Lightning Link Pokies Review

Lightning Link Casino Pokies

Lightning Link pokies are a series of game developed by Aristocrat. The series started back in 2014 and today there are 16 pokies that are all linked together. They all have the same layout 3 rows, 5 reels and 50 paylines, and player spending on any of them contributes to a unified progressive jackpot prize pool. Additionally, all of them have a hold and spin feature. The difference between these pokies is that they don’t have the same wild symbol and free spins bonus rounds. Let’s see what players can expect from this series, go over some tips and tricks, and give our overall impression of Lightning Link pokies.

Lightning Link Casino Slots Gameplay

Anyone should try or at least watch videos of Lightning Link slots free online gameplay to see how it works. At first glance, it looks like any other 3-row 5 reel, but every now and again the player will trigger the hold and spin feature. To do this they have to get 6 or more scatter coins or bonus symbols, anywhere on the reels.

During this bonus round players will have a certain number of free spins and if they time their spins correctly they can get additional coins which award additional spins. The idea is to get as many of these as possible and hit one of 4 jackpots.

• Mini bonus – they get around 100 AUD extra
• Minor bonus – they get a few hundred Australian dollars
• Major jackpot – Players get a jackpot prize along with any other bonuses they win
• Grand jackpot – A progressive jackpot that can also be won at random if the grand jackpot symbol appears during the hold and spin rounds.

Lightning Link Slot Machine RTP

It’s difficult to discover or talk about the RTP for thousands of pokie machines that are placed in different countries. Every country or state has its regulatory body that dictates RTP for games that are available there. Since these pokie by Aristocrat are available in Indiana and Nevada that would mean their RTP has to be at least 90% or 92%. There are also reports that players have achieved around RTP of 95%.

Lightning Link Online Guide: Paylines Explanation

One of the reasons why players find Lightning Link pokies appealing is their freedom to adjust the number of paylines. They can lower the bet amount if they use 25 bet ways or increase the amount if they opt for all 50 of the bet ways to be active. If you aim to enter bonus rounds then having all paylines active might be a better option. However, if you want to focus solely on the hold and spin feature, the number of paylines won’t be a factor to an extent. We will expand on this in detail later on.

Lightning Link Pokies Online Paytable

Since there are multiple installments in the series we will present a paytable from Dragon Riches. The other pokies are very similar apart from the changes to wild symbol and bonus round mechanics.

There are also scatter coin symbols that are relevant for the hold and spin feature. It’s also important to note that these symbols have different values, and their values are determined based on your bet size. Additionally, you cannot trigger bigger jackpots if you bet size. For example, you can only trigger a Grand jackpot if you play with at least 50,000 coins, and to qualify for the Major jackpot you need to play with at least 20,000 coins.

Lightning Link Pokie Unique Features and Symbols

As stated every installment in the series will have unique wild symbols and scatter. Wild are always substitutes that don’t apply to scatter symbols and gold orbs (jackpot symbols). Currently, there are 16 Lightning Link slot games:

• Raging Bull – Glaring bull is wild, Charging Bull (the entire bull is visible) is scatter. Instead of gold orbs, the jackpot symbol here is red capote.
• Magic Pearl – Mermaid is wild, Dolphin is scatter
• Mine Mine Mine – Old miner is wild, dynamite is scatter (gold orb or jackpot symbol here is gold ore)
• High Stakes – Welcome to Las Vegas sign is wild, Gold Dollar Sign Briefcase is scatter (jackpot symbol is casino chip)
• Dragon Riches – Gold Dragon wild, Gold Dragon Orb Scatter
• Sahara Gold – Desert Wandere on Camelback is wild, Taj Mahal is scatter
• Happy Lantern – Emperor is wild, Dragon Mask is scatter
• Fire Idol – Tiki Totem is wild, Volcano is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Magma Orb)
• Magic Totem – Indian Chieftan is wild, TeePee is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Dream Catcher)
• Moon Race – Astronaut is wild, Moon Race Sign is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Moon)
• Best Bet – Horse is wild, Gold Horseshoe is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Trophy)
• Eyes of Fortune – Tiger is wild, Lantern is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Emerald)
• Bengal Treasures – Tilger is wild, Taj Mahal is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Ruby)
• Heart Throb – Diamond is wild, Full Moon is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Heart)
• Tiki Fire – Tiki Totem is wild, Volcano is scatter (the Jackpot symbol is Magma Orb)
• Wild Chugo – Chugo is wild, Coin Bags are scatter (has Wanted Poster symbol that can randomly transform into any other symbol)

The rules are almost identical apart from the rules that are added to the bonus round. So, make sure you read the info card or play a demo with Lightning Link free coins to figure out how it works. Bear in mind that these weren’t really released at the same time, so land-based casinos that have pokies from this series, might not have all of the listed titles.

Lightning Link Pokie Bonus Features

Getting at least 3 scatter symbols will trigger the bonus round. During this round, you have 6 free spins. These free spins can be re-triggered so there is always a chance you can pull off crazy wins once you enter a single bonus round. In the example used above, Dragon Riches, any winning combination you get during the bonus round, that involves a wild symbol will give you double rewards.

In other words, this type of bonus really rewards players who opt to use all of the 50 paylines. They will also be active during the round, and you can get some sweet returns.

Devices Players Can Use to Play Lightning Link Online

The mentioned games by Aristocrat are currently only available in land-based casinos. That being said there is a Lightning Link slots free online app that is available for both Android and iOS devices. The app features multiple games, but none of them are from the Aristocrats’ Lightning Link Series. Still, the pokies that you can play do resemble other popular titles from Aristocart some of which are from similar Dragon Link series. Any Android or iOS device can run the app, it’s free to download and free to play with in-app purchases and you can’t win money on this app.

How to Play Real Money Lightning Link Pokies?

In order to play any pokies from this series you will have to find a casino that hosts pokies machines from Aristocrat. Australian land-based casinos are the safest option as they need to comply with Australian Communications and Media Authority regulations. ACMA has offices in several regions so, any casino that is on these territories should be a safe choice:

• Australian Capital Territory
• Tasmania
• The Queensland
• Victoria region
• New South Wales

Once you find a casino that is regulated and has these games you can start playing. You will have to choose the number of paylines either 25 or 50, and you should also choose how much you are willing to bet on each payline. You can bet 1c, 2c, 3c and even 5c or 10c per single betway. When you make the selection on the machine choosing 1c or 2c denomination will automatically have 50 paylines active, while choosing 5c or 10c will start the game with 25 active paylines. The maximum bet is A$50 per spin if you are betting 10c on 50 paylines.

Remember that your bet size per payline will affect the values in scatter coins and the number of active paylines during the bonus round. Moreover, you need to play with a certain amount of coins if you wish for Majro and Grand jackpots to be active during your session.

Winning Tips for Lightning Link Slots

You should play the demo to get a feel for the game and figure out what amount per spin are you comfortable with. Even with all 50 paylines active the regular winning combinations don’t make much of an impact so you can’t really count to break even on those spins. So here are a few easy tips:

1. The game can be very generous during bonus rounds, so squeeze out as many spins as possible with your budget in order to get as many bonuses as possible
2. Playing at 5c on 25 paylines is pretty optimal if you are playing with a few hundred dollars
3. Use lower denominations if your budget is a few dozen dollars
4. If you are lucky enough and win a few hundred bucks during bonuses then you can change the denomination to 10c on 25 paylines

Where to play Lightning Link?

You can find these machines in Crown land-based casinos

Since these pokies aren’t available in online casinos you can look for some solid alternatives with similar motifs or themes. You can try Where’s the Gold by Aristocrat as it resembles Mine Mine Mine from the Lightning Link series, and it’s available in multiple online casinos:

• Spin Samurai
• Wild io
• Golden Crown
• 7bit
• Rocket
• Hell Spin
• Ignition

Moreover, all of these online casinos have their own promotions and bonuses, so you can even save money by opting for one of those operators.

Are Lightning Link Pokies Australia Worth Your Time and Money?

There are definitely pokies that have higher RTP that you can find online. Moreover, online pokies are both easier and cheaper to access. That being said these games have 4 jackpots and you can hardly find anything similar online. Moreover, if your goal is to try and make a few hundred Australian Dollars then Lightning Link pokies are a great choice. There are 2 different bonus rounds that can easily boost your winnings.

How Other Players Feel About Lightning Link Pokies

So far the player reception of the series has been overwhelmingly positive. You can find lots of videos from all over the world, where enthusiasts enjoy Lightning Link. Unlike other machines, these are more interactive thanks to the hold and spin feature. This keeps the players on their toes and they do their best to try and time scatter coins on their reels. Playing during this round correctly is incredibly rewarding so it’s easy to see why for many Lightning Link pokies are their favorite games.

Conclusion

All things considered, you should definitely try these pokie, especially if you love games. It’s a shame that they aren’t available online, but going to a land-based casino tends to be a very fun and memorable experience for many.