Chests of Cai Chen 2

Chests of Cai Shen 2: Slot Overview

Editor's note: This review is based on an early access version of the game. We may update the review after the full release if necessary.

Cai Shen, the Chinese god of wealth and prosperity, is a happy-looking sort who bobs in and out of slots on a regular basis. He did so for developer Pragmatic Play at the back end of 2024, in Chests of Cai Shen, and has done so again as the year 2025 starts slowly drawing in. The slot in this instance is Chests of Cai Shen 2, a sequel, which shares many similarities with the original, but also sees changes to one of its chest-triggered modifiers, possibly leading to more suspenseful bonus rounds and greater winning potential.

A lot about Chests of Cai Shen 2 remains the same, including its visual effects. As before, players are in for a fairly generic, albeit attractive-looking example of this style. A lovely waterside setting is where Chests of Cai Shen 2's action unfolds, sporting a bunch of pagodas on either side of the screen, before fading off into a distance of mountains and moody clouds. The gaming area is similar, too, with a couple of key differences. One, the feature buys have become pricer, and two, the green chest has been removed and replaced by a blue chest on top of the reels, thereby altering what is possible in the respins bonus round.

Chests of Cai Shen 2 is a 5-reel, 3-row slot with 25 paylines, awarding payouts when landing winning combinations of 3 or more of a kind (2+ for the highest symbol). A sturdy 96.5% RTP is on offer at the highest configuration, as well as a highly volatile math model. Two feature buys allow players to leap directly into the bonus round, while $/€0.25 to $/€250 may be staked.

Ten pay symbols land on Chests of Cai Shen 2's gaming grid. They are 10-A royals, a bird, a monkey, a panda, a tiger and Cai Shen. Winning combinations of 5 matching card ranks pay 0.6x to 1.2x the bet, while the remaining symbols award 1.2x to 2x the bet for 5 OAK. Wild symbols are present on all reels except the leftmost reel. They substitute for all symbols except Bonus Coins and money symbols.

Chests of Cai Shen 2: Slot Features

In the base game, three types of Bonus Coins may appear on the grid. These are blue, red, and purple coins, which get collected by their respective chest on top of the screen.

• Blue Bonus Coin - when collected by the Fulfillment chest, it may trigger the Chest Respin feature with the Multiplier Fulfillment modifier. Four zones divide the grid, and a random multiplier of x2 to x100 is assigned to each zone. When a zone is filled with money symbols during the feature, the values of all money symbols in the zone are multiplied by the multiplier.
• Red Bonus Coin - when collected in the Double chest, it may trigger the Chest Respin feature with the Double modifier, in which case the feature is played on two 5x3 grids.
• Purple Bonus Coin - when collected in the Longevity chest, it may trigger the Chest Respins feature with the Longevity modifier, which grants one extra respin up to a maximum of 4 respins, that resets when new money symbols hit.

The collection happens at the end of the spin, and if the Chest Respin feature activates, 1, 2, or 3 of the modifiers are randomly triggered and active during the subsequent round.

Chest Respin Feature

During this feature, only blanks and money symbols may land, and the Bonus Coins that were present when the feature triggered convert to money symbols on one or both grids, depending on whether the Double modifier is active. Money symbols remain in place on the grid until the round ends, and are worth 0.6x to 30x the bet, or they may display the 10x Mini, 20x Minor, or 150x Major prize. 3 respins are awarded (4 for Longevity), and they reset when new money symbols land and stick. The feature ends when respins run out or all positions are filled with money symbols. Then the total value of the money symbols is paid. If all positions are filled, the 5,000x Grand prize is also awarded on top.

Feature Buy

Two feature buys are available in Chests of Cai Shen 2. One is 100x to trigger the respins round with the Fulfillment feature and up to two other features, or 500x to buy the same thing, but where an x100 multiplier is guaranteed on one of the highlighted zones.

Chests of Cai Shen 2: Slot Verdict

Chests of Cai Shen 2 continues Pragmatic Play's foray into Chinese-themed wealth slots, delivering a familiar yet upgraded experience for fans of the original. Squint and it's hard to tell the two slots apart, so close are they in appearance, but widen the eyelids a crack, and the new parts start to be revealed. One of the most apparent differences is the switching of the Prosperity chest for the new Fulfillment chest, and while this is a minor change cosmetically speaking, it makes for a significantly different bonus round, should the Blue Bonus Coin contribute to its triggering.

Previously, the Prosperity modifier would upgrade the values of up to 3 coins by a random amount at the end of random spins, which is useful, though nothing extraordinary. Fulfillment might not be overly remarkable either, but it is able to add a certain nail-biting factor to the Chest Respin feature. Now you don't just want coins to land, you want them to land in specific places to complete zones in order to activate the applicable multiplier. If the zone connected to an x100 multiplier is filled, then any jackpot prizes or even meagre coin values within it can start adding up to sizable amounts.

Not only have suspense levels been elevated, so too has winning potential, as Chests of Cai Shen 2 comes bundled with a 15,000x the bet win cap. Chests of Cai Shen 2 doesn't reinvent the formula, and while a few tweaks add some tension, it leaves the sequel short of anything truly memorable.