Fa Cai Shen Deluxe in South Africa: Pays Across and Down, Two Wilds a Free Game
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe is a Habanero slot that the studio's own site dates to 2020. Its six reels of five rows pay any row or column of three or more matching symbols, at a fixed 28 coins a spin. Fa Cai Shen himself is the wild and stretches over three positions of his reel. Three to six gold ingots award 8, 18, 28 or 88 free games, and he appears twice in every one of them. Habanero rates the volatility high and lists a maximum multiplier of x577.
Figures from provider data, September 2026. RTP is set per operator, so check the ranking and the game's own info screen before you deposit.
On this page
What Fa Cai Shen Deluxe looks like
Images: Habanero, official game page (habanerosystems.com).
How Fa Cai Shen Deluxe pays
Habanero's game page gives the grid as 6x5 and the lines as 'Horizontal & Vertical Pays (28 Coins)'. The rules screen of the studio's free demo spells it out: 'Any horizontal or vertical line of the same symbol pays according to the paytable', 'A single row or column can contain more than 1 win' and 'Wins can intersect or overlap on the same row or column'. Only the highest win of a combination is paid, and different combinations are added.
The rules name no starting reel, and the page's tagline calls it a game that 'pays in any direction'.
The price is fixed at 28 coins times the bet level. The demo's Help lists coins from 0.01 to 5 and bet levels 1, 2, 5, 7 and 10, so a spin runs from 0.28 to 1,400 in the player's currency.
What a line pays on a R5.60 spin
Amounts as the free demo's rules screen prints them when it opens at 5.60 a spin (28 coins of 0.20, bet level 1), shown here in rand. The symbol names are our reading of the pictures, and the last column is our division of the six pay by 5.60. Ingots pay as scatters, on the total bet, anywhere on the grid.
| Symbol | Six | Five | Four | Three | Six, x total bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold ingot (scatter) | R492.80 | R156.80 | R44.80 | R5.60 | 88x |
| Dragon | R577.60 | R57.60 | R11.60 | R3.60 | about 103x |
| Three coins | R177.60 | R37.60 | R11.60 | R3.60 | about 32x |
| Koi | R117.60 | R17.60 | R7.60 | R1.60 | 21x |
| Money tree | R77.60 | R17.60 | R7.60 | R1.60 | about 14x |
| Red knot | R57.60 | R11.60 | R5.60 | R1 | about 10x |
| Jade ring | R37.60 | R11.60 | R5.60 | R1 | about 7x |
| A | R31.60 | R7.60 | R3.60 | R1 | about 6x |
| K | R25.60 | R7.60 | R3.60 | R1 | about 5x |
| Q | R17.60 | R5.60 | R1.60 | R0.60 | about 3x |
| J | R11.60 | R5.60 | R1.60 | R0.60 | about 2x |
| 10 | R7.60 | R3.60 | R1 | R0.40 | about 1.4x |
| 9 | R5.60 | R3.60 | R1 | R0.40 | 1x |
A steep top row, and a column of five at most
The dragon pays R57.60 for five and R577.60 for six, ten times more by our division. A run of six can only lie across a row, since a reel holds five, so by our reading every six-symbol pay in the table is a horizontal one. Three of a kind on a line return less than the spin for every symbol, R3.60 at best against R5.60.
The ingots pay anywhere: 1, 8, 28 and 88 times the bet for three to six, by our division. Habanero lists x577 as the maximum multiplier without saying how a spin reaches it; on a R5.60 bet that is R3,231.20 by our arithmetic. It is the studio's figure, not a win cap the rules state.
Fa Cai Shen as the wild
The wild is the smiling figure in red robes and a gold headdress, by our reading of the picture. The rules: 'Any' wild 'expands to cover 3 positions on the reel before pays are awarded', it 'substitutes for all other symbols except' the ingot, and '1, 2 OR 3' of him 'can appear in the BASE GAME, but not on adjacent reels'. The Help adds where he grows: 'from the CENTER when landing on rows 2, 3 AND 4 and from the TOP or BOTTOM when landing on rows 1 AND 5 respectively'.
The rules screen gives him one amount, R3.60 next to a 3 at the R5.60 bet. Because he never lands on neighbouring reels, three of him can line up only down a reel, which is what one expanded symbol covers. That reading is ours.
Gold ingots and the free games
The rules award '8 FREE GAMES' for three ingots 'ANYWHERE', 18 for four, 28 for five and 88 for six. During them the wild 'will appear twice on the screen every spin, but not on adjacent reels', so each free game carries two expanded wilds, six positions of the 30, by our count.
The rules screen: 'Before the start of any random Free Game, between 3 - 24 symbols change into the same random symbol', one of the six high symbols. Habanero's game page says '3 - 30 symbols'; we give both.
Ingots 'do not appear during FREE GAMES', the feature 'cannot be retriggered', and free games play at the triggering bet.
Jackpots, buys and casino tools
- Two meters over the reels in the demo. The Help names a MINOR and a GRAND JACKPOT, 0.250% of the bet going to each, starting from €50 and €5,000, won at random and never in Fun Play or Bonus Play.
- Switched on by the casino. Habanero's solutions page offers operators jackpots and tournaments to 'switch on' for the brands and titles they pick; Jackpot Race and UP Tournaments are ticked for this game. What a South African lobby runs is that casino's choice.
- Nothing to buy. The game page puts a cross next to SuperBet, Buy Feature and Feature Multiplier, so by the rules the free games start from ingots alone.
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe RTP and volatility 📊
Habanero gives Fa Cai Shen Deluxe's return to player as about 86%, 92%, 94%, 97% or 98%, set by the operator.
That is 5 settings, and each operator picks one. The highest is 98% and the lowest 86%: a 12-point gap on the same game with the same name.
Volatility is high: long quiet stretches between the wins that matter.
Top payout: 577x.
What RTP and volatility mean, and why the operator picks the RTP
Paying for Fa Cai Shen Deluxe in rand
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe is in the lobby at 8 operators we list: all of them take cards; 7 take Ozow; 5 take Capitec Pay; 7 take cash vouchers.
The smallest first deposit for Fa Cai Shen Deluxe among them is R1, at Luckyfish.
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe winnings are paid by EFT to an account in your own name, after FICA.
Get FICA done first · How to deposit in rand · Every payment method
Is Fa Cai Shen Deluxe legal in South Africa? 📜
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe is a slot. In South Africa you find it at licensed bookmakers, next to their sports markets.
All 8 operators we list for Fa Cai Shen Deluxe hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money ⚠️
Set your Fa Cai Shen Deluxe budget and a deposit limit before the first round, not after a losing one. If it stops being fun, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation helpline is free on 0800 006 008.
Pros, cons and verdict ⚖️
- Rows and columns both pay, and one row or column can hold more than one win
- Two expanded wilds in every free game, by the rules
- Spins from 0.28 in the player's currency, by the Help
- Every three-of-a-kind on a line pays less than the spin costs
- The free games cannot be retriggered
- Habanero's list runs down to about 86%, and the operator picks the version
A high-volatility grid slot where most of the table is small change and the weight sits in six-symbol rows, ingot scatters and the free games, with their two wilds and the random change of symbols. No staking pattern beats the house edge, and your casino's Help names its RTP version.
Fa Cai Shen Deluxe FAQ ❓
How do pays work in Fa Cai Shen Deluxe?
Any horizontal or vertical line of three or more matching symbols pays, on six reels of five rows. A row or column can hold more than one win, wins may overlap, and the wins of different combinations are added. The rules name no reel a win has to start from.
How do you trigger free games in Fa Cai Shen Deluxe?
Three, four, five or six gold ingots anywhere award 8, 18, 28 or 88 free games. The ingots also pay on their own, from 1 to 88 times the total bet by our division of the rules screen. Ingots do not appear during the free games, so they cannot be retriggered.
What does Fa Cai Shen do in the free games?
By the rules he appears twice on the screen every free game, never on neighbouring reels, and each one expands to cover three positions of its reel. Before some free games, 3 to 24 symbols (3 to 30 by the game page) change into one high symbol.
What is the RTP of Fa Cai Shen Deluxe?
The free demo's Help gives 96.75% for the game itself and 0.50% each for the Minor and Grand jackpots. Habanero's game page lists versions of about 86%, 92%, 94%, 97% and 98%, set by the operator, so check the Help inside your casino's copy.
Is Fa Cai Shen Deluxe the same game as Fa Cai Shen?
No. Habanero's catalogue lists Fa Cai Shen with the year 2016 and Fa Cai Shen Deluxe with 2020. This page covers only the Deluxe game, with its 6x5 grid, pays across and down, and 8 to 88 free games.
Where to play Fa Cai Shen Deluxe in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying Fa Cai Shen Deluxe, each with its licence and our score, and the date where we saw the game in the lobby ourselves. Ordered by that score. How we score Offers checked September 2026.
Also carrying Fa Cai Shen Deluxe. Bonus, payment and payout terms for each are on its review.
