Chicken Run is a 5-reel video slot game developed by Microgaming, based on the popular computer-animated comedy film of the same name. The game was released in 2017 and has since become a favorite among online casino Chicken Run players who enjoy farming-themed slots with a twist.
Theme and Design
The theme of Chicken Run is centered around farm animals, with a specific focus on chickens attempting to escape from an evil farmer. The game’s design incorporates bright colors, cartoon-style graphics, and entertaining animations that bring the characters to life. Players will notice a group of feathered friends trying to outsmart Ginger’s nemesis, Cluck Norris (not the famous actor), in order to win freedom.
The slot game’s background is set on a large farm, with silos and barns visible behind the reels. The game’s sound effects include various bird sounds and countryside noises that add an immersive touch to the gaming experience.
Symbols
Chicken Run features several symbols inspired by the movie, including:
- Chickens (five different breeds): these are high-paying symbols, with the highest value being awarded for landing five of Ginger or Mrs. Tweedy.
- Farmer’s tools: watering can, pitchfork, and shears – low-paying symbols that appear frequently on the reels.
- Farm animals: a rooster, a cow, and a piglet – medium-paying symbols that contribute to forming winning combinations.
Payouts
The payout structure in Chicken Run is based on a standard 5×3 grid layout. Players can win prizes by landing consecutive matching symbols across adjacent reels (beginning from the leftmost reel). The highest paying symbol award is:
- 50 times the player’s total bet for five Ginger or Mrs. Tweedy chickens
- Up to 20 times for five of any other chicken breed.
The base game payout percentage in Chicken Run stands at approximately 94%. This value may vary slightly due to possible wins using special features (wilds and scatters) which enhance standard paytables.
Wilds
Ginger, the film’s lead chicken character, serves as a wild symbol. She can substitute for all other symbols on the reels except Scattered Feed, thus facilitating more winning combinations.
In addition to her substitution properties, Ginger also has two unique abilities:
- Stacked Wild: this feature allows the Ginger character to appear stacked across three or more adjacent positions within any of the five reels.
- Sticky Wilds Re-Spins Feature (also known as "Fowl Play"): if a player lands multiple wild stacks during a spin – up to four, they will receive an instant cash reward along with three free re-spins. For each additional wild stack captured throughout subsequent spins, players are granted two more free games.
Scatters
The game features Scattered Feed icons as scatter symbols. Players need at least one on any of the five reels (with no specific reel requirements) to earn a monetary award based on total bet amount: 5-15 times.
These scatters play an essential role in initiating the Bonus Games section, which is our next area of discussion.
Bonus Features & Free Spins
The slot game awards free spins by triggering either a bonus feature (involving wilds and additional wins), or simply through using the Scattered Feed icon(s).
- Sticky Wilds Re-Spins Feature : Achieve stacking multiple Ginger character across any reel as mentioned above to unlock this award-winning prize.
- Chicken Run Bonus Game : Activate it by collecting enough scattered feed icons (any combination – must be in minimum 3 positions with others, where each symbol counts). This section starts as an animated sequence showing movie characters and then transforms into a free games mode.
Players are granted ten initial rounds during the bonus feature. On each round:
- Ginger character will fly off screen at random times.
- While off-screen – two reels (of choice) become sticky wild reels until end of spins remaining; thus making game easier with wild stack in place.
- Wild Stacks re-spins are provided to create more opportunities for wins.
During these 10 rounds, the Bonus Feature continues. For every Ginger who flies away successfully from its farm life cage by reaching safe distance – one (or two) reels on top of chosen ones gets extra Sticky Reel(s), potentially making it a better round.
To conclude bonus and additional spin periods based upon remaining wild counts & feed scattered around reels so there remains possibility to reach substantial jackpot.