Dancing Drums Slot Machine Free Play
- Dancing Drums Slot Machine Free Play Online
- Dancing Drums Slot Machine Rules
- Dancing Drums Slots Videos
- Strategy For Playing Dancing Drums Slot Machine
Dancing Drums is a slot machine produced by Shuffle Master, featuring 5 reels, 3 rows and offering players between 243 and 7,776 ways to win. It is an unusual video slot that approaches the Asian-Inspired theme differently from other games. If you remember the popular slot 88 Fortunes, you will recognise the two Fu Babies above the reel grid. Dancing Drums is a mobile-optimised slot by Bally Technologies that takes inspiration from China. It features the Fu Babies that first appeared in Bally’s Fu Dao Le slot, and they’re back to hopefully bring you good luck in this five-reel, 243 ways-to-win slot game.
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Dancing Drums Slot Machine Free Play Online
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Dancing Drums has become so popular that many Asian-themed games you’ll find in both online and live casinos are now ‘inspired’ by it. You can’t miss the red design, with the smiling faces of Fu babies in traditional costume looking down from the top of the cabinet.
There are a lot of smaller details which go with the Asian theme. Bets end in the number 8, and the symbols show money trees, golden coins and koi carp. This game uses a ‘reel ways’ (all-ways) setup. A pot on top of the reels will fill with coins, sometimes closing to start a jackpot game. If you trigger the free spins bonus, you get to choose how big the reels will be – with more or less free spins depending on how big you go.
You can play Dancing Drums in live casinos or online. There is more information on where to find Dancing Drums after the game play and available casino bonuses below.
Basics: How Dancing Drums Slots Work
Reel ways means that you need to line up Asian themed symbols on consecutive reels (starting on the left). This is an alternative to traditional win-lines which makes spotting winning combinations easier.
Dancing Drums has a 5-reel, 3-row setup – with 15 symbols in total. Those symbols are a mix of Asian classics, with bold playing card symbols stopping the screen becoming too crowded.
Here are the symbols with the biggest prizes, listed in order
- Golden Lions
- Traditional Sailing Ship
- Money Tree
- Golden Ingot
- Gold Coins
Symbols showing a red and gold design are wild. They will often connect wins (sometimes more than one type). They will also fill the money pot above the reels.
The final symbol shows drums. These pay 44x your total bet for the maximum 5. They also trigger the free spins bonus, which starts with a picks screen.
Dancing Drums: Close the Pot to Start the Jackpot Picks Game
As you hit wild symbols, the pot above the reels will appear more and more full with gold coins. This can close at any time during either the base game or the free spins bonus. When it closes, the regular reels disappear. They are replaced with a grid of gold coins (Asian style ones, naturally).
Your task is to pick them by tapping on them. They reveal a colored traditional Fu baby character, each one relating to one of the 4 progressive jackpots. You get the first jackpot which you pick 3 times. This game is designed to up the anticipation levels by often revealing 2 of several types before you get your prize.
Free Spins Bonus: Your Pick of Screen Size
No matter how many drum symbols you trigger it with, you start the free spins bonus in the same way. A row of 5 choices of spins / reel sizes appears. These are 15 spins with a 5×3 setup, 10 spins with a 5×4 setup, 5 spins with 5×5 reels or 3 spins with 6×5 reels.
The final choice is a ‘mystery pick’, which randomly gives you one of the setups and number of spins.
With bigger reel sets, the all-ways system gives you a lot more potential winning combinations. This needs to be balanced with the smaller number of spins.
Where Can You Play Dancing Drums Slots?
Almost every live casino in the country will have this game (and several ‘versions’ of it from other slot studios).
You can also find this game at online casinos in regulated states. A lot of the iconic titles from Scientific Games have made it online. These work on mobile devices, as well as desktops. States with regulated online casinos include:
It is hoped that this list will expand as we go through the year.
Red and Gold with Fu Babies: Dancing Drums Slot Design
Scientific Games went all-in on the Asian theme for this game. The red and gold design sees an ornate pot with detailed inscriptions sitting above the reels. Above this you’ll see the jackpots, each with a Fu baby alongside.
The reels are crowded, with each unique symbol drawn in a lot of detail. The lion / dragon symbols look stunning, as if carved out of solid gold. When you hit a wild symbol (whether you win with it or not), a special effect sees this move to fill up the pot.
There are plenty of Asian inspired sound effects. These include a tune for the free spins bonus, giggling Fu babies for the jackpot game and those drums signaling that you hit the free spins bonus.
Wrapping Up: How Does Dancing Drums Compare?
This Asian themed slot is a classic. It has seen multiple ‘clones’ as other slot studios try to emulate the success that Scientific Games had with this game.
When you strip away the excellent design, Dancing Drums is a relatively simple game. You get a single free spins bonus (with choice of reel size), and a jackpot picks game. What makes it work is the solid game play, reel-ways wins and the ever-present opportunity (Fu babies permitting) to hit a huge progressive.
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The Dancing Drums slot machine is an entertaining slot that can be played at the live casino and online in regulated states. This popular game features a variety of Asian themed symbols. They include golden statues of mythical dragons, gold coins linked with red ribbons, sailing boats – and of course, the drums. The game plays with the ‘free ways’ system, offering many more winning opportunities than usual. In addition, there are free spins to be won and chosen and four progressive jackpots.
In live casinos, you will now find a bigger-screened version of this game compared to the original. This takes full advantage of the latest breakthroughs in graphic design and screen technology to bring the drums to life. The progressive jackpots which are a hallmark of this game are on display above the reels.
Basics: How does Dancing Drums Slot Work?
The base game of this Bally slot features a setup of five reels, with three symbols showing on each. It uses the ‘Reel Ways’ system, offering 243 ways to win on every spin. To land a win, you will need to land matching symbols on 3 or more consecutive reels from left to right, irrespective of the position on those reels. The cost of each spin is 88 credits, though you can add multipliers to this for bigger bets.
With so many winning chances on each spin, the individual prizes are lower than you would find on a slot with a smaller number of win-lines. Although it is not unusual to land many wins during a single spin using this format.
High Paying Drum Symbols
Bonus symbols show drums. These pay 100x your total bet for five. You need three from the left to trigger the free spins bonus – with wilds substituting. Other higher paying symbols include a plant, fierce looking dragon, coins and a traditional sailing boat.
Alongside the themed symbols you will also find the playing cards 9, 10, J, Q, K and A which offer top prizes of between 15 and 20 coins.
The wild symbol, which features a splash of red and gold, appears on reels 2, 3 and 4 only. This will substitute for all other symbols ensuring many more winning opportunities. With the ‘Reel Ways’ system in play, just a single wild can trigger a series of wins.
Hitting the Free Spins Bonus Feature on Dancing Drums Slots
As well as being the highest paying symbol in the game, the Dancing Drums also activate the free spins feature. When you hit three, four and five drums and land that big win, you will also enter this feature.
The free spins bonus round now offers you five options as to how to play:
- Option 1: 15 free spins with a grid size of 3×5.
- Option 2: 10 free spins with a grid size of 4×5.
- Option 3: 5 free spins with a grid size of 5×5.
- Option 4: 3 free spins with a grid size of 6×5.
- Option 5: A mystery prize – one of the four options above picked at random.
This choice can be tricky. Option 1 plays out on the standard reels and offers the same 243 ways to win. However, options two, three and four now offer 1,024, 3,125 and 7,776 ways to win respectively. While the number of spins decrease, the winning opportunities at each go in the other direction. If you are having trouble making a choice, option five selects this at random – taking the choice out of your hands.
How to Win Dancing Drums Progressive Jackpot
The chance to land one of the four progressive jackpots can be awarded randomly any time a single wild appears on the reels. You will now be taken to a screen showing a series of gold coins. Pick each in turn and it will spin to reveal one of a series of Fu babies. Keep picking until you reveal three of the same Fu Babies, and you will win the associated Jackpot. The four jackpot pays are Mini, Minor, Major and Grand.
Where Can You Play Dancing Drums Slots Online in the USA?
If you are lucky enough to live in NJ, PA, MI, or WV then your state already has passed laws allowing legal USA online casinos. You will find Dancing Drums on casino apps and websites – alongside many other titles from Bally including Dragon Spin, Hot Shot and Lucky Tree. More states are expected to pass regulation for online casinos in the months and years to come.
Outside of the regulated states, you will find Dancing Drums in most live casinos.
Dancing Drums Slot Machine Rules
Play to the Beat – Dancing Drums Design
The Dancing Drums plays against the backdrop of a distinctive dark red, lending the game an atmospheric feel. The reels themselves contain a lot of gold, adding a rich feel to the proceedings, with each of the symbols is intricately designed.
When you trigger the free spins, giant animated drums appear over the reels. Throughout the game you will hear an Asian soundtrack, complete with stringed instruments and gongs. Many of the graphics and effects (including the Fu Babies) will remind you of the classic ’88 Fortunes’ slots.
Dancing Drums Slots Videos
Will Dancing Drums let you Snare a Big Win?
Strategy For Playing Dancing Drums Slot Machine
The free to play Dancing Drums slot game is an enjoyable and enticing slot from Bally. With the ‘Reel Ways’ system in the base game, a win is never far away. Any time you hit a wild you could find yourself playing the Jackpot game, where you are guaranteed to win one of the four big prizes. Enter the free spins bonus feature for the highlight of the game. Here you will get to choose exactly how it plays out – with potentially thousands of ways to win on every free spin.