Dragon Dance is an online slot from Microgaming based around the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The streets turn crimson with lanterns and couplets, and families come together to exchange gifts and eat dinner together.

While celebrations fill the streets and homes, the dancing dragon has a few gifts for us, as well – free spins with a 3x multiplier applied to all wins, and the ability to spend cash to re-spin individual reels for another chance at winning.

Dragon Dance introduction, including RTP and variance

The game is played on a 5×3 playing field with 243 ways to win. Pays are granted when players collect three or more identical symbols in adjacent positions, going from left to right. It plays identically to Bikini Party, with the graphics and theme selection being the only difference between them.

The theoretical payout (RTP) for this title is 96.52%, which is above the average. Dragon Dance has medium volatility, that shows off small, frequently pay just as much as it does big, but rare jackpot wins.

Gameplay and Pay Table

Symbols are split into lower and higher-paying tiers. Lower paying icons are 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A, slightly spruced up to fit in with the remaining festivities. Higher paying symbols include a woman in a red outfit, a drummer with a red headband, an older man and woman dancing, an animal costume made out of multiple people, and a giant red dragon.

The slot’s logo is used as a Wild symbol. It appears on the second and fourth reels and can replace any icon except for Scatters. Scatters are firecrackers, and are used to trigger free spins.

Dragon Dance bonus features

Get three or more Scatters at the same time in any position, and you trigger the free spins bonus. You get fifteen free spins, and the bonus feature can be re-triggered by collecting three or more Scatters while the extra turns are already playing. During the free spins, all wins are tripled.

Collecting more than three Scatters does not change the number of extra turns you get. It only increases the cash prize the Scatter rewards before free spins begin.

The other bonus in Dragon Dance is the individual reel re-spin. It is not activated at random, or by a specific symbol appearing. Instead, it is continuously available after every spin. The catch is – you have to pay money if you want to make use of it. The amount of cash needed increases depending on how valuable the reel is. If you are one icon short of landing a big jackpot, it will cost a pretty penny to re-spin that particular reel.

CasinoWizard’s verdict: 3 out of 5 stars

While we are not against having a few special features, we do want a bit more depth from the ones which are there to make up for it. The reel re-spins seem like a fantastic idea, but one that, ultimately, does not always pay off. Sometimes you have too much money already invested in the respins, so it will become nearly impossible to recoup your losses with winnings from the bonus feature.

Having all wins tripled is fantastic, and the fact you can retrigger the extra turns is a great addition. But they are just free spins, and with nothing to accompany them, it leaves the game feeling a bit empty.

Dragon Dance’s RTP is above the average compared to other titles released by the same developer. The visuals were alright but somewhat forgettable. The animations on a few symbols were solid, but the background suffers from an overload of red.

The slot’s medium variance gives it more mass appeal, but the top prize you can win is lesser than high volatility games. Still, at 480x the total bet during free spins, it is nothing to sneeze at. For casual players or newcomers, this is an ideal title to get your feet wet.

Find more high-RTP slots