Happy Lantern (ACE333): the lantern Hold and Spin feature and the free-games trigger
A 50-line Chinese slot where gold lanterns carry prizes. Six of them start the Hold and Spin feature. Here is how that works, plus the free games and jackpot locks.
Cartridge label
- Reels
- 5 x 3
- Lines
- 50
- Hold and Spin
- 6 lanterns start it
- Free games
- 3 scroll symbols start them
- Jackpot bars
- Grand, Major, Minor 5000, Mini 1000
Controls
- TOTAL BET - / +
- Steps the stake (50 credits in the screenshots)
- MAX BET
- Jumps straight to the highest stake
- SPIN
- Tap to spin, hold for autospin; STOP while spinning
- GAMBLE
- Black spade that appears after a win
Happy Lantern is a 50-line Chinese festival slot built on the "hold and spin" idea that Aristocrat's Lightning Link made popular. Most of what matters happens in the gold lanterns, so this page is mostly about them.
The screen
The reels are deep red columns set in a gold frame with pink and green lanterns strung along the top. "50 LINES" tags sit on both sides. Across the top are four bars: GRAND JACKPOT (1,302,016 here, with a red padlock), MAJOR JACKPOT (351,752, green padlock), MINOR BONUS 5000 and MINI BONUS 1000.
Under the bars a thin banner rotates between rules, which is the quickest way to learn the game:
- "6 [lantern] Start HOLD & SPIN FEATURE"
- "3 [scroll] Start FREE GAMES"
- "GOOD LUCK" and "Game Over - Play Now" between spins
The lanterns
A lantern lands as a gold oval with a credit value printed on it: 50, 150, 200, 250, 750 and 2.5K all appear in these captures. Some carry a label instead, such as MAJOR JACKPOT or MINOR BONUS. On a normal spin they pay nothing by themselves. They count toward the six needed to start Hold and Spin.
The capture above has five lanterns, one short of the trigger. In games of this family the feature locks the lanterns and respins the rest, adding any new ones, and pays the total when the respins run out. A jackpot lantern pays that bar.
Line wins and free games
The regular symbols are the bearded God of Fortune, a lion-dance head, a bundle of firecrackers, a green turtle, a lucky cat and card letters 9 to A. The red double-happiness scroll is the free-games symbol: three of them start the round. None of the shots here reach it.
In one spin the God of Fortune stretched into a full-height figure on reel 2, and the caption read "Line 17 wins 5" for a total of 55. The GAMBLE spade appeared in the corner after it.
The bet bar
CURRENT BALANCE on the left (4,743 at the start), TOTAL BET with - and +, TOTAL WIN, a blue MAX BET button and the green SPIN button, labelled "HOLD FOR AUTOSPIN". The balance is shown in game credits.
Pacing
At 50 a spin, the eight captures moved the balance from 4,743 to 4,593 with one 55 win in between, which is normal for a lantern game. It pays little on the base reels and saves the value for the feature. Before pressing MAX BET, check which jackpot bars stay locked at your stake, because those are the main reason to bet more.
For a related design, see Lock It Link in the same lobby, or the ACE333 overview for the full list. To play, ask for an ACE333 game ID.
Troubleshooting and questions
What are the padlocks next to Grand and Major?
In this style of game they show which jackpots your current bet can win. At a 50 bet the Grand shows a red padlock and the Major a green one. Raising the bet is usually what opens a locked bar; check the help screen before relying on it.
What happens in Hold and Spin?
In Lightning Link-style games the lanterns lock in place and you get a few respins; each new lantern resets the count, and at the end all lantern values are paid. The screenshots here show the trigger banner but not the feature screen itself.
Press start
Want to play it on ACE333? Get a game ID through our partner link, then set a spending limit before the first round.