Fat Drac

Fat Drac: Slot Overview

Players, prepare to get your gorge on in Fat Drac, the third slot in Push Gaming's seasonal and somewhat insensitively named 'Fat' series. The first was the classic Fat Rabbit, of course, a cute game that captured all sorts of hearts, then Fat Santa, which didn't create such a lasting impression despite being one of the first Push Gaming slots to offer a bonus buy. So, we've gone from feasting on carrots, then cherry pies, to… blood, in the third 'Fat' slot, Fat Drac. In this one, nosferatu chases goblets of blood around the screen triggering free spins where he increases in size. Drac is joined by instant bubble rewards, pick 'n clicks, and a fat bat feature, yet one significant change might upset the broth for certain fans.

Around three and a half years have passed since Fat Rabbit was released, and things have noticeably moved on. A lot more pixels have been used to create a more intricately looking, high-definition scene. The game is set in a mountainous location, presumably Transylvania, where the Drac's towered home perches precariously on a rocky outcrop, threatening to tip-off at any moment, while withered trees and skulls make up the foreground. An element of good-natured humour has been used throughout Fat Drac, from the cartoon-like symbols, adorable bats to the excellent music which sounds like a plinking piano piece you could imagine the vampire from Sesame Street singing a song about numbers to.

Fat Drac is a big Push game, though, so the good nature is only skin deep. Sink your fangs in a bit deeper to find a highly volatile math model that's less friendly than Fat Rabbit or Fat Santa was. Potential has been jacked far beyond what either previous slot could even dream of but beware, the rest of the game has followed suit, so this is no quick nip in the neck, welcome to immortality. No complaints about the RTP, though, which comes in at 96.57%.

As before, the game is played on a 5-reel, 5-row game grid, this time providing 40 fixed ways to hit winning combinations on. Regular paying symbols start with the four card suits – spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs, while premiums consist of false teeth, parchment, skeletons, and an Elizabethan era looking guy. Land a combination of five premiums, and the payout is worth 5 to 25 times your stake. Interestingly, the Fat Drac symbol is not wild, but there is a golden wild symbol, landing anywhere to substitute regular pay symbols. The wild also pays out in combinations of itself, up to 250x the bet for five on a payline.

Fat Drac: Slot Features

So we dropped the bombshell that the expanding Drac symbol isn't wild; instead, it acts as a revealing symbol. As well as this is Bat Symbols, Instant Bubble Prizes, a Fat Bat feature, Coffin Symbol pick 'n clicks, and free games.

Fat Drac Symbol

The Fat Drac is a revealing symbol, landing anywhere on the board. When a Fat Drac hits, he transforms to reveal any paying symbol or a Bat symbol.

Bat Symbol and Bubbles

Next to the reels is a line of 7 bubbles, displaying Instant Prizes. When the Fat Drac reveals bats, they fly to the line of bubbles and pop them. The Instant Prize they contain are released and awarded as a multiple of the bet. Instant Prize values could be 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x, 1,000x, 5,000x, 10,000x, or 50,000x the bet.

Fat Bat

The Fat Bat feature triggers at random on any base game spin. When activated, a Fat Bat hits the reels and collects all of the bubble prizes, awarding them to the player.

Coffin Symbol

When a coffin symbol lands anywhere on the reels, the Pick feature is triggered - 4 tiles appear on screen for the player to choose one of. In the base game, tiles may reveal 1-5 bats or a goblet symbol - only if a Fat Drac symbol is present on reel 1.

Free Games Feature

When at least 1 Goblet symbol lands at the same time as a Fat Drac symbol, then 5 free spins are awarded. The Fat Drac symbol remains on the reels for the full duration of free spins, and whenever a new Goblet Symbol lands, the Drac moves to collect it. Also, during the feature, tiles may reveal 1-5 additional free spins, Goblet symbols, or up to 5 bats. Starting as a 1x1 symbol, as the Drac Symbol collects Goblets, it increases in size at set intervals, like so:

• 5 collected goblets increase him to 2x2 and award +4 free spins.
• 5 additional goblets increase him to 3x3 and award +3 free spins.
• 3 additional goblets increase him to 4x4 and award +2 free spins.
• 2 additional goblets increase him to 5x5 and award +2 free spins.

Fat Drac: Slot Verdict

You can imagine the dilemma Push Gaming may or may not have gone through when designing Fat Drac. Do they stick close to the previous games, get accused of being soft, or worse, of being unoriginal? Or do they do as they have done and drastically up the ante by creating a more challenging yet potentially rewarding slot? Pick the second route and you build a hardcore game that may alienate some fans of the first who were keen for some cutey pie gaming. It's a tightrope, yet Push has committed to their choice and powered on with it.

Players after another cuddly bunny experience from Fat Drac may end up unexpectedly burned. Like contestants on talent shows who unfortunately don't have much talent but who's friends and family members never told them. So, when they inevitably butcher the song they've chosen, the judges, in turn, hack them back to reality. If that's the first time someone has faced real criticism, on television with millions of people watching, it must be a soul-destroying experience.

Okay, Fat Drac isn't so drastic, but as well as its mathematical alterations, the fact the Fat Drac tile is a revealing symbol rather than a wild (basically a mystery symbol) might disappoint a few fans. This change, combined with fewer paylines than before, has tightened the experience in some ways, possibly making it tougher to get ahead. The expanding symbol aspect is still highly entertaining when a good roll is on it must be said. Plus, the extra Pick feature, bats and Bubbles give the game more depth, as well as new ways to potentially win. Speaking of potential, Fat Drac's max win has been capped at 50,000x the bet, which is way higher than the previous two games could go. For the record, any given bet has a 1 in 76,613,180 chance of serving up the maximum prize.

Push Gaming has navigated the 'Fat' series into new and potentially more turbulent waters. The core expanding symbol in free spins feature remains, but this is a different category of beast than what came before in every respect. Being so boldly different, some players are sure to embrace the radical changes; others may well recoil to a safe place like a vampire when the sun comes up.