Zhao Cai Tong Zi on ACE333: Lucky Children, Ong Lai Pineapples and a Bright Yellow Screen

Zhao Cai Tong Zi (招財童子) means "the child who brings in wealth", the chubby lucky kids you see on New Year posters and shop calendars. On ACE333 it is a nine-line slot with a yellow background so bright it almost glows, and every symbol is something you would find in a Malaysian Chinese home during the first fifteen days of the new year.

The fortune children

Four children are the top picture symbols, each in a coloured circle:

• a boy hugging a gold ingot, on red
• a girl holding a peach, on green
• a boy carrying a fish, on blue (the fish is the "surplus" in 年年有余)
• a girl with a gold ingot and flowers in her hair, on pink

They land often and in several positions at once, so it takes a few spins to tell them apart.

The New Year objects

The rest of the reels are festive items. Most carry a meaning older relatives will explain whether you ask or not:

• Pineapple with 旺 on it: in Hokkien, pineapple is ong lai, "prosperity arrives", which is why it sits by the door at CNY.
• Fu bag: a red drawstring pouch with 福 (fortune) in gold.
• Purple lantern with 福 on it.
• Red packets (angpow) with gold coins.
• Firecrackers hanging from a red knot.
• Lion dance head in white and blue.
• Three old coins tied with red string.

The logo tile is a green coin with 招財童子 and "Zhao Cai Tong Zi" written on it. The paytable is not in these screenshots, but in games of this style the logo is usually the Wild.

A line win

One spin in this set pays. The header says "You won 1 lines" and "You won 0.04 on line 1", and blue boxes go round the lion dance head on reel 4 and the fu bag on reel 5, joined by a blue line along the middle row. The win sits on the right-hand reels, which matches old descriptions of this game paying in both directions. Check the in-game paytable to see how the two symbols combine.

Bet and balance

The panel is the usual ACE333 layout, with the Dollar Ball badge top left and the Major, Random and Minor meters above the reels. The opening screenshot shows 9 lines with Bet 0.90; the rest are 1 line at 0.01, with the balance between 26.53 and 26.57 after that small win.

Who it suits

This is a feel-good CNY slot, best played in short sessions around the holidays. If you want the same season with more of a jackpot focus, look at Nian Nian You Yu or Zhao Cai Jin Bao in the same lobby. The ACE333 guide covers the app, and you can get an ACE333 game ID to play.