Paradise Found Pokies
Set in the high mountains of Tibet, Paradise Found is a 5-reel, 20 payline pokie which treats players not only to views of the spectacular countryside and landmarks of the region, but also to a bonus round so simple and effective that it’s a wonder why more games haven’t adopted it.
Developed by Microgaming, Paradise Found is presented in a style typical of the company, which means pleasing, if not spectacular graphics and smooth animations. The theme is a little unusual, and it’s rare to see an actual location as the setting for an online pokie, but Tibet looks like a beautiful country and Microgaming have tried to design in a few of the signature items that people associate with it.
Off to Tibet
The Himalayas form a stunning backdrop to the game, with what could be Mount Everest poking up in the distance. Whatever it is, it looks nice and sets the scene up in style. The reels are a little plain however, with a non-descript beige hue to them, but it’s what’s on them that’s important. So we see the standard playing card symbols 10, J, Q and K as well as some game-specific images of an explorer, a yak, a fancy golden goblet and one of the wooden prayer wheels that are closely associated with the Buddhist faith of the country.
Right at the bottom of the game is the control panel, with players having the option to activate any number of lines, up to all 20, while the value of each coin can be adjusted from 0.01 up to 2.00 and between 1 and 10 coins can be played on each line.
Add all this up and we come to a maximum stake per spin of 400.00 per spin, giving this pokie one of the widest potential bet ranges, although it’s worth remembering that unless all 20 lines are activated, which can be done for as little as 0.20, not all winning combinations that land on the reels will count.
Paradise Found
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Winning lines need to consist of 3 or more examples of the same symbol landing on an active line across adjacent reels running from the left side.
The playing card symbols are obviously the lower value ones, with wins ranging from just 5x, 15x or 50x the line bet when 3, 4 or 5 of the 10 symbol land on a line, up to 10x, 20x or 100 for having the K stop in the same way.
The highest value regular symbol is the trusty yak who rewards players with wins of up to 1000x the bet per line, while the bonus features are triggered by a couple of special symbols.
First, there’s the explorer who is a scatter symbol, meaning he doesn’t need to stop in any particular spots to pay a prize. Only 2 scatters are needed to earn 40x the line bet, while getting 5 at once pays 2000x.
Next up we have a wild symbol, which is a yellow lotus flower and works by replacing others if it will complete a winning combination. There may be only a single bonus game here, but it’s a good one, triggered by the wild stopping on reel 1 on the left side and famous Potala Palace in the capital of Lhasa landing on reel 5 at the same time.
Typically, pokies will have a free spins bonus round, but what happens here is that all reels will stay locked in position as a single spot on any of the middle 3 reels will turn wild, guaranteeing that a winning combination is created. This happen 10 times for a series of wins and although it’s a pretty simple idea, it’s better than free spins as these usually don’t guarantee anything.
The Verdict
There’s Lhasa chances to get a win with this game, as there are only 7 main symbols, which means lining them up should be a little easier. The playing card symbols may be a little over-used across many pokies, and the picture symbols are not exactly the most dynamic images ever seen. The explorer looks a bit bored, goblets and prayer wheels don’t move around a lot and the yak isn’t up to much either.
But never mind, it redeems itself with some nice winnings and that innovative bonus round that’s sure to be seen across other games in the near future.