Jin's Jungle Slot: Short On Trees But Big On Small, Regular Wins

Originally a big hit in Australia, this exciting game has been shipped across the globe to a wider audience, and it offers New Jersey online slot fans something a little different when it comes to the bonus game feature.

The slot itself is somewhat basic in its presentation, with the backdrop of a orange-yellow sky. Given the name, I’d have thought there’d be more than just two trees either side of the reels, but it seems that Jin’s Jungle doesn’t have quite so thick a canopy of trees.

Overview: Jin’s Jungle

Jin’s Jungle is a somewhat standard 5×3 reel slot with 25 paylines in operation on every spin.

The paylines are not selectable, so whatever your line bet is the total bet will be 25 times that amount, giving you a starting point of $0.25 to get the reels spinning. You can wager up to $100 per spin.

The biggest win available is 12,500 coins, which at the higher level game equates to $50,000. This is not an inconsiderable sum, but it’s still a little short of what some other slots can offer as a top prize.

One small annoyance to note here is that none of the 25 paylines are identified, which means you can’t really tell when you hit a winning payline.

Who will Jin’s Jungle slot appeal to?

There is a certain cutesy allure to the Jin’s Jungle slot. All the animals on the reels have big eyes and the red panda resembles a cross between a fox and a koala bear.

I also think this is a decent slot for beginners. The presentation is simplistic and clear (although I would have added payline indicators at the side of the reel), and it can be played cheaply enough and wins are relatively regular.

Plus, the additional bonus games offer something slightly different to the usual slot experience.

Gameplay: Jin’s Jungle

First impressions of the Jin’s Jungle slot are not exactly overwhelming. There isn’t any musical background, just a loop of jungle sounds. That would be fine if the screen depicted a dense, green rainforest, but instead you have a bright sunny sky backdrop with a couple of trees and plants dotting the edges.

An array of flowers are the in-game low symbols, while a number of animals, such as a lemur, a tree frog, a beetle, and, of course, Jin the red panda, are the higher value symbols. Jin’s symbol is the highest paying symbol in the game, offering 500 coins per five symbols on a winning payline.

You can select your bet from a number of bets outlined on the leaves at the foot of the screen. Clicking on the More Bets leaf will reveal more bets of a higher or lower value.

Once you have played your bet once, you can click the Repeat Bet leaf to bet the same amount again on successive spins.

Jin’s Jungle is a raining reels game, which means that rather than reels, the symbols on the reels fall down from the top of the console and fill the 5×3 reel matrix.

In addition, when a winning payline is triggered, the symbols will disappear, and then further symbols will fall down from above to refill the reels. This can trigger additional wins from the same spin (or as the game calls it, “like getting a free spin every time you win”).

The raining reels feature can lead to some of the better base game wins and is a key feature in unlocking the bonus round in the Jin’s Jungle slot.

One symbol that players should know is the in-game wild symbol: a cracked egg in a nest. Land this on the reels and it can be used to substitute for any of the high or low value symbols to trigger a win.

In this game, the scatter symbol (a butterfly) only pays out a certain amount, either 2x your stake when you land three or more on the reels, 10x your stake if you land four, or more or 25x your stake if you land five or more.

However, what makes Jin’s Jungle slot so different is its bonus game, and this is accessed when you trigger four successive raining reels wins from a single spin.

This bonus feature is altogether different than other slot games as it involves a little arcade action. In the bonus game, Jin has to complete a series of challenges to win the player cash.

All Jin’s actions are performed by clicking on the leaf icon at the right time. If you can complete the bonus games and Jin can catch the butterfly, then you will be rewarded with your cash bonus.

Special features: Jin’s Jungle

Raining reels

The most obvious feature of the game is the raining reels option, which sees the symbols fall down from the top of the screen on every spin.

Winning paylines disappear, triggering additional symbols falling down from the top to replace them.

Arcade-style bonus games

Hit four raining reels wins in a row to trigger the arcade-style bonus challenge where you have to try and complete a number of challenges with Jin by clicking the leaf to perform an action.

You accrue cash throughout the challenges, and when it is complete you receive your cash reward.

Wild

The in-game wild symbol is the cracking egg symbol (which hides a toucan). These can appear on the reels to help create winning paylines by substituting for any of the games higher or lower value symbols (but not the scatter symbol).

What works?

Clever bonus games

The fact that you earn your cash in the bonus features by completing a number of small, easy-to-play games is a charmingly different way to create your bonus.

It’s innovative and if you enjoy these challenge game – rather than free spins or a traditional pick ‘em game – then you’ll love this little addition.

Regular wins

Jin’s Jungle isn’t a particularly volatile slot, and wins are relatively regular, although not particularly big. This does mean that while you are not likely to make a huge amount of cash if you play the slot, you shouldn’t find your bankroll takes too much of a beating.

Raining Reels

The raining reels feature is always one of the most popular in slots, and it works uncommonly well here, especially seeing as it is used to trigger the bonus feature in the game.

What doesn’t?

Presentation

Considering the name of the slot, I was expecting to see slightly more jungle than just a couple of trees and shrubs around the outside of the screen. The presentation is clear, but it just doesn’t really fit in with the theme of the slot.

No free spins

Slot fans are used to games offering free spins as their main bonus and the best way to win big. So any slot that does not offer free spins is likely to be a problem for many.

Few bigger wins

As we have already mentioned, the Jin’s Jungle slot is a relatively low variance game, which does mean regular wins, but not too many of them are exceptionally big. This can be off-putting for players who prefer slots paying out bigger wins less frequently.

The scores

[wp-review id=”6861″]

Graphics and soundtrack 2/5

There’s nothing wrong with the jungle soundtrack, but I question the choice of graphics in the main game. The symbols on the reels are fine; it is the backdrop that looks more like a desert island than a jungle.

As such, the sounds don’t quite fit with what you see on screen.

Originality and creativity 3/5

I’ve given Jin’s Jungle this mark based mostly on the bonus games and the raining reels feature. I think both of these add a great deal to a slot that otherwise is very much standard.

Play value 4/5

As a lower variance game, Jin’s Jungle will pay out regularly with smaller amounts, and as such, it isn’t going to make too big a dent in your bankroll. You can comfortably enjoy a decent-length session without spending too much.

Jackpot potential 2/5

A 12,500-coin jackpot is possible in the Jin’s Jungle slot, but bigger wins don’t come often, so a win even close to that jackpot amount is extremely rare.

Repeat play 2/5

The bonus game features will keep you coming back to Jin’s Jungle, as will the steady smaller wins.

But the fact that not a lot else happens in the slot will mean it only has limited appeal.

Total score 13/25

Jin’s Jungle is actually a rather basic slot with a couple of great features and low variance. This means it will appeal to gamers who like regular smaller wins. It is simplistic, and its appeal will vary considerably from player to player.