- A high-volatility, Asian-themed slot with a 5x3 grid and 50 paylines
- Exciting bonus features, including Wheel Spin bonuses, free spins, and multipliers
- A jackpot of up to $50,000
If you want to have fun playing a Chinese-themed online slot, you can’t go wrong with BetMGM’s online slots collection. One of the most interesting Asian-themed slots in the collection is the Moon Dancer slot from Ainsworth. This online slot review explores the game’s most interesting and rewarding features and mechanics. Read on to discover why players love this online slot game.
Play This Game With BetMGM Online Casino Bonuses
Before you start playing any game at BetMGM online, be sure to check the Promotions page on your account homepage to see if any current offers apply, or sign up to get a one-time introductory offer.
No matter what kind of player you are, BetMGM online casino bonuses are generous and consistent. If it’s your first visit to the site, start off with the BetMGM Casino welcome bonus, valid only for new player registrations. For existing players, there are always multiple ongoing BetMGM Casino offers and promotions, ranging from limited-time, game-specific bonuses to leaderboards and sweepstakes. Be sure to visit the page on how bonus codes work for more information and FAQs.
Log in or register at BetMGM Casino to explore more than 3,000 of the best casino games online.
Moon Dancer Game Highlights
Many casino slots take inspiration from the East for their graphics and gameplay. Moon Dancer is one such game, although the quality of the experience it offers sets it apart from most other games in this category.
Moon Dancer is yet another fan-favorite slot from developer Ainsworth whose previous titles with an Oriental slot theme include games like Golden Ox: Golden Cash, King of the Jungle, and Action Dragons. Moon Dancer is a 5-reel slot with 50 paylines, an RTP (return to player) of 94.74%, and a variety of intriguing bonus features.
While other jackpot slots may offer bigger potential rewards, few provide the quality of gameplay that Moon Dancer does. Still, it’s important to note that this is a high-variance slot machine. So, while wins can be quite big, they happen less frequently.
Moon Dancer Quick Facts and Features
| Software Provider | Ainsworth |
| RTP | 94.74% |
| Volatility | High |
| Jackpot Type | Fixed |
| Paylines | 50 |
| Reels | 5 |
| Max Wager | $20 |
| Max Win | $50,000 |
Does Moon Dancer Pay Real Money?
When you’re physically playing from one of the four U.S. states where BetMGM operates legally – Michigan, West Virginia, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania – you can play slots online for real money. And that includes Moon Dancer and many other Ainsworth slot games.
How To Play Moon Dancer
While Moon Dancer may stand out in terms of presentation, it doesn’t deviate from the standard gameplay of most other online slots. This game allows you to change the value of your bet from $1–$50, which is made easy with a conveniently placed Max Bet button on the toolbar. Once you’ve done this, set the number of autospins and spin the reels.
The game also has the standard wilds (represented by a beautiful moon dancer), scatters, and free spins. Plus, it offers other additional features, which are discussed in greater detail later in this review.
Moon Dancer Game Features
Moon Dancer has several standard features you’d expect from any online slot, plus a few more unusual ones. Some of the standard slot features include:
- A standard 5×3 reel grid with 50 paylines.
- Autospin for more convenient gameplay.
- Wild symbols (the Geisha icon) that substitute for other symbols to help you form winning combinations.
- Expanding wild symbols that only appear in the free games round and become stacked multipliers to increase your payouts.
- Two scatter symbols:
- The bonanza wheel icons that trigger the Bonanza Wheel bonus.
- Pagoda scatters that only appear in the bonus rounds and could trigger lucky multiplier spins.
- Free spins bonus round.
This game also includes a few innovative bonus features, including:
- Wheel Bonanza feature: Landing five or more wheel scatters triggers a bonus wheel spin that awards multiplier prizes or the Free Games feature with 8–18 free spins.
- Lucky multiplier bonus spins: Three bonus spins with only high-paying symbols and stacked multiplier wilds on reel 3 that could award a multiplier payout of 2x, 3x, or 5x.
While Moon Dancer doesn’t deviate too far from the standard Asian-themed slot machine experience, these features add enough intrigue to make it stand out from other similar games.
Moon Dancer Bonuses and Jackpots
This Ainsworth slot machine is loaded with exciting bonus features and jackpot opportunities to boost players’ winning potential. The max win is available through a 300x multiplier, and those who dream of winning big stand a chance to walk away with a jackpot prize of $50,000.
The Wheel Bonanza Feature
This feature is triggered when five or more wheel scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels. When this happens, the bonus wheel on the left side of the grid starts spinning and stops on a random prize (either a number value or a Free Games bonus). The value indicated on the section the prize wheel lands on is then multiplied by an amount that’s determined by the number of scatter symbols that triggered the bonus. Here are the multiplier values for triggering combinations:
- Five scatter symbols: Award a 1x multiplier.
- Six scatter symbols: Triggers a 2x multiplier.
- Seven or eight wheel scatter symbols: Award a 5x multiplier.
The wheel bonanza isn’t just about multipliers either — it can also activate the Free Games Bonus.
The Free Games Bonus
The spinning wheel in the Wheel Bonanza feature also includes a Free Games prize. If the spinning bonus wheel lands on the Free Games prize, you’re awarded with 8–18 free spins, depending on how many scatter symbols triggered the initial wheel spin:
- Five scatter symbols: Award eight free spins.
- Six scatter symbols: Award 12 free spins.
- Seven or eight scatter symbols: Award 18 free spins.
During this bonus, special Pagoda scatter symbols can make an appearance on reels 1, 3, and 5. When these symbols land in a line across the reels, they trigger the game’s Lucky Multiplier Bonus Spins, which awards three lucrative spins where low-value symbols are removed from the reels and stacked wild symbols can take over reel 3, each applying a randomized 2x, 3x, or 5x multiplier to any winning combinations formed.
If luck is on your side when you play Moon Dancer, these exciting bonus features could pay out one of the four jackpot prizes displayed on the bonus wheel that spins on the right side of the grid:
- Mini: $250
- Minor: $500
- Major: $5,000
- Grand: $50,000
How To Win Moon Dancer
Online slots are extremely popular because they’re so easy to play and because winning is completely random — you don’t need any skill or specific strategies to win big prizes. Winning spins are determined by a random number generator (RNG) that’s built into the game, ensuring that the outcome of spins can’t be predicted and that every player has a fair chance to win.
In the Moon Dancer slot, payouts are triggered when three or more matching symbols land across one of the game’s 50 paylines. The wild symbol, which substitutes for other standard game symbols, helps players to form more winning combinations. Plus, with the various bonus features in this game, you could potentially win up to $50,000.
Keep in mind that the payout for winning combinations not only varies depending on the individual value of the symbol but also according to your bet size. This means that you can win higher payouts when you make larger bets. However, this doesn’t mean you should always play with the maximum bet activated. Given this game’s high volatility, winning spins will be less frequent, so it’s a good idea to lower your bet after a win before gradually increasing it again. This way, you can conserve your bankroll.
Moon Dancer Graphics and Design
Undoubtedly, the first thing that’ll strike you about Moon Dancer is how good it looks. The color palette is particularly impressive, with the game combining rich golds, yellows, and reds (the color red is particularly important in Chinese culture because of its association with luck and happiness). The design of the reels themselves taps into Chinese architectural influences, with their tops adorned with trimmings that look like the roof of a Chinese temple. The symbols are all beautifully illustrated, and the animations are smooth and very eye-catching.
Moon Dancer Symbols
Moon Dancer includes several slot symbols inspired by Asian culture, as well as a few common symbols you’ll see in most other games.
Here are the payout values you can expect for winning combinations of each symbol with the maximum bet activated:
| Match Three | Match Four | Match Five | |
| 9/10 | $2 | $4 | $20 |
| Q/K/J/A | $2 | $8 | $30 |
| Lantern/Lotus/Charm | $6 | $32 | $60 |
| Gold Ornament/Koi | $10 | $40 | $120 |
During the bonus features, where only high-paying symbols appear on the grid, the payout values for the symbols change:
| Match Three | Match Four | Match Five | |
| Lantern | $0.40 | $1.20 | $12 |
| Lotus | $0.40 | $2 | $20 |
| Hoop Charm | $0.40 | $2 | $20 |
| Koi Fish | $0.80 | $4 | $40 |
| Gold Ornament | $0.80 | $4 | $80 |
Similar Slot Games To Play at BetMGM Casino
BetMGM Casino is home to some of the best Asian-themed slots. If you’re looking for slots to play online and you’re fond of the features, theme, and gameplay that slots like Moon Dancer have to offer, you may be interested in these other titles:
