5 Lions Introduction
5 Lions by Pragmatic Play immediately catches your eye thanks to the shining gold twinkling back at you from the reels. As with most pokies that feature the colour gold, you know that there are riches worth finding within the reels. The introduction landing page is split into two sections: a vibrant purple header that scrolls through the pokie's main features, and a swirling blue sea that encourages you to play with a pulsating spin button.
Once you click to spin, you will be taken to the main reels where the fun can begin. Around the edge of the reels is a gold border with the number 243 standing on the each side to remind players just how big the chance of winning is. Two golden lions sit at the top of the reels to form part of the 5 Lions logo.
The lions separate to reveal golden wording explaining the pokie's biggest features and emphasise that there are 576 different ways to win when playing in free spins mode. It all looks very expensive, almost regal, and helps create the feeling that a big win is just around the corner.
Getting started
First, players must decide how much they are willing to bet. This can be done easily by clicking onto the plus and minus icons at the bottom of the reels. Players can select between one and 10 bet levels at a coin value of between 0.01 and 0.50. Those who like to make their money last can choose to play as little as 50 coins ($0.50) or go all out by betting up to 500 coins ($250).
The pokie is pretty self-explanatory, with all of the important buttons clearly highlighted. Nevertheless, players can click onto the information symbol if they wish to find out exactly what each symbol is worth and how to trigger the special features. There is also the option to turn the sound effects off if you do not want to listen to the Asian-inspired music while you play.
Those who want to dive right into the pokie might like to use the autoplay function to save their clicking finger. This allows players to select between 10 and 100 automatic spins of the reels without having to touch anything. You are also able to set it up so that the autoplay will stop if you land one of the features, exceed a single win amount, or if your funds decrease by a certain amount.
On the reels
As you would expect from an Asian-themed pokie, there are several themed symbols to find. The lower-paying symbols are 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, which are all vivid in colour with a golden edge. These are all worth different amounts depending on how much you have staked. Three of these playing card symbols will net you a minimum of five coins when playing at the lowest stakes, while high rollers can win a minimum of 50 coins.
The highest lower-paying symbol is the A, which can pay out up to 2,000 coins if you find five of them on the reels. The other symbols all come from Asian culture and legends. This includes a tortoise, Koi carp, frog and the highest-paying symbol of them all: the golden dragon. This is the one you want to find, with a maximum payout of 10,000 coins being given as a reward.
These symbols continue the vivid imagery with bright colours surrounding each of the golden statues.
Features
There are two feature symbols to look out for when playing 5 Lions. The first is the golden lion, which acts as the Wild. This will substitute for all other symbols, minus the scatter, to help create better winning combinations. If you manage to land a Wild during a win, your reward will be multiplied by a random amount. This can be 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 30, or 40 times, which can significantly increase your winnings.
The Yin Yang symbol is the scatter and will trigger the free spins round should you manage to land three, four or five of them on adjacent reels. In addition, your win will also be multiplied by two, five or 20 times depending on how many scatters appear on the reels. When you trigger the free spins round, you will be asked to choose your own package.
These options include: -6 free spins with a 15x, 30x, 40x wild multiplier -10 free spins with a 10x, 15x, 30x wild multiplier -13 free spins with a 8x, 10x, 15x wild multiplier -15 free spins with a 5x, 8x, 10x wild multiplier -20 free spins with a 3x, 5x, 8x wild multiplier -25 free spins with a 2x, 3x, 5x wild multiplier -A mystery option with a mystery amount of free spins and multiplier amounts.
This feature works well for players who like their features to work a specific way. Some people prefer free spins, and some prefer the chance for bigger payouts. Whichever style you prefer, 5 Lions caters for all where the free spins feature is concerned.
Flexible play
As with the other pokies available at Online Pokies 4U, 5 Lions is completely free to play. It is also available to play on desktop, mobile and tablet devices so you are not limited in terms of where you can play it. Overall, 5 Lions is a visually pleasing pokie that is simple to play. The addition of the free spins feature that allows players to choose how they play is not something seen too often and makes this pokie well worth a spin.