The Chicken Run Game: An In-Depth Analysis of a Fowl Play Experience
Theme and Design
Chicken Run is an online slot machine game developed by Microgaming, one of the leading providers in the industry. The theme revolves around the popular animated movie "Chicken Run," where chickens hatch a plan to escape from their farm. The design is colorful and lively, reflecting the humor and charm of the original film.
The background of the game features an idyllic countryside landscape with rolling hills, trees, and farm buildings. The symbols on the Chicken Run casino reels are all related to the movie, including hens, roosters, eggs, chickens’ feet, and farming tools like pitchforks and spades.
Symbols
The paytable is dominated by high-paying chicken-themed symbols, with the highest payer being a group of five chicks flying in formation. This symbol pays up to 100 times for a maximum bet. Other notable symbols include Ginger (the movie’s protagonist), Mrs. Tweedy (the villainous farmer’s wife), and Farmer Frank.
The standard letter and number card icons serve as low-paying symbols, with Aces being the lowest payer at one time per coin bet. The game features 243 ways to win across its five reels, providing plenty of opportunities for players to land winning combinations.
Payouts
Chicken Run offers a relatively standard payout structure, but it’s still worth noting that payouts are decent considering the theme and overall design. Here are some examples of what you can expect:
- Five chicks flying in formation: 100 times the total bet
- Ginger or Mrs. Tweedy: Up to 30 times for five on a payline
- Farmer Frank: 25 times for five on a payline
- High cards (10s-Aces): Between two and 15 times the coin value
Wilds
The game’s Wild is represented by an egg, which can appear stacked across reels two to five. When three or more Eggs land anywhere on these reels, it triggers a re-spin feature where all Eggs remain in place while other symbols are respun.
During this feature, any Egg that appears will turn into either Ginger or Mrs. Tweedy, ensuring you collect one of the higher-paying chicken symbols and greatly enhancing your chances of winning.
Scatters
The game features two scatters: a Coop (represented by an old farmhouse) and a Rooster. Scatters pay out when three appear anywhere in view but only on reels 1-5.
- Three Coops trigger a minimum of eight free spins
- Three or more Roosters activate the Chicken Chase Bonus, awarding up to five times your total bet
Bonus Features
Chicken Run offers two main bonus features: the Egg-splosive Free Spins and the Chicken Chase. The former is triggered by three or more Coops in view on reels 1-5.
Here’s how it works:
- Minimum eight free spins are awarded, but this increases to up to a whopping 100 free rounds
- All Eggs transform into high-value chicken symbols during these rounds
The Chicken Chase feature can be activated when three Roosters land anywhere in view. This mini-game pits you against the farmer and his wife as they chase after Ginger’s chicks.
Each time a Chick is caught, it awards you two times your bet for that spin. Up to 25 chickens are on offer across multiple rounds of play. The bonus ends once no more chickens can be won.
Free Spins
The free spins feature in Chicken Run is quite exciting and rewarding. Not only do the Egg-splosive Free Spins increase significantly, but they’re also triggered by Scatters rather than specific combinations, which adds to their frequency.
Additionally, all Eggs transform into high-paying chicken symbols during these rounds. Players can win up to 100 free spins initially (after three Coops) and an additional 20-60 rounds as part of the Egg-splosive feature for every subsequent Coop landings after that initial eight-spins reward.
RTP and Volatility
Chicken Run operates on a medium volatility model, providing neither consistently high nor low-risk bets. The Return to Player (RTP) is relatively standard at 96%, making it an attractive option for players with moderate bankrolls or those seeking decent returns without extreme variance in outcomes.
Overall, this volatility level will provide you with stable growth over extended periods but not guarantee rapid wins. However, considering the medium-high RTP, your balance can still increase at a noticeable pace compared to low-variance slots where rewards tend to be more incremental and less frequent.
Betting Range
Players have an excellent range of stakes available in Chicken Run: from 25p up to £125 per round for maximum flexibility. As with many Microgaming titles, betting limits vary significantly depending on your desired frequency or bankroll size but provide a wide scope to accommodate players who prefer low-stakes exploration without going overboard on spending capacity.
Max Win
In terms of maximum possible payout potential during regular gameplay and not including Free Spins Bonus mode (with additional multipliers), Chicken Run provides relatively average upper payouts around 1,000 times the minimum bet per spin in combination with lower value symbols appearing together at high frequency.
To trigger this amount of money across normal spins using standard game rules without bonus features turning up frequently would require an extraordinary hand rather than luck as its name suggests which we rarely get on these titles.