Great Stars, Ji Xing (3Win8): the laughing Buddha wild, the pagoda free games and two-way lines
A 9-line Chinese slot on 3Win8 where lines pay left to right and right to left. What the Buddha wild and the pagoda scatter do, what the symbols pay, and a 0.03 win checked.
Cartridge label
- Reels
- 5 x 3
- Lines
- 9, pay both ways
- Wild
- Laughing Buddha, reels 2 to 4, doubles wins
- Scatter
- Pagoda: 3, 4 or 5 give 10, 15 or 25 free games
- Top line pay
- 5 peaches, 10000
Controls
- LINES
- Shows the lines in play (9 in the captures)
- LINE BETS - / +
- Stake per line; BETS shows the total
- AUTO / GAMBLE
- AUTO before a spin, GAMBLE after a win
- SPIN
- One spin
Great Stars, 吉星 (Ji Xing, "lucky star") on its logo, is a red-and-purple Chinese slot on 3Win8 with only 9 lines. The trick is that every line pays in both directions, and the help page, shown as the hero above, sets out the rules clearly.
The wild: laughing Buddha
The wild is a smiling, bald Buddha with a gold bead necklace. The help text says he only appears on reels 2, 3 and 4, and "it can be combined with other symbol to win doubled bonus". In plain words: when he completes a line, that line pays double.
Keeping him off reels 1 and 5 matters because lines pay from either end. A line win always needs a symbol on reel 1 or reel 5 to start it, so the Buddha fills gaps in the middle.
The scatter: the pagoda
A tall gold pagoda is the SCATTER. From the help page:
- 2 pagodas pay 1 times bet
- 3 pay 5 plus 10 free games
- 4 pay 10 plus 15 free games
- 5 pay 100 plus 25 free games
The condition is unusual: they must appear on reels 1, 2 and 3, or on reels 3, 4 and 5. The pagoda is scattered, but only in a run from one side, the same way the lines read.
Picture and card symbols
The picture symbols are a peach with gold coins, a golden koi, a pink lotus and a purple fan with a sword. The peach is the top pay at 10000 for five, and the koi pays 5000. Lotus and fan share the same smaller scale.
The card symbols are A and K in red and orange, Q and J in purple and blue, and 9 and 10 in purple and green. Their five-of-a-kind pays step down from 300 to 200 to 50, and three of the lowest pair pays 3.
"All lines pay either from left to right or right to left," says the note under the table.
A small win, checked
Here LINES is 9 and LINE BETS is 0.01, so BETS reads 0.09. Line 8 paid 0.03, and the small banner reads "LINES 8 WIN 0.03". Three of the lowest card symbols pay 3 times line bet, and 3 x 0.01 is 0.03, so the table holds up. After the win, AUTO has turned into GAMBLE. The lone pagoda on reel 4 did nothing, since it needs two partners in a run.
Pacing
A 9-line game at 0.01 costs 0.09 a spin, which is about as cheap as 3Win8 gets. Small wins come from both ends of the reels, so the balance moves slowly. The free games are the only real upside, and they need three pagodas lined up from one side.
More titles are in the 3Win8 overview, for example God of Wealth, another 9-line two-way game. To play, ask for a 3Win8 game ID.
Troubleshooting and questions
Where do the pagodas have to land?
The help page says 3 or more trigger free games when they appear on reels 1, 2 and 3, or on reels 3, 4 and 5. So they must be in a run of reels from one end, which fits the both-ways line rule.
Is this a Red Tiger game?
The old page said so, but nothing on screen names a studio. The in-game logo reads 吉星 with GREAT STARS underneath.
Press start
Want to play it on 3Win8? Get a game ID through our partner link, then set a spending limit before the first round.