THE DROP TEST DRIVES IGT’S BOOST IT UP GAMES
IGT have re-imagined the red / black gamble feature in Australian poker machines and used it to form the basis of a totally new game feature involving significant player interaction in the first of their new Boost It Up game family, Vegas Nights. Eastern Lights is an Asian themed version of Vegas Nights, with an additional two games in the family, Magic Spins & Midnight Cabaret, that are less interactive for players who want faster game play. In all four games made for the Peak Dual27 machine, the multiple features and free games are designed around the theme of boosting up the win opportunities for players and include a new jackpot structure that provides something different for players.
The Basics
Jackpot Profiles:
The link version of Boost It Up is offered with three Grand Jackpot startup levels at $10,000, $15,000, and $25,000. This allows gaming managers to pick a Grand Jackpot start up that fits their overall link strategy and there will be a wide range of players that these games will suit, so the jackpot choice here needs to be made carefully. As well as the Grand Jackpot, the games also have a Mega, and Maxi, plus two bonus levels. The Mega and Maxi Jackpots share the same jackpot parameter level (i.e. the same jackpot win amount).
The SAP versions of the Boost It Up game family have a choice of $5,000 and $7,500 Grand Jackpots.
Denomination range: The Boost It Up game family is available as multi-denomination games including 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c $1 and a $2 choice for NSW.
Boost It Up – a truly new feature!
In Vegas Nights and Eastern Lights IGT have re-imagined and introduced a red/black card “gamble style” choice into the Boost Feature.
Players gain access to the Boost Feature by landing 6 or more Boost It Up Money Balls with each Money Ball containing either a multiplier of up to x250 their bet, or a bonus prize.
For each Money Ball players are offered a ‘current prize’ value. There is also the opportunity for a ‘boosted prize’ value by multiplying the current prize by the Money Ball multiplier value.
For each Money Ball players are awarded a current prize. The player has a choice of a red or black card. Once chosen, the cards are then shuffled, and a random red or black card is selected by the machine. If the player has chosen the correct colour, they are awarded a boosted prize instead. So, a player with a ‘current value’ of $5 and a multiplier of x10, will collect either $5 or $50 depending on whether they choose red or black correctly.
The value of this new feature is that the players gain six or more prize wins for each of their Boost It Up Money Balls that triggered the Boost It Up feature, but with a correct red or black choice their win can be boosted to greater win values.
Players can also see their boost feature history of the red / black choices they have made throughout the feature.
Alternatively, the player’s Money Balls can display a bonus amount. There are two bonus levels in the games, the Mini and Minor bonus. Players will be awarded the Mini bonus, but a successful red or black choice will boost this to the Minor bonus. Either way they win one of the bonus prizes.
Midnight Cabaret and Magic Spins also offer a Boost It Up feature which focuses on increasing the potential for players to boost their wins without the choice, for those players wanting a quicker play experience. In these games, at the top of each reel that contains a Boost It Up Money Ball a credit prize is awarded. The more symbols included on the reel the higher the credit prize. Each reel prize will be randomly repeated up to 10x, and an additional random 2x, 3x, or 5x multiplier may also be applied to the reel prize.
Jackpot Boost Feature
The Jackpot Boost Feature is common across all four games in the game family. The Jackpot Boost It Up Money Balls appear more often when players increase their bets.
The players require 6 or more Jackpot Boost It Up Money Balls to trigger the Jackpot Boost feature where they have the opportunity to win the Mega, Maxi or Grand Jackpots with the Mega, and Maxi Jackpots sharing the same jackpot parameter level. Players enter into a “pick ‘em” game, where the player chooses from 9 symbols to reveal their jackpot level win. Players must match three of the same jackpot symbols to be awarded a jackpot prizes, but in this feature the players are guaranteed to win one of the jackpots.
Following that Jackpot Win, players then have a chance to increase their wins by playing through the Boost It Up Feature by choosing Red or Black for each of their Jackpot Boost It Up Money Balls.
Free Game Series:
Each of the games also has a free game series.
Vegas Nights and Eastern Lights: Players need to land three or more of the dice symbols to gain 8 free games. During the free games, reel 5 contains the Boost It Up symbols, the Jackpot Boost It Up symbols, the dice symbol and stacked wild symbols only. Players can trigger either of the main Bost It Up or Jackpot Boost features during free games or trigger additional free games. At the conclusion of the free games, players spin a dice to be awarded additional free games based on the number they land.
Midnight Cabaret and Magic Spins: Players need to land three or more of the dice symbols to gain 6 free games. During the free spins, any three or more dice symbols award an extra 6 free games. Any credit prize awarded with each spin is repeated by between 2x to 10x. Players can trigger either of the main Boost It Up or Jackpot Boost features within the free games. At the conclusion of the free games, players can roll the dice to be awarded additional 1 to 6 free games based on the number they land.
See how Boost It up Vegas Nights works here >>>
Player Fit and Positioning:
The Boost It Up game family includes medium-high volatility games so should fit with regular players in mid-high tiers. The feature hit rate matches the current game trends and players will be comfortable with the opportunities they get to land the feature.
These games have great floor presence, with the player feature choices displayed in the top box as they play. I can see Vegas Nights and Eastern Lights appealing to most individual players across all tiers, also game players can choose to play as a group. This means these games should fit well in both high traffic areas mid-floor but also further back in more private positions on the floor and in outdoor gaming areas. Where you choose to place it will direct either group play or individual play on these games. Midnight Cabaret and Magic Spins focus on repeat wins rather than player choice and higher traffic areas mid floor would be perfect.
IGT’s new Boost It Up game family uses the traditional red / black gamble feature as the basis of a totally new and innovative feature in Vegas Nights and Eastern Lights that looks really interesting. In combination with the slightly different feature play of Midnight Cabaret and Magic Spins all four games will find a home among a wide range of players. The focus in all of the games is on ‘boosting up’ the opportunity for wins for the players, and their choice of game will depend on whether they are looking for a slightly longer interactive game experience on their own or with friends, or a quicker game with repeat win opportunities.
To be the first in your area with these new games contact your IGT Representative
Written by: Justine Channing – Gaming Specialist
