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What Is Mandarin? A Brief History of the Language
Mandarin is a Chinese language. From the perspective of most English speaking
cultures, it the term most commonly referred to as the Chinese language. This is
a misnomer as several different languages and dialects are spoken in China.
Mandarin dates back to 12th century A. D. where common speech was starting to
emerge from local dialects among regions in Northern China. The language that
came about is now referred to as “Old Mandarin”.
Over the next 2 centuries, the language would experience more changes and
started to be cataloged and codified. From this, “Middle Mandarin” emerged in
the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, a Jesuit missionary named Matteo Ricci coined the term
“Mandarin” or “language of the officials”. This was based on his observation of
a Mandarin dialect called Quonhoa that was used as an official language for
government transactions. Mandarin was also the dialect that was used by cultured
classes as well as a diplomatic language in various provinces. Based on these
observations, the Jesuits created the first translations of the language into
Portuguese and Spanish.
In the beginning of the 20th century, the Chinese government realized that
the various dialects were problematic and sought to nationalize the language.
This is when Mandarin started taking its modern form.
After unsuccessful attempts to define standard, it was realized that a single
spoken form must be selected. The only realistic candidate was the Beijing-based
dialect, which was adapted and developed into the modern Mandarin language.
Playing Mandarin Fortune
Mandarin Fortune Slot machines have a low buy in. You can play for as little
as $0.01 per line. Since it is a 20 line game, you can play all lines for as
little as $0.20 or you can place a maximum bet of up to $0.50 per line allowing
for a $10 maximum bet.
To begin game play, you will start at the bottom left side of the machine.
You will then choose how many lines you would like to bet on. You can choose any
number of lines between 1 and 20. You will use the up and down arrows to change
the number of lines you wish to play.
As these lines are selected or deselected, you will see actual lines appear
across the reels to show you how the winning spins will be determined.
Once you have selected the number of lines to be played, you will then select
the amount you would like to bet per line in the Line Bet section. The betting
options are:
- $0.01 (minimum)
- $0.02
- $0.03
- $0.04
- $0.05
- $0.10
- $0.25
- $0.50 (maximum)
Each time you increase or decrease your wager, you will see the result in the
Total Bet section. The Total Bet is determined by multiplying the Lines and Line
Bet sections.
Once you have determined how much you want to bet, you have the options of
spinning once or allowing the game to automatically spin for you.
You can set the feature to Auto Spin 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 times. Once
started, you can stop the spins manually by pressing the Stop button. The Auto
Spin feature will stop automatically if you run out of credits, reach the
maximum amount of spins that you have chosen or you trigger the bonus game.
Game Features
Mandarin Fortune contains 2 types of game play. Regular game play and bonus
game play. In regular game play, you have the possibility of winning up to 750
credits per line based on a single coin bet. This translates into $7.50 for a
$0.01 minimum bet or $375 for a $0.50 per line maximum bet.
The symbols on the reels of the game are mostly derived from Chinese culture,
but elements of poker are also used. The symbols used in regular play are:
- The Mandarin Fortune logo symbol
- The Mandarin Lady symbol
- The Monster symbol
- The Sky Lantern symbol
- The Clay Pot symbol
- The Tea Pot symbol
- The Ace of Clubs symbol
- The King of Diamonds symbol
- The Queen of Heats symbol
- The Jack of Spades symbol
- The 10 symbol
In addition to the symbols mentioned above, 2 more symbols appear in regular
game play.
The Taijitu (Yin-Yang) symbol is a wild symbol that appears only on reels 2,
3, and 4. This can be used in place of any other symbol except the scatter
symbol.
The scatter symbol for the game is represented by an image of a gate with the
word bonus written across the image. A combination of 3, 4, or 5 of these
symbols in any position on the reels triggers the bonus round.
The most valuable symbol in regular game play is the Mandarin Fortune logo
symbol. Multiples of this symbol have the highest payouts of any other symbol in
regular play. This is only one of two symbols that will pay out for only
matching 2 of a kind on the same line. The payouts for this symbol are:
- 5 Mandarin Fortune logo symbols
750 credits
- 4 Mandarin Fortune logo symbols
250 credits
- 3 Mandarin Fortune logo symbols
50 credits
- 2 Mandarin Fortune logo symbols
10 credits
The next most valuable symbol is the Mandarin Lady symbol. The payouts for
the Mandarin Lady are:
- 5 Mandarin Lady symbols
600 credits
- 4 Mandarin Lady symbols
100 credits
- 3 Mandarin Lady symbols
25 credits
The Monster symbol is the last of the higher tier symbols of the game. The
Monster pays out the following:
- 5 Monster symbols
500 credits
- 4 Monster symbols
50 credits
- 3 Monster symbols
20 credits
The lower tier symbols start with the Sky Lantern or balloon symbol. The Sky
Lantern symbol payouts are:
- 5 Sky Lantern symbols
250 credits
- 4 Sky Lantern symbols
40 credits
- 3 Sky Lantern symbols
15 credits
The next symbol is the Clay Pot symbol. The Clay pot payouts are:
- 5 Clay Pot symbols
250 credits
- 4 Clay Pot symbols
40 credits
- 3 Clay Pot symbols
15 credits
The Tea Pot symbol is the final symbol that is associated with Chinese
culture on the pay table. It is the only other symbol aside from the Mandarin
Fortune logo symbol that pays out for only 2 matching symbols. The Tea Pot pays
out:
- 5 Tea Pot symbols
250 credits
- 4 Tea Pot symbols
40 credits
- 3 Tea Pot symbols
15 credits
- 2 Tea Pot symbols
5 credits
The next set of payouts are based on playing cards. To have a winning line
with these symbols you must have 3, 4, or 5 of a kind (i.e. 3 Aces). While they
all pay the same, you cannot combine these symbols for a winning pay line (for
example, Ace, King, Queen isn’t a winner). The payouts for these symbols are:
- 5 A, K, Q, J, or 10 symbols
150 credits
- 4 A, K, Q, J, or 10 symbols
20 credits
- 3 A, K, Q, J, or 10 symbols
5 credits
The wild symbol for the game, the Taijitu (Yin-Yang) symbol can be
substituted for any symbol listed above to form a winning pay line.
The final symbol in regular play is the Bonus scatter symbol. The scatter
symbols can appear anywhere on the reels and do not have to be one the same pay
line to win (although it must appear on a pay line that has been bet on). The
Bonus symbol pays out both credits and spins. The Bonus symbol pay table is:
- 5 Bonus symbols
50 credits + 16 Free Spins
- 4 Bonus symbols
10 credits + 12 Free Spins
- 3 Bonus symbols
1 credit + 8 Free Spins
The Bonus Round
The bonus feature shares some similarities with the regular game. The same
Chinese symbols are used and the payout values for these symbols are the same as
normal play.
However, bonus play does not mimic regular play exactly.
The game automatically spins for you. This eliminates the option to select
one spin at a time and to stop a spin as you would have in normal game play.
While all the Chinese symbols are used in the bonus game, the card symbols
aren’t. This allows for more chances to win and higher payouts.
The scatter symbol is available during the bonus round. If you get 3, 4, or 5
bonus symbols on any reel during the free spins, more free spins are added. The
spins and payouts are the same as the regular game.
The wild symbol plays a dual role in the bonus game. First, as with the
regular game they can be substituted for any symbol except the scatter symbol.
Second, they act as multiplier bonuses in the round. The multipliers for the
Taijitu symbol are:
- 1 Taijitu symbol
2 times or 3 times the win
- 2 Taijitu symbols
4 times or 9 times the win
- 3 Taijitu symbols
8 times or 27 times the win
The multiplier will depend on the position of the Taijitu(s) on the reels.
Expected Payback
Developing slot machines and slot machine software relies a lot on math and
science. One aspect of the development of these games used the science of
statistical analysis.
Game developers use these statistics to determine how much a person can win
playing a game.
They use the results of thousands of spins over several hours to determine
the maximum winning potential of a game. This is known as the expected payback.
For Mandarin Fortune slot machines, the expected payback is 95.05%. This
means that for every $100 you bet, you can expect to win back $95.05.
This isn’t by any means a guarantee, however. This is a theoretical
percentage and is based on long term play. Short term play may lower this
percentage.
Conclusion
Mandarin Fortune slot machines are a great way to play for small amounts. The
maximum $10 bet will keep losses low and will allow you to play the game longer.
We did test the game and found that the bonus game is very hard to get to.
Out of several hundreds of spins, we were only able to reach the bonus game a
few times.
We did find that they bonus paid very well and was able to even hit the 9x
multiplier once.
The game play was straightforward, but we still recommend trying out the free
version before you start placing actual bets.
One point that may cause confusion for many potential players searching for
the game was search engines would show results for a second version of the game:
Mandarin Fortune 2.
When we went to these sites and attempted to play the game, they all came up
with errors and contained a message stating that the URL was bad. It would seem
that this version has been permanently taken offline.
The original version worked fine on all the sites we checked.
