China and Asia, in particular, have always been a fertile thematic ground for slot developers. Together with ancient Egypt slots, I think it’s safe to say Chinese slots are among the most expected releases. The Chinese culture is rooted in mysteries and revolves around concepts of luck and wealth, both of which are key in online gaming, too. Zodiac Lantern Rabbit is one such slot, celebrating the famous Lantern festival.

This festival is part of the last day of Chinese New Year celebrations. Key Chinese folklore characters such as moon rabbits and dragons participate in these celebrations. They symbolize wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. The Zodiac Lantern Rabbit incorporates these themes into magical weaving spins that can lead to payouts north of 10,000x the bet.

While the slot’s gameplay doesn’t tell a new tale, it comes with several surprises, such as the two bonus rounds. The Hold’n’Spin feature can deliver jackpots your way, while free spins with multipliers add another layer of entertainment. Read my Zodiac Lantern Rabbit online slot review below and see why it’s a hit at the top casinos online.

Zodiac Lantern Rabbit from Light & Wonder is all about lanterns and Chinese folklore. The slot’s symbols include a golden rabbit, dragons, and golden and red lanterns. The action takes place on a 5x3 grid with 50 paylines and a fairly standard setup. No matter the device you play it on, the slot’s user-friendly layout and design make it a breeze to play.

The usual buttons are on the right side, with the settings and paytable on the left. Zodiac Lantern Rabbit has an animated background, with a dragon guarding the lanterns on the left. It doesn’t have any particular function, as far as I could see, but it definitely adds a nice touch to the overall experience.

There’s no background Chinese folk music, which feels a bit like a missed opportunity to me. Most slots of its ilk have it and it certainly makes for a more immersive atmosphere.

Before you delve deep into this Chinese New Year adventure, you’ll need to adjust your bet. Choose from 20c to $40 per spin and click on the red spin button. You also have the option to set up to 100 automatic spins and turn on the turbo mode for faster gameplay.

The base game plays easily. You need three or more matching symbols on a line for a win. A colorful dragon is a wild, substituting for any symbol in a winning combination except the lanterns and the scatter. Lanterns can land with cash prizes, but these are only awarded in the Hold’n’Spin bonus. When it comes to the dragon wild, it can occasionally expand on the grid to create almost guaranteed wins.

The key feature in the Zodiac Lantern Rabbit slot game is the Hold’n’Spins bonus. Six red lanterns trigger it. If a golden lantern is part of the triggering group, the golden version of the bonus plays instead.

This feature is played on a new set of reels with only lanterns landing on them. It begins with three respins, which are reset when a new lantern lands on the grid. There are three types of lanterns which can land on the reels:

• Credit lanterns: may land with cash prizes from 0.20x to 4x or the Mini/Minor jackpot.
• Game-in-game lanterns: special scrolling lanterns that carry rewards from 20x to 150x or the Major/Mega jackpots.
• Glow lanterns: their values grow incrementally if they land on unlocked reel arrays. Glow lanterns land with prizes from 0.50x to 100x.

There are two versions of the Hold’n’Spin feature – the normal and golden version. 

• The normal version starts with one unlocked reel array. You need to collect 8, 15, and 30 lanterns to unlock three more arrays.
• A golden version of the feature is unlocked if you have a golden lantern among the six triggers. In this version, all four grid arrays are unlocked so that more lanterns can land.

Land three or more scatters to trigger the free spins bonus. You will then be taken to a free spins choice screen, where you can select from:

• Ten free spins with 40 red lanterns added to the grid
• Eight free spins with 80 lanterns
• Five free spins with 100 lanterns

During the free spins, the wild always expands. It’s also possible to trigger the Hold’n’Spins bonus via free spins. Landing three scatters on the reels retriggers the bonus round. You’ll have to trigger this bonus naturally, as there’s no bonus buy feature.

Zodiac Lantern Rabbit was a more fun slot than I expected. I started playing with a bet of $1 and was surprised to hit wins regularly. The math model may be volatile, but even then, slots don’t pay that often. These weren’t big wins, but enough to pique my curiosity.

The free spins bonus triggered in just under 20 spins. I went with the eight free spins option. It wasn’t nearly as rewarding as the base game, with just a 4x payout in the end despite a total of 80 lanterns added to the grid.

The Hold’n’Spin bonus was more rewarding, but it took around 60 spins to reach, which is a lot. This is why I believe that the slot needs a buy bonus option, which would have made things easier.

Zodiac Lantern Rabbit’s medium volatile math model is paired with an RTP of 95.87%. The maximum payout is 10,500x the bet.

Chinese folklore slots are nothing new, and they usually stick to vintage gameplay. The Zodiac Lantern Rabbit slot does things a bit differently, mixing two famous bonus rounds in a single package. The standard and golden version of the Hold’n’Spin bonus makes it more interesting, and thanks to the great design and visuals, it should impress fans of the Chinese theme.

For alternatives, you can try your luck on Geisha Wonders by NetEnt. You can’t miss Sakura Fortune and Sakura Fortune 2 by Quickspin, both of which are considered among the best Asian slots of all time.