Golden Ticket 2: Overview

Play’n GO keeps the sequel train rolling with a follow-up to their 2014 circus slot Golden Ticket. The developer has retained the game’s original spirit while polishing the visuals, reworking the features, and boosting the overall potential. Put that way, it’s clear there’s actually plenty that’s different. Time to grab a ringside view and see what Golden Ticket 2 brings to the show.

From a visual standpoint, the connection to the first game is obvious. It’s nowhere near the kind of total departure seen between Jolly Roger 1 and 2. With stakes ranging from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin, you’re again playing on a 5×5 setup with 20 fixed paylines, set inside a circus tent packed with clowns, ringmasters, and other big-top personalities. A small presentation tweak is that the first game’s action was mainly outdoors, whereas this time you’re under the canvas. Thankfully, the same atmosphere is intact—one of the original’s biggest strengths. Play’n GO once again nails that vintage circus vibe and refreshes it nicely for the sequel.

As you probably already know, Play’n GO uses flexible RTP, so the RTP you get can vary depending on where you play. The default RTP, though, sits at 96.5%. The underlying math has clearly been reworked, so even if you know the original well, expect a very different experience here. The first was medium volatility, while this sequel is about as volatile as Play’n GO slots get.

Gameplay runs like this: each spin drops 25 symbols into the grid. Wins come from 3 or more matching symbols connected horizontally or vertically. After a win pays, those symbols are removed and the remaining ones fall into place, which can create additional wins. With every new drop, the win multiplier increases by one, and it returns to x1 when a new base game spin begins.

The paytable is packed with circus-themed icons, made up of 5 low pay and 3 high pay symbols. The low pays are a monocycle, juggling items, a target, knives, and a ringmaster’s hat. Landing 5 low pays pays 2 to 4 times the stake. The high pays are three performers—a clown, a blindfolded knife thrower, and a ringmaster—and any 5 of a kind win pays 10 times the stake regardless of which one it is. There’s also a small fallback payout of up to 5x for lines of three or more mixed premiums connecting horizontally or vertically.

Lastly, the golden tent acts as the wild, replacing any paying symbol to complete combinations. It also pays well by itself, with 5 in a row worth 50 times the stake. Wilds are generated in the center position when a winning combination of three symbols is removed. If the grid ends up containing only wilds, they are cleared away.

Golden Ticket 2: Features

Play’n GO has thoroughly reworked the bonus content, with the action now centered on multiplier wilds, Win Spins, and free spins.

On the left side of the grid sits a 3 segment meter that fills when premium wins land. Wins of 3, 4, or 5 symbols fill 1, 2, or 3 segments respectively. When the meter is fully filled, it triggers the multiplier wilds feature, adding 1 or 2 multiplier wilds to the reels at random.

On the right, one of three characters is shown, and this determines the multiplier value on those wilds. If the active character is the clown, knife thrower, or ringmaster, the game awards x1, x2, or x3 multiplier wilds respectively. The multiplier wilds feature can only activate once per game round; after that, the character switches for the next time it triggers.

Just like in the original, the word BONUS is hidden behind the symbols on the grid. Clearing the BONUS row activates free spins, and you’re given three choices. Fewer spins means a bigger multiplier and higher volatility, so you pick the option that best fits your preference:

• 5 highly volatile free spins with an x3 multiplier wild.
• 7 medium volatile free spins with an x2 multiplier wild.
• 9 low volatile free spins with an x1 multiplier wild.

In free spins, filling 3 segments of the meter triggers a Win Spin, which uses a 2×2 version of the multiplier wild. A fresh set of symbols is dealt onto the grid, and the multiplier wild is placed randomly. The win multiplier resets between free spins and Win Spins.

On a Win Spin, filling 5 segments of the expanded meter retriggers another one—note that the win multiplier does not reset between back-to-back Win Spins. And if you manage to clear the entire grid, you receive a bonus prize worth 500x the bet.

Golden Ticket 2: Verdict

It’ll be interesting to see how many fans of the first game the sequel wins over. On one side, the two titles share a very similar look and both deliver the circus theme with plenty of big-top atmosphere. On the other, this version ramps up volatility and potential significantly, which may appeal more to players who enjoy a tougher, higher-risk ride.

Some players will miss the target shooting bonus game, and that’s understandable. It wasn’t the biggest money-maker, but it was entertaining and fit the theme perfectly. The new bonus content is far more advanced, though, and it can deliver bigger swings and stronger payouts. In Golden Ticket 2, the top win reaches 5,000 times the stake, which is twice what the first offered.

Overall, it feels like Golden Ticket’s presentation and base game blended with Moon Princess, plus a dash of Pimped (Win Spins) thrown in. The end result can be just as fun as a circus visit—specifically, the kind of charmingly chaotic show that always looks like it might tip from barely controlled madness into full-on mayhem.