88 Fortune on 3Win8: Reel Ways, Active Symbols and the Four Jackpots

88 Fortune is one of the better-known Chinese-themed slots in the 3Win8 lobby. It pays in reel ways rather than fixed lines, and the thing that makes it tick is the row of four jackpot meters above the reels plus the Active Symbol setting that decides how much of the game you are actually playing for.

The whole screen is lacquer red with gold trim. A treasure bowl piled with gold coins sits in the middle of the top bar, flanked by the jackpot labels: Grand, Major, Minor and Mini.

Symbols and paytable

The paytable fits on one page, which is handy. "Reel ways" means a win counts when matching symbols land on adjacent reels from the left, in any position on each reel.

• Wild: the red-and-gold "Fu" tile. It substitutes for all symbols but only appears on reels 2, 3 and 4.
• Scatter: a bronze gong-style disc, with the paytable listing 5, 10 and 50 for three, four and five.
• Top symbols: the green jade phoenix and its gold twin (100 / 200 / 1000 for 3 / 4 / 5 of a kind), then the junk ships (50 / 100 / 500).
• Middle symbols: the green and gold turtles (40 / 80 / 400) and the silver and gold ingots (25 / 50 / 250).
• Low symbols: the gold coin (10 / 20 / 100) and the card ranks A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 (5 / 10 / 50).

Most boxes show a green or silver symbol next to a gold one. The figures above are for the gold version; the plain version in the same box pays only 5 / 10 / 50, which is why the gold symbols are the ones to watch.

Active Symbol and the jackpot meters

Bottom left is a red Active Symbol button, and a small strip in the top-right corner shows which symbols are currently live. In the Bally original of 88 Fortune, higher bet levels switch on more of these symbols, and the jackpot pick feature is linked to them. The 3Win8 version looks the same, so do not assume a small bet is chasing the same prizes as a big one.

The meters are not static. Between two of the screenshots the Grand moves from about 6,504 to 6,513 and the Major and Minor figures change as the bet changes.

How the bet works in the app

You only touch one number: Line Bet, with arrows either side. Total bet follows it, so a 0.01 line bet gives 0.50 total and 0.10 gives 5.00. Auto and Spin sit on the right, and the ? button opens the paytable.

Pacing it

At 0.50 a spin, a RM50 balance gives you about a hundred spins, which is enough to see how often the gold symbols show up. The catch is that the minimum bet is the weakest version of the game in terms of jackpot access. Decide before you start whether you are playing for small reel wins or for the meters, and set the bet once.

For the rest of the lobby, see the 3Win8 guide. If you do not have an account yet, you can get a 3Win8 game ID.