A Dream of Red Mansions, more often translated as Dream of the Red Chamber, is a sprawling, epic novel written in China by Cao Xueqin in the 1700s. It uses the interactions and experiences of two branches of the same noble family, one named False and the other Real in Chinese, to mirror the fortunes and feuds of the declining Qing Dynasty. The IGT online video slot Red Mansions takes its inspiration from features of this novel, rather than using the random good-luck charms common to most slots of a Chinese bent.
Apart from the narrative, A Dream of Red Mansions also provides an unparalleled insight into the mythology, culture, religions and arts of China at the time, and IGT is careful to use many of these elements in the colourful, detailed Red Mansions artwork. A rainbow sunset behind a red-tiled Chinese house, with guardian dragons on the house-posts, frames the five reels and four rows. Each icon has its own intricate wallpaper behind the figure, glowing in contrasting hues.
Extra Bet Enables 1024 Ways to Win
Red Mansions is an unusual real money online pokies, in that it allows the players two modes of play. There are 40 paylines, and players can choose to bet just 1 coin on each, for a total of 40 coins per spin. However, for another 80 coins per spin, IGT’s 1024 Ways to Win system can be engaged. When this feature is active, combinations do not have to form on the same payline. A winning combo is formed whenever three or more matching symbols appear on adjacent reels, starting on Reel 1.
If two or more matching symbols appear stacked in a combo made this way, the win is multiplied by the number of icons in the stack, each forming their own winning combo. So engaging 1024 Ways to Win is by far the most profitable way to play Red Mansions, but it can be expensive, at 120 coins per spin. Fortunately, most versions available at online and mobile casinos allow players to adjust the coin denomination, allowing fans to keep optimum play more affordable.
Novel Characters Among the Symbols
Those who know the original novel will be able to recognise the various characters among the Red Mansions high-value icons, but the rest of us will simply see a Chinese nobleman and four high-born ladies. It’s probable that the man is Baoyu, the protagonist of the novel, who at various times encounters the 12 beauties of his home city, Jinling. He wins the second-highest prize in base play: 2,000 coins for five matches.
The top-scoring Red Mansions icon is a flower-decked beauty, most likely Daiyu, Baoyu’s tragic true love, who dies of a broken heart when he is forced to marry someone else. She wins up to 5,000 coins for a full payline. The three lower-ranked ladies win 1,000, 500 or 500 coins for the top match. Lower-value wins are provided by four cards from the poker deck: A, K, Q and J.
Only One Bonus Feature
A red pagoda that can appear on Reels 2, 3, 4 or 5 is the Red Mansions Wild. A jade stone in a gold setting, exuding a magical vapour, is another artefact from the novel: it forms the Red Mansions Gambling Bonus Scatter. Two or more appearing on Reel 3 can trigger up to 20 free spins.