THE DROP TEST DRIVES KONAMI’S “GOLDEN RABBIT – MONEY TRAILS”
Originally released in April and August 2019, the first two Konami Money Trails games in the Concerto Stack machine, Rising Koi Money Trails and Fortune Phoenix Money Trails, have been consistently popular in Queensland and NSW. Both games are still above average in the market and their artwork stands out on any gaming floor in the Concerto Stack portrait style machine that allows for full screen animations. The latest release, Golden Rabbit Money Trails retains the best features of the first two games and adds an additional a Mini and Major Bonus that can appear as a prize scatter and can be won at any time.
Denomination: Golden Rabbit is a multidenom game where players can choose from 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, and the all-important $1 option. Having a $1 option on good players games has become an important component of success for all manufacturers as it gives the bigger regular players the opportunity to speed up their game cycle by increasing their bets. The smaller players can choose their play level based on their budget. Dynamic paytable components ensure that the bonus levels increase for the players betting up with a Major Bonus of $1000 on a $1 bet configuration.
Game Features: Golden Rabbit has a feature where a combination of 3, 4 or 5 scattered prize symbols triggers 6, 8 or 12 free games with extra prize scatter symbols added to the reels to increase the chance for the player to achieve the Money Trails feature.
The Money Trails feature is common to all the games in this range and its entertainment and anticipation factor has been part of its success. Konami have improved on the original Money Trails feature by introducing a Mini and Major Bonus that can appear as a prize scatter and can be won at any time. In the feature any 4 or more prize scatters starts the money trails feature and awards 3 bonus spins. Three coin trails, located above the centre 3 reels, collect the prize scatters starting from the bottom coin on each trail. At the end of each bonus spin, additional prize scatters are copied to the corresponding Money Trail and are reset for another 3 spins. For the player, each spin that awards another prize scatter increases the prize ladder and, if they reach the top, will reward them with a mini, major or maxi jackpot. Once a player reaches one of the jackpots on a Money Trail the players can win a Mega Jackpot of the scatter prize lands on that reel.
SAP Profile: Mega Jackpots startup amounts are available at $5,000 or $8,000 so each club can choose the liability that suits their players, with a Maxi Jackpot start-up of $500 as well as Maxi bonuses.
Volatility: With the $1 bet option in Golden Rabbit Money Trails and dynamic bonus prizes available for those bets there is good volatility in this game for the mid-top tier players. However, the fun feature in this game and the feeling of anticipation as the prizes climb the money trails ensure plenty of interest and a break in play for the regular players that will see them reinvesting their wins for further play time.
Floor Position: This game can fit well in any part of the floor. If the regular players are the target, then the $5000 jackpot is available, and the game can fit in the front or center of the gaming floor. For the mid to higher tier players the $8000 jackpot should be easily visible across the floor and a central floor position would suit. With bigger players able to increase their bets through the $1 configuration option and increasing the dynamic bonus levels the outdoor gaming area is also a strong option for Golden Rabbit-Money Trails.
Performance: Golden Rabbit-Money Trails has been available in the Qld market since early February and in the last weeks in February in NSW Clubs. There has been strong positive and improving performance results in all markets as the numbers of games installed starts to increase in clubs and hotels. In both Queensland and NSW the games are consistently 1 .3 X floor average based on independent MAX performance data.
