Indian Dreamings: 243 Ways, No Lines

Indian Dreamings is a 918Laki house pokie that pays in 243 ways and has no paylines. A symbol wins when it lands on neighbouring reels starting from the left, in any row. Moons are the scatter and give 10, 15 or 20 free games in which every win is ×3.

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Ways instead of lines

On most pokies a win has to follow a payline, a fixed path drawn across the reels. Miss the path by one row and there is no win. Indian Dreamings throws the paths away.

Here the only question is: which reels did the symbol land on? If the same symbol shows on the first reel, the second reel and the third reel, it pays, and it does not matter whether each one sits at the top, in the middle or at the bottom. This is called a ways game.

Where 243 comes from

The screen has five reels with three rows each. Pick one spot from each reel and you have one way across. Three choices on each of five reels gives 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3, which is 243. Every spin covers all of them. The bet box on the cabinet reads 243 WAYS where its sister machines show a line count.

A win, in words

Say a wolf lands at the top of reel one, in the middle of reel two and at the bottom of reel three. On a line game that zig-zag might not be a line. Here it is three wolves on three neighbouring reels from the left, so it pays the prize for three wolves.

Now say reel two shows two wolves, not one. There are now two ways to make the same win, and it is paid twice. The game's rule for this is short: more of a symbol on a reel multiplies the win. The message line under the reels tells you when it happens, with the count of symbols and the number of ways.

What does not pay

A win must start on the left reel and carry on without a gap. Wolves on reels two, three and four pay nothing, because reel one is missing. Wolves on reels one, two and four pay only for the first two reels, if the game pays that symbol for two.

Eagle, moon and the animal symbols

The eagle is the wild. A wild fills in for another symbol to make or lengthen a win. The eagle fills in for every symbol except the moon.

The moon is the scatter. Scatters count anywhere on the screen, with no need to start from the left. Moons pay on your whole bet, and enough of them on one spin start the free games.

The four animal pictures are the wolf, the buffalo, the bear and the horse. Below them are the card ranks from ace to nine. To see what each pays, press the PAYS key; the amounts shown are in Kina for the bet you have chosen.

How to play a round

  1. Log in, tap the Aus Club tab on the home page and choose Indian Dreamings.
  2. Use BET − and BET + to set the total bet. There is nothing else to set, because all 243 ways are always in play.
  3. Press SPIN and watch the five reels stop.
  4. Any winning symbols light up and the WIN meter counts the amount.
  5. Choose TAKE WIN, or GAMBLE if you want to risk the win, or just press SPIN to collect and continue.

The cabinet is the same one used by the other two club classics, so the AUTO, MAX BET and PAYS keys work the same way. Auto offers a fixed number of spins or runs until you stop it, and it collects wins without gambling.

Moon free games

The free games are the main feature. Moons give 10, 15 or 20 free games; the more moons on the triggering spin, the more games. The exact count for each number of moons is listed in the help text under the game.

During free games all wins are tripled. In a ways game that matters, because one spin can already pay a symbol in several ways, and each of those is then paid at ×3.

Moons can land again while the free games are running and add a new set to the count. When the count reaches zero, a banner shows the total won.

The gamble, briefly

Any win from a paid spin can be gambled. The screen shows a face-down playing card. Call red or black to double the win, or call the suit to multiply it by four. Call it wrong and the win is lost. There is a limit on how many calls you can make in a row, shown in the heading.

Nothing about the gamble is needed to enjoy the game. TAKE WIN is always there.

Is a ways game better for a small balance?

Not better and not worse, but it feels different. With no lines to miss, small wins tend to show up on more spins. Many of them are smaller than the bet, so the balance still goes down over time; it just moves in smaller steps. A few habits help:

  1. Set a low total bet. There is no way to cut the cost by covering fewer ways.
  2. Watch the CREDIT meter, not the win messages. A screen full of small wins can still be a losing spell.
  3. Let free-game wins be the end of a session now and then, not a reason to raise the bet.
  4. Leave the gamble for wins you would not miss.
  5. Fix a limit in Kina and a limit in time before you start.

If you want to compare, Queen of the Niles and Dolphin Treasures are line games on the same cabinet. All the house games are listed on the Australian Club page, and the wider choice of reel games is covered in the online pokies guide. Indian Dreamings is for adults 18 and over; play with spare money only.

Indian Dreamings FAQ

What does 243 ways mean?

It is the number of left-to-right paths you get by taking one spot from each of five reels with three rows. Every spin plays all of them, so a symbol wins on neighbouring reels from the left in any row.

Do I have to choose lines?

No. There are no lines in this game. You only set the total bet.

Why was one symbol paid more than once?

Because it landed more than once on a reel in the win. Each extra copy makes another way, and each way is paid.

How many free games can the moons give?

10, 15 or 20, depending on how many moons land on the spin. Every win in the free games is ×3, and more free games can be won while they play.

Does the eagle count as a moon?

No. The eagle is wild for every symbol except the moon.

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