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Rich Little Piggies
Introduction
Rich Little Piggies is another variable-state slot machine that may offer a player advantage in some situations. The gist of the game is coins are found as the player plays. These coins sometimes fall into one of three piggy banks. As they do value is added to a bonus game associated with that color piggy bank. You can also see piggy banks getting larger as more coins are added. Sometimes, a coin will trigger the bonus associated with that piggy bank. If the pigs get fat enough, especially the blue one, the game may offer a player advantage. Opinions on this game vary, so take my advice on this one with more than a grain of salt.
Rules
The following are the rules to the Meal Ticket version of Rich Little Piggies.
- The player may bet 75, 150, 225, 450, or 600 credits per spin. A credit is usually $0.01.
- There are 25 paylines. Dividing the total bet by 25 paylines, the credits bet per payline is 3, 6, 9, 18, or 24.
- All pay table wins are pre-multiplied by the amount bet per payline.
- There is a wild symbol, which may substitute for any line pay symbol.
- There is a question mark symbol, which will randomly change to any line pay symbol or the wild symbol. If the player gets multiple question marks, then they will all change to the same symbol.
- Every question marks also has a chance of revealing a blue, yellow, or red coin.
- If the player gets any coin, it will flick up to the top of the screen containing three piggy banks, one for each color coin.
- There are there types of free spin bonuses, one associated with each color piggy bank.
- When a coin is found and flicked to the top of the screen, there are three possible outcomes:
- The bonus associated with that color coin/pig is triggered.
- The fatness of the pig associated with that color increases. In addition, depending on the color of the pig, some kind measurement of value of that bonus is incremented.
- Nothing.
- If a coin does not trigger a bonus, it may increase a meter associated with that color coin, as follows:
- Blue — Increase number of free spins
- Yellow — Increase jackpots
- Red — remove low-paying symbols from reel strips.
- All three piggy banks are associated with a free spin bonus. I will call these the Blue, Yellow, and Red bonuses, to be associated with the color of the piggy bank that triggered that bonus.
- Free spins in the Blue piggy bank bonus appear similar as initial/paid spins. There are no coins in the Blue bonus, if triggered by itself.
- The number of free spins in the Blue bonus resets to 9 and has a maximum of 100 (although is usually triggers well below that).
- Free spins in the Yellow bonus appear similar as initial/paid spins. If the Yellow bonus is not triggered at the same time as the Blue bonus, then the Yellow bonus shall consist of seven free spins.
- There are coins in the Yellow piggy bank bonus. If the player gets the required number of coins of a given color, then he shall win the jackpot associated with that color. Following are the coins required for each bonus.
- Mini — 2 coins
- Minor — 2 coins
- Maxi — 3 coins
- Major — 4 coins
- Grand — 5 coins
- Mega — 6 coins
- If the player wins any jackpot before the conclusion of Yellow bonus, then that jackpot shall reset to the minimum value and the number of coins in that meter reset to zero. The player will then be eligible to win that jackpot again within the same bonus.
- Free spins in the Red bonus appear similar as initial/paid spins. If the Red bonus is not triggered at the same time as the Blue bonus, then the Red bonus shall consist of seven free spins.
- Separate reel stripping is used in the Red bonus, that does not consist of any symbols X'd out since the last time the Red bonus was played. For example, if the 10, J, and Q symbols are X'd out, then they won't appear at all on the reels strips, leaving the higher paying symbols only.
- It is possible, and often happens, that multiple bonuses are triggered at the time same, including all three. When this happens, all features from the bonuses earned will be active at the same time. The number of free spins shall be equal to the number of free spins banked in the Blue bonus.
Meal Ticket Pay Table
| Symbol | 5 Pay | 4 Pay | 3 Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold pig | 150 | 100 | 15 |
| Tuxedo pig, safe | 100 | 50 | 10 |
| Elvis pig | 75 | 30 | 5 |
| A,K | 50 | 20 | 3 |
| Q,J,10 | 50 | 15 | 2 |
The rules to the Hog Wild version of Rich Little Piggies appear the same as those of Meal Ticket, except for the Red bonus. Following are the rules to the Red bonus in the Meal Ticket version.
- Unless the Red bonus is triggered at the same time as the Blue bonus, the Red bonus shall consist of seven free spins. Otherwise, if it is triggered at the same time as the Blue bonus, the number of free spins equals the number of banked free spins in the Blue bonus.
- A meter associated with the Red bonus shall start at 15 wilds.
- If a Red coin lands in the Red piggy bank, but does not trigger the bonus, then the number of wilds associated with the Red bonus shall increase by 15.
- When the Red bonus is triggered, the player will be guaranteed the number of wilds accumulated in the Red meter, to be distributed randomly throughout the bonus.
Hog Wild Pay Table
| Symbol | 5 Pay | 4 Pay | 3 Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold pig | 150 | 100 | 15 |
| Ukulele pig | 100 | 50 | 10 |
| Sunglasses pig, Clam | 75 | 30 | 5 |
| A,K | 50 | 20 | 3 |
| Q,J,10 | 50 | 15 | 2 |
Meal Ticket rule screens.
Hog Wild Rule Screens
Advice
Machine advantage players disagree with each other more sharply on this game than other variable-state machine I have written about. My advice is based on the collective opinion of such players, putting more of a weighting on some players than others.
Some advantage players will report a net lifetime loss on this game and say they have given up on it. Some go onto say it is an advantage player trap, trying to lure players in with the temptation of fat pigs, but rarely, if ever, gets positive.
Both sides seem to agree it is a volatile game that you need to hit multiple bonuses at the same time on to come out ahead, preferably the blue and yellow, or better yet, all three. If you don't hit the Blue and Yellow together, you will probably lose at your session. However, if you do hit the Blue and Yellow together, with a lot of free games in the Blue piggy bank, you'll have a good shot at winning the large progressive jackpots. That is how to come out ahead on this game. Comparisons might be made to video poker. Sometimes video poker can offer a mathematical player advantage, but if you don't hit a royal in your session, you'll probably lose.
That said, my advice is simple. Play if the Blue piggy bank has at least 18 free spins. Some advantage players have said that is not enough and the right number is more like 25. The right entry point number is probably in that range somewhere. Keep in mind this is a high-volatility play. If you have a small bankroll or are more risk-averse, for whatever the reason, then be more picky about your entry point.
Why don't I look at the Yellow and Red pigs? As mentioned before, the value in this game is in hitting multiple bonuses at the same time. The Blue pig determines the number of free spins and thus the biggest driver of the value of the bonus. Advanced players might consider the Yellow and Red in borderline cases.
As with any variable-state slot machine I write about, take my advice with a teaspoon of salt.
Final Word
As of this writing, in June 2022, casinos have been known to take countermeasures against players who play slots in an advantage state only, up to barring such players.
External Links
Discussion about Rich Little Piggies in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.