Pachinko is a century-old kind of recreational gambling, originating from Japan. Resembling a mixture of mechanical pinball and slot machines or free slots, pachinko or pachislots is widespread as a national leisure on the Japanese islands. Playing the Pachinko game online has been known to be a tolerable exception to Japanese gambling-prohibiting laws.
What Is Pachinko?
Pachinko is a popular Japanese mechanical game that is popularly used for gambling recreational entertainment. The video game is as popular in the Japanese gambling niche as offline and online slots are in the Western world. Parlors featuring Pachinko games are scattered throughout Japan and are usually placed alongside Japanese online slots.
Japanese Pachinko games were first created in the 1920s as kids’ toys, and they were called the “Corinth game” after the American “Corinthian bagatelle”. It developed into an adult pastime in the 1930s and spread throughout Japan. However, all the parlors had to close down due to the Second World War and later reopened in the late 1940s, and they have dominated in popularity ever since.
Up until 1980, Pachinko Japanese slots were mechanical devices that used bells to notify the machine’s different states. A flipper launched the balls and controlled the speed by pulling them down at different levels, and electricity was only used to flash the lights and show if there was a problem. Manufacturers adopted more electrical uses during the eighties, and today, they run using digital and mechanical solutions. The Japanese slot machines were also made available online, which pushed their popularity outside Japan to other Asian and global regions.
Pachinko is so popular that its parlors contribute 5.6% of Japan’s $5 trillion economy and is responsible for employing 0.52% of the country’s workforce. Since 2015, the Japanese Pachinko market has generated more than Macau, Las Vegas, and Singapore gambling sectors combined.
How to Play Pachinko?
Understanding how to play Pachinko Japanese slot starts by answering the question, “How does Pachinko work?” The Pachinko game looks like a vertical pinball machine, but it features apparent differences from the Western version. The device uses small steel balls to play, and in location-based establishments, they are rented to the player by the parlor owner. In Pachinko games online and offline, the balls shoot into the machine by pressing the play button online or pulling a lever in the brick-and-mortar version. The small steel balls then bounce about on a range of cups, pins, traps, levers, and other obstacles until they get to the bottom of the machine.
When the free Pachinko Japanese online slot launches, players have to select a bet, and they receive a specific number of balls depending on their bets. The balls then enter the slot once the gameplay commences, and they work their way through the various obstacles. The gambler can collect more balls along the way if one of the balls hits a designated area on the screen as they fall through this type of Japanese-themed slot.
This addition is a significant advantage since it allows the Pachinko free online game to run longer. Once players have launched the balls into the machine, they depend on luck to win like in Japanese slot games. However, some machines allow players to adjust the playing modes, ranging from having almost no effect on winning to applying skill for almost guaranteed wins. Some Japanese Pachinko machines include a bumper that bounces the balls when they hit the top, while others allow them to travel all around the field for a second time once it gets to the top.
Pachinko Rules
The rules of the game are quite simple on the playing field, a small steel ball or a pack of balls has to make its way, falling vertically through a series of barriers, flappers and wind tunnels. The player can control it to an extent but much is left to chance.
There are hundreds and thousands of variations available to the gamblers. Online pachinko implements series of intentional obstacles that are put into an interactive environment that can include video or animation.
Pachinko Parlors
The pachinko parlors scattered throughout Japan are seldom empty operating mostly 24/7, these venues allow smoking and beverages right at the table. Some legal tension is rising on the matter of smoking in such parlors but so far it has not been enforced and the crowds are drawn to it.
The pachinko slot machines are known for being rewarding, and even though, Japan forbids gambling for cash, the prize tokens that you get from the payout can be exchanged for real funds in a separate designated places. Pay back percentages often go as high as 160% which is among the biggest reason for the game’s popularity over the last century.
How to Win Pachinko?
Winning in Pachinko video games is simple: the sets release balls into their playing fields in the hopes that they will land into catchers that are barely their width. Each ball that enters a catcher triggers a payout. The more the collected balls, the more massive the awarded payout.
Online Pachinko machines incorporate a Japanese slot-type game at the center. The online slot is activated when balls drop through the center gate. The number of balls that slip through the game determines the spins awarded – one ball equates to one round. However, there’s a limit on the number of balls that can pass through the gate due to the possibility of others going over it when playing Pachinko. The objective of the spins is to land identical characters on the three reels of the Japanese slots. If they do, a jackpot round activates.
Japanese Pachinko slot offers different odds of winning the jackpot, which is often hinted at by the animations that play when similar characters appear on the first two reels. If an identical icon appears, players enter the payout mode. On how to win Pachinko in this mode, players must try to shoot as many balls as possible through the payout gate at the screen bottom. Every ball that enters the slot machine Pachinko successfully activates a payout.
Japanese-Themes and Anime Slot Games
The massive popularity of Android Pachinko games inspires the creation of Japanese-themed slots. The Japanese slots often gravitate towards anime, which is a popular animation style in the country. The most popular of these Japanese slot machines include:
Koi Princess
Koi Princess online slot is the first-ever anime-inspired game released by NetEnt, and it hit the market in 2015. The online slot features five reels with 20 bet lines designed with oriental imagery similar to when playing Pachinko. The game features ten symbols in its paytable—the poker face cards A to 10 pay the small wins between 5x to 160x the line bet. The theme-oriented characters pay between 20x and 500x the line stake. The wild, which is a painting of ocean waves, is the most valuable icon. Players can also activate several features when the bonus symbol appears on the first, third, and fifth reels. The bonuses include Sure Win Free Spins, Wild Reels Free Spins, Bonus Wheel, and Coin Win. The Japanese slots work with an RTP rate of 96.23%.
Moon Princess
Moon Princess is Play’n GO’s release with a Japanese slot theme executed on a 5×5 grid that pays in clusters. The game draws inspiration from Sailor Moon, an old Manga series. The tale revolves around Love, Star, and Storm, three princesses with magical powers that can boost players’ winnings when activated. The girls get to showcase their abilities in the free spins feature, where punters have to choose one from the three. The smaller the number of free spins, the higher the risk. However, they offer a chance at bigger winnings. The chosen princess is also active for the freebies and triggers her power during non-winning rounds. Players also activate a progressive multiplier that goes up to 20x during the free spins. The free spins can be retriggered if the meter to the side of the grid recharges fully.
Our Days
Our Days is another legendary Japanese slot developed by Microgaming. The 5×3 online slot takes players to a Japanese-themed slot classroom to interact with different students with varying payout values. The brunette placed on a red backdrop is the most valuable icon paying 3000 credits for a combination of five. The online slot activates respins when any winning combination is formed while the paying characters are held in place. The Japanese-themed slot spins continue until no more wins are activated. Eight to twelve free spins can also be awarded for three to five scatters. The logo wild in this Japanese slot appears in the base game only and can replace any character to trigger a win.
