Mega Party Bucks

Mega Party Bucks: Slot Overview

Players, remember being younger, wide-eyed, not trampled down by the realities of life, bills, responsibilities, ageing bodies, finding aches where there were none before, constantly feeling tired and fed up? Where were we? Oh yes, being young and receiving a wrapped gift box and the thrill of ripping the wrapper to shreds to unlock the secrets that lay hidden inside… a book, a toy, socks, whatever. Mega Party Bucks from developer Lucksome seeks to recreate this thrill in a slot by providing the opportunity to open presents in a party atmosphere, where the gift-wrapped contents can be rather lucrative indeed.

And what a room to celebrate in, if you're into pastely pinks, where lines of star lights drape either side of the gaming grid, and balloons have been decorated about the place. It's quite a unique space to get wild in; not sure what else to say. Loadsa gifts line the lower portion of the screen, which is a promising sign in a slot that relies on its special Present symbols for a lot of the entertainment.

Next up is the betting side of Mega Party Bucks, which has stake limits of 10 c to £/€12.50 per game round. The max default RTP relies on going with the optimal betting strategy (mentioned below) and comes out at 96.11%, while the volatility is medium. A cluster paying slot, Mega Party Bucks is held on a game grid consisting of 6 reels and 6 rows of symbols.

When having a party, you're going to want some balloons around, right? If so, then Mega Party Bucks has you covered with 6 various coloured balloons as its lower value symbols, joined by 3 cake-like objects as the final pay symbols on the table. Winning clusters are formed when matching symbols are connected vertically and/or horizontally, paying 0.1 to 2 times the bet for 5 OAK, rising to 4 to 200x for a 15+ sized cluster. Lending an assist, regular disco ball wilds help create clusters by substituting for any regular pay symbol.

Mega Party Bucks: Slot Features

Hopefully, you're the sort of person who savours the anticipation of tearing open wrapped presents because this sort of thing plays a big role in Mega Party Bucks. This is accompanied by free spins, mystery symbols, several upgraders, bonus buys, and cascades.

Cascades

Pay symbols, when part of a winning cluster, are popped off the board, and the spaces they create get filled by symbols cascading in from above. Runs of cascading wins come to an end when no new winning clusters are formed after a drop. Presents do not move with cascades, but they are removed when used as a wild in one (unless it is Saved).

Presents

Present symbols are walking wilds first and foremost, so they substitute for any regular pay symbol. Presents may appear with an 'Open?' sign over them, and players choose whether to open the Present or keep it on the board. According to the game rules, the best strategy is always to keep presents, but it is optional. When Presents open, they reveal cash prizes of which there are 5 tiers plus an Upgrade level, ranging in values from 0.5x to 20,000x in the base game or 1x to 20,000x in free spins.

Presents may initially land on the top row, overlaying other symbols, and award their cash prizes when opened or when reaching the bottom row and hopping off. If a Present reaches the bottom row and hops off on the next spin, it can randomly be upgraded by 1 tier. If it is already at tier 5, the Present can randomly get a Super Upgrade, increasing the cash prize. If Presents overlay a scatter, they act as scatter and wild until the scatter is revealed by a cascade or the Present is removed from the reels. Presents are persistent at stake levels.

Saved Presents

Presents with 'Saved' on them are Saved Presents. Saved Presents part of a cluster stay on the reels till the end of the game round – unless opened or removed as part of the next win.

Mystery Symbols

If a Mystery symbol lands under a Present, then 1 of 3 modifiers may be randomly activated:

• Upgrade Modifier – upgrades the overlaying Present to the next tier.
• Nudge Modifier – shifts the overlaying Present 1 position up, revealing a regular wild below it.
• Upgrade+Nudge – first nudges the overlaying Present, leaving a wild behind, then upgrades the Present to the next tier.

Free Spins

Hitting 4 scatter symbols triggers the free spins bonus, awarding 10 Presents, while each additional triggering scatter grants a further +2 Presents. Each Present that disappears from the reels reduces the number of Presents by 1. No set number of free spins is awarded; rather, when the number of Presents runs out, the feature ends. In the base game, Presents appear as tier 1 or 2, in free spins, they appear at tier 1, 2, or 3.

Bonus Buy

The Bonus Buy lets players get 10 Presents for 65x the bet, 15 Presents for 100x the bet, 20 Presents for 125x the bet, or 150x the bet for 25 Presents in the free spins round. The bonus buy RTP is 96.11-96.44%.

Mega Party Bucks: Slot Verdict

One of the neat things about Mega Party Bucks is that it doesn't act like it wants to try to make everyone happy. It's picked an angle and does its thing. If you like the result, then great; if not, oh well, there are plenty more options out there to choose from. This takeaway began with the game's presentation, which is quite unique, special in its own way, so much so it's easy to visualise some people getting all gooey with delight while others find the pink balloons and boxes not 'core enough for their tastes. Clips of Summit One Vanderbilt's room of silver balls in New York was one image that came to mind after sampling Mega Party Bucks.

Mega Party Bucks' features are quite unique to match, and you can see how the game could bring tension to the boil. Imagine having a higher tier Present inching its way down the reels, tempting you to open it on a spin. The choices are to open it, thereby locking in the prize, or try and send it off the bottom of the grid before it gets used in a win, with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, it'll be upgraded to a 20,000x payout, which incidentally is Mega Party Bucks' max win. A bird in the hand… or potential max win triumph. Toughie. The free spins are interesting, too, since you don't get a certain number of them. Instead, present frequency dictates how long the round lasts. Good to know you do get a set number of Presents to attempt tiering up.

All in all, Mega Party Bucks is a smart cluster paying slot from Lucksome that might not be a freaky unmissable Surrealist Ball with everyone who's everyone in attendance, but for a potentially thrilling bout of adult pass the parcel, it could be the one.