as an online slot. One such game that has, however, is the Chinese tile game Mahjong, and since the release of today’s slot from PG Soft, Mahjong Ways, the roaring success that it has brought spawned a sequel from the provider named Mahjong Ways 2 and a prequel titled Mahjong Ways 3.

Okay, let’s jump in and start at the paytable, where all the game symbols are tiles you associate with Mahjong. These are highly detailed symbols, so to save me from any embarrassment of trying to describe them, I’ll say that in total, there are eight symbols, with the highest paying being a green tile worth 10x bet for a five of a kind win, and the lowest value tile being worth just 1x for a completed payline of five. There is a wild symbol in the game, represented by the golden ingot; this will substitute for all other symbols except the scatter.

Betting options are widely spread across Mahjong Ways, with players having the opportunity to play from as little as €0.10 a spin up to a maximum of €100. I was impressed, if I’m honest, with the number of options available to play at between these amounts, so I’m confident that regardless of the size of your bankroll, you’ll be able to find a suitable stake to play at.

Mahjong Ways is played over a 5×4 reel set-up with 1,024 fixed paylines. Cash will be added to your playing balance when three matching symbols hit adjacent reels, with the combination needing to start from the leftmost reel first. Additional features and modifiers are also present within the game, which are explained in more detail below.

Cascading Reels & Win Multiplier

The cascading reels engine is present in Mahjong Ways and will activate when a winning connection has been formed during the gameplay. Initially, all winning symbols are removed from the reels, with new symbols then falling from above to create the possibility of more winning ways. Furthermore, each consecutive cascade will increase the win multiplier by one position at the top of the reels, with the chance of a x2, x,3, or x5 multiplier being applied to the wins created.

Gold Plated Symbols

During any spin, you may notice that some symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4 appear in gold. These are special symbols, and if they help form a part of a win, they will transform into a wild symbol, potentially leading to more winning connections.

While the base game features bring their unique value to the slot, there is also one main feature that can be activated. This is triggered when 3 scatter symbols land in view and will award 12 free spins to begin the bonus round.

Free Spins

Once the bonus is active, players will note that the multiplier values above the reels have doubled. Hit three consecutive reel cascades in one free spin, and you’ll have an active win multiplier of x10, which can lead to some huge wins! It’s also worth mentioning that the bonus can be re-triggered, with no limits on how many times this can occur.