Hong Kong is often cited as one of the most forward-thinking and futuristic places on earth. It’s neon-lit skyline has provided the inspiration for countless films and it is this that is the driving 
force behind Elk Studios entertaining new slot Hong Kong Tower. Ā The tower is home to the “biggers laser, light and fireworks show” in the world and atop each of the three towers is a somewhat unusual wheel. The purpose of these wheels becomes clear when you start to play the game and trigger the bonus features.
The slot boasts the usual 5 reels with 3 symbols on each and there are a total of 99 non-selectable paylines in play on each spin. However, you can get the reels spinning on the slot from just 20p, which is good value for money, but you can increase that up to Ā£100 per spin if you are a higher stakes player. Indeed, higher stakes gamers may well find this slot more appealing than most given that it is a highly volatile game which can eat through a bankroll quickly, but conversely if you get lucky, can offer you some stellar payouts.
What is particularly intriguing about the Hong Kong Tower slot is how the slot plays its bonus features. Unlike the usual free spins and Wild symbols, Hong Kong Tower takes a different approach and this is kind of what makes the game much more volatile as the Mystery Bonus and Wheel of the Sky Bonus features are, like the base game itself, somewhat volatile and can offer smaller payouts, as well as some much larger ones. Let’s take a look at some of these key features of the game, which you can play right now at Bet365 Vegas, in a bit more detail.
Key Features
On the reels there are a number of lower value symbols. These are neon-lit flower designs but are best identified by their colours of white, green, blue, yellow and red and these payout the smaller amounts on each spin. Higher value symbols include the Bonsai Tree, a Lily, a Diamond and the Lucky Gold 7 symbol which is the highest paying symbol in the game offering up to 1,500 as a win if you can land five of these on a payline.
To help you land some bigger value wins there is a Hong Kong Tower symbol on the reels which acts as the Mystery Symbol in the game. This can be stacked on the reels (as can the other standard symbols) and when you land it, it will transform into one other symbol. Sometimes this can be beneficial and see you land a win as a result, other times you won’t be so fortunate. There is one other feature the Mystery Symbol performs which we will explain in the section below.
The other symbol on the reels is the red and gold Ying and Tang symbol, which acts as the bonus symbol. Land three of these across the reels and you trigger the Wheels of the Sky Bonus feature. For every additional scatter you land above three (up to a maximum of five), you receive one additional life to the three you receive when triggering the bonus. So if you land four scatters, you get four lives, land five and you get five lives.
You can also hit the bonus round with the maximum five lives if the Mystery Symbol transforms into the blue and gold Yin and Yang symbol. This symbol represents FIVE of the Bonus symbols so landing just one in this way will trigger the Wheel of the Sky bonus with the full complement of 5 lives.
In the Wheels of the Sky bonus, you start on a lower value blue Wheel and spin the reel. You can win either a cash amount, or land on the arrow to move onto the second reel in the sequence (which is green in colour). Once you land a cash amount, that prize will not be available and if you land on a space you have landed on previously, you lose a life.
If you can progress onto the second wheel in the bonus, then the amounts on the reels increase and once again, you can spin the reel to win a cash prize or land on the arrow to get onto the third and final orange reel. On the third reel, there are the largest cash prizes in the game and this is where you can win some of the huge amounts in the slot, up to a maximum of over 300,000 coins. Ā The bonus game ends at any points, on any of the three reels once you have lost all your lives.
How to Win at the Hong Kong Tower Slot
The actual jackpot size for a single payline in the Hong Kong Tower slot is just 400 coins, so the way to win big on the base game is to hit multiple paylines when you have higher paying symbols on the reels. The stacked Mystery Symbols can be useful in achieving this and you can land some decent wins this way. However in truth, to get to the bigger value wins available on this slot, you do need to trigger the Wheels of the Sky Bonus.
Ideally, you would like the maximum five lives available to you on this feature by hitting the blue bonus symbol when the Mystery Symbol changes, or by triggering five of the red Bonus symbols across the reels on a standard spin. That said, even if you have the minimum three lives available to you, it is possible to take home a decent win. The key to the bonus is to move through the wheels to get to the higher paying wheels with as many of your lives intact as possible. This is more difficult than it sounds as even if you do get to the last bigger value wheel, you will often find you have just one life left.
This third bonus wheel offers you a chance to win up to 500x your stake on a spin and there are other large amounts on the reels here. Hit a couple of these in your bonus feature and you can land a win that will dwarf what you can achieve in the base game or indeed on any of the previous two bonus wheels.
However, hitting these bonus wheels does take time and patience. This is a volatile slot and is definitely a higher variance game. That means you need patience and a decent bankroll in order to play through enough spins to trigger the bonuses to stand a chance of a bigger win. You can get lucky though and trigger bonuses quickly and when that occurs, if you win big, then it is advisable to walk away at that point to preserve your cash, rather than risk more in the hope of landing another big win.
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