Happy 8’s and Jolly 8’s

Similar Games:

Scarab principles, but it’s its own game.

Risk Scale:

Green (will never take more than seven spins to complete)

Minimum Play:

It’s on a spin counter like Scarab. You usually want zero, one, or two more wilds than the spin number you’re on, with more leeway the later you get in the cycle. Also, play if there’s ever a “2” above bonus.

Other:

While many of the Scarab offshoots can be lumped in with the original Scarab, Happy 8’s and Jolly 8’s present some differences and deserve their own page.

How do I know it will never be more than seven spins?

Like any Scarab-type game, it has a counter that shows what game you’re on and what game the wilds will drop. If you find it at spin one of eight, for instance, the maximum number of spins you’ll take is seven. That’s because we never spin on game eight of eight and are instead looking for someone to have left something useful behind.

But what are we looking for? I usually want zero, one, or two more wilds than the spin number, with more leeway the later we get in the cycle.

For instance, if we’re on game one of eight, meaning we have to spin seven more times to reach salvation, I’d want at least three wilds already provided. But if we’re later in the cycle, such as in the example below where we’re on game five of eight, having even five wilds is sufficient; we’d have to spin it only three more times to get to eight and end the play:

What’s convenient about this game is you don’t even need to flip through the various bets on the screen, as the bottom section shows how many wilds you have stored. If I see six wilds, for instance, I know I’m going to be playing:

But what about the mini, minor, major, grand, and bonus? Well, you’ll rarely be close to hitting the major or grand, but if somehow you’re one or two away from either, go ahead and play.

Below you’ll see we are on spin five of eight and have collected six wilds, two bonus symbols, two minis, and one major:

Just with the wilds, I’d be playing that one, but notice the bonus in this case. You need three to reach the bonus, so anytime we have two, regardless of the spin number and the rest of the board, it’s worth playing. I’d also chase any of the others if it’s one away, and you can see above each what’s needed: five for the grand and major, four for the mini and minor.

Nine times out of 10, we’re just looking for wilds. Occasionally, we’ll have a bonus or mini/minor shot worth pursuing, and maybe once every few years there will be a major or grand within sniffing distance.

There’s another version of this game with a “prosperity boost” feature:

This just means you have a chance to add multipliers, which can increase your hit once all the wilds are released. Yes, you’ll probably want to be a little tighter on this version of the game, because you’re the one paying for this extra, but as I say throughout, you don’t need to overthink it if you just want to stick with my original recommendation.

As always, I think videos are easy to follow if you want to better understand the game: