Microgaming Oldies: Tiger Moon Pokies Review

Microgaming‘s 2013 release of Tiger Moon Pokies takes players on an customary journey through the Orient. I’m not generally a fan of these themes, mostly because it’s been overdone too many times, but the creators did a beautiful job melding the classical style of traditional Chinese culture with the tranquility it so often represents.

In this Tiger Moon Pokies review, we’ll go beyond the exterior to see what the game’s internal value really is, examining the features and overall profitability for players.

Tiger Moon Pokies Review

Tiger Moon Pokies is a 5 reel, 243 Ways to Win game – fairly typical of Microgaming. Being a ways-to-win poker machine, players must bet in increments of 30 coins, with bet sizes scaling anywhere from $0.30 up to $37.50.

Tiger Moon’s symbols embody traditional Chinese culture, including a customarily dressed man and woman, tiger, gold coin, jade locust, bucket of gold, and Microgaming’s habitual favorite – generic playing card values of 9, 10, J, Q, K and A.

The Gold Coin is the Wild, but it’s not an impressive one – at least not in the base game. The wild can only appear on reels 2 and 4, and offers no special functions; just the usual substitution of other symbols, except scatters, to assist in the formation of winning combinations. Its presence becomes a lot more appreciated during free spins, though.

To trigger those Free Spins, players will want to see 3, 4 or 5 of the Tiger Scatters land anywhere on the reels. If this happens, the player will be generously rewarded with 8, 16 or 24 free spins respectively. There are no automatic multipliers during the feature, but if a wild appears, the payouts can rise dramatically.

During free spins, a winning combination involving a wild on reel 2 will receive a 4x multiplier. A win with a wild on reel 4 will pay with a 5x multiplier. And here’s the kicker – if a win occurs with a wild on both reels 2 and 4, they combine for a fantastic 20x multiplier.

Free games can be re-triggered during the feature, and the Scatter Pays aren’t bad either, generating payouts of 187.5x, 750x, and 1875x the total bet for 3, 4 or 5 on a line.

Tiger Moon Pokies also features the usual ‘Double Up‘ (aka Gamble) feature, wherein players can risk their full winnings, or half their winnings, on a double-or-nothing bet. The player chooses whether the card will be Red or Black, and also has the option of choosing the cards suit for a 4x payout.

Tiger Moon Pokies Review – The Real Deal

There aren’t any exceptional features here – just the usual wild and scatter with free spins. But simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Based on the game’s overall description, I was expecting to be disappointed, but that wasn’t the case. At least, not at first.

I’ve played this game three times now, and the first run through was actually quite entertaining. I managed to strike the free spins right away, and on the final free spin, landed both wilds for the 20x multiplier and a 158x payout.

The next two runs weren’t as lucky. I couldn’t seem to get anything good on the second run, and gave up after about 10 minutes. A few days later, I gave it one more shot, and I did hit the free spins twice, but the multipliers never kicked in for me.

I don’t think this is a bad game, but I recommend waiting until you’ve got itchy palms to give it a go. A little luck goes a long way in Tiger Moon Pokies.