Lucky Lemmings Stampede
Similar Games:
Some similarities to Fat Fortunes and Dragon Unleashed, but the lemmings also act as wilds, unlike in those games.
Risk Scale:
Green (usually a few spins)
Minimum Play:
Three active lemmings, ideally going across (horizontal rather than vertical). A better play: an active “super stampede” lemming. Also better: at least two active “special” lemmings (regular “stampede” or “jackpot”).
Other:
The line hits in this game are incredibly weak, which is why the minimum play requirements might seem higher than you’d expect. You mostly want to play for special features.
For Lucky Lemmings Stampede, you’ll need to put your voucher or money in to check the many denoms for leftover lemmings, but what exactly should you be looking for?
Something like that meets a requirement outlined above, as you can see there are three “active” lemmings on the screen. Better still, they happen to be going across in unison, and one even has the word “stampede” written across it.
Don’t get too excited, though. The lemmings do act as wilds, but line hits pay so low that unless you trigger the feature, which I’ll explain shortly, you’re likely to make very little, if anything, on this type of setup.
Before I get ahead of myself, what do I mean by “active”?
Well, the lemmings move down one space each time you spin, so if any are at the bottom of the columns, they won’t be in play for you on your ensuing spin. So if you found something like this, only the lemming at the top of reel two would be on the board for your spin coming up. Therefore, it would not be nearly close enough to a +EV play:
Pay no attention to the “free games” stars. Those just indicate someone got lucky on the previous spin and hit a free games bonus. They will not stick from spin to spin so should not be factored in.
What do I mean by playing anytime you see a “super stampede” active lemming?
This is what I mean. You can see that the super stampede lemming in column four will be on the board for one more spin, so take that spin and hope for the best. “Hoping for the best,” in this case, means taking a spin and landing a fox in columns one or five. That will trigger the various lemming features.
You can see the range of payout possibilities for doing so below, with the super stampede being by far the most profitable:
The game can be frustrating because so often you’ll find solid plays and then whiff on the spin, getting zero back or a fraction of your bet. But connecting on one big super stampede or some of the other features can and will make up for all of that missing and then some.
How about this example? Would it be worth playing?
Not for me. We have two active lemmings, with one being a regular “stampede.” Had the second lemming been a jackpot lemming or another stampede, I’d have played. Or of course if I ever see an active super stampede.
You could also get lucky and back into a free games feature (referenced earlier), which happens by chance. If you land three “free games” stars, you’ll be given this option on the screen:
Long term, it does not matter what you pick, as they will be the same over a large sample. Short term, 15 free games has the highest floor and the lowest ceiling, while three free games is the opposite.
One last pic:
I would not play this one, as remember, the lemmings move down one place each spin. We’d only have two regular lemmings on the screen, all the way over in column four to boot.
I’m a fan of this game so far. When you lose, it’s usually one or two spins. And some wins can be massive, while others will be small. I’m up quite a bit on it so far, even though most times playing I miss on whatever I’m chasing.
Here’s my video for Lucky Lemmings Stampede, where I was taking a few less-than-optimal plays to try to get a feel for the game. I’ll add more footage in the future.