Lantern Luck in South Africa: Climbing Wilds and Lit Lanterns
Lantern Luck is a Habanero slot that the studio's own site dates to 2022: five reels of three, 25 fixed lines and six lanterns in the pay table. Wilds land only at the foot of reels 1, 3 and 5; one on each starts uncapped re-spins in which they lock and climb a row at a time, until a spin leaves no wild on screen. Each lit lantern in a win adds x1 to its line's multiplier. Habanero rates the volatility low and lists a maximum multiplier of x703.
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What Lantern Luck looks like
Images: Habanero, official game page (habanerosystems.com); Our screenshot of Habanero's official free demo (habanerosystems.com), September 2026.
How Lantern Luck works
Habanero's news feed dates its item 'Habanero spreads new year good wishes with Lantern Luck' to 22 February 2022.
Five reels of three rows carry 25 lines, always all in play. A spin costs 25 coins times the bet level (1, 2, 5, 7 or 10 in Habanero's demo), each coin at the chosen coin value. Wins run from the leftmost reel to the right, each line pays only its longest win, and wins for different combinations are added.
The pay table holds six lanterns: blue in a gold cage at the top, then pearl white, a lilac box lantern with blue ribbons, a green drum, purple and, lowest, pink. The wild, a red lantern under a gold-trimmed canopy marked WILD, substitutes for all symbols but lands only on the bottom row of reels 1, 3 and 5. It has no pay of its own, so by our reading it pays as the lantern it completes.
What the six lanterns pay on a R5 spin
Habanero's rules set each pay in line bets, 1,200 for five of the top lantern (600 on the demo's pay table at a 12.50 bet). A R5 spin puts R0.20 on each of the 25 lines; the rand columns are our multiplication before any lit lantern, the last our division by the stake.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Lantern | Five on a line | Four | Three | Five, times the stake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue, in a gold cage | R240 | R80 | R5 | 48x |
| Pearl white | R80 | R50 | R2 | 16x |
| Lilac box, blue ribbons | R40 | R24 | R1 | 8x |
| Green drum | R24 | R10 | R1 | 4.8x |
| Purple | R10 | R2 | R0.40 | 2x |
| Pink | R4 | R1 | R0.40 | 0.8x |
Lit lanterns: one step up the line multiplier
Any of the six lanterns can land lit, 'lit with a fire and surrounded by fireflies' in the rules' words, and each one 'that appears in a winning combination adds X1 to the multiplier of the payline'. By that rule, a lit lantern outside a win changes nothing.
A line pays x1 on its own, so by our reading one lit lantern in the win doubles it, two treble it, and a lit lantern shared by two winning lines raises both. Our arithmetic at R5: four pearl-white lanterns on a line pay R50, R100 with one of them lit and R150 with two.
The re-spins: wilds that climb one row at a time
The rules start the feature 'when Wild symbols appear on reels 1, 3 and 5'. As wilds land only on the bottom row, that means one at the foot of each, as in Habanero's own screenshot of a trigger. Before each re-spin's reels land, 'all Wild symbols are locked and move up one row', and those on the top row 'are removed from the reels when moving up'.
Re-spins 'are not capped and continue until a spin results where no Wild symbol appears on screen', at the lines and bet of the triggering spin. By our reading a wild needs three moves to leave, bottom to middle to top and off, which fits Habanero's screenshots: 'You Won 3 Re-spins!' at one trigger and '3 Re-spins Played' on two closing banners. By the same reading, each new wild at the foot of reel 1, 3 or 5 locks and climbs too, extending the feature.
While the trigger wilds climb together they share a row, and by our count of Habanero's payline chart three lines run through all three: the row itself and two zigzags that meet reels 2 and 4 on the other rows (lines 3, 9 and 21 at the bottom, 1, 10 and 11 in the middle, 2, 8 and 20 at the top). By our reading, each pays at least three of its lantern on reel 2, five when reel 4 matches it in the same row. Our arithmetic at R5: at least R1.20 a spin while the three share a row; blue caged lanterns on reels 2 and 4 of one line make five, R240, or R720 with both lit.
Where x703 sits against the pay table
Habanero's game page lists a maximum multiplier of x703, R3,515 on a R5 spin by our multiplication. The table's biggest line, five blue caged lanterns, pays 48 times the stake by our division, and each lit lantern in it adds another 48. The page does not say which spin reaches x703.
No buy button, and the extras a casino can add
- No shortcut into the feature. Habanero's game page marks Buy Feature and SuperBet as not part of Lantern Luck.
- A Jackpot Race, if the casino runs one. Habanero's demo shows a race banner, and its Help describes the demo's race: five minutes, fed by 1% of each bet, paid to the bets closest to the trigger, never in fun or bonus play. Habanero's race page leaves the contribution, schedule and split to the operator.
- Tournaments and bonus spins. UP Tournaments and Bonus Free Spins are ticked on the game page: promotions a casino switches on from Habanero's Back Office.
Lantern Luck RTP and volatility 📊
Habanero gives Lantern Luck'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 low: wins come often and small.
Top payout: 703x.
What RTP and volatility mean, and why the operator picks the RTP
Paying for Lantern Luck in rand
Lantern Luck 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 Lantern Luck among them is R1, at Luckyfish.
Lantern Luck 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 Lantern Luck legal in South Africa? 📜
Lantern Luck is a slot, which licensed bookmakers carry under their provincial betting licences.
All 8 operators we list for Lantern Luck hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money ⚠️
Set your Lantern Luck 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 ⚖️
- A wild on each of reels 1, 3 and 5 starts re-spins with no cap
- Wilds that land during the re-spins keep the feature going
- Each lit lantern in a win adds x1 to that line's multiplier
- Three lines run through the climbing wilds while they share a row, by our count
- Wilds land only on the bottom row, and only on three reels
- No feature buy and no SuperBet
- Three of a kind pays less than the stake for five of six lanterns, by our division
- Five RTP settings, the lowest about 86%, and the operator chooses
Lantern Luck rests on two rules: wilds that climb out of the bottom row one step per re-spin, and lit lanterns that lift a winning line's multiplier. Results are random: Help says the RTP 'can not be affected by the player strategy', and no staking plan gets round the house edge. Check the Return To Player figure in Help before a real-money spin; it is your casino's setting.
Lantern Luck FAQ ❓
How do the re-spins start in Lantern Luck?
A wild must appear on each of reels 1, 3 and 5, and wilds land only on the bottom row, so all three sit along the bottom. Habanero's screenshot of a trigger reads 'Congratulations! You Won 3 Re-spins!', and the wilds then climb a row before each re-spin's reels land.
When do the re-spins end?
When a spin results with no wild on screen. Top-row wilds are removed as the others move up, so by our reading a feature with no new wild ends after three re-spins, while each wild landing at the foot of reel 1, 3 or 5 extends it.
What does a lit lantern do?
A lantern 'lit with a fire and surrounded by fireflies' adds x1 to the multiplier of any winning line it belongs to. By our reading one lit lantern doubles that line: four pearl-white lanterns pay R50 on a R5 spin, R100 with one of them lit, by our arithmetic.
What maximum does Habanero list for Lantern Luck?
Habanero's game page lists a maximum multiplier of x703, R3,515 on a R5 spin by our multiplication, without naming the combination behind it. By our division, the pay table's top line, five blue caged lanterns, is 48 times the stake before lit lanterns.
Which RTP does my casino run?
The operator picks one of Habanero's settings, listed as roughly 86%, 92%, 94%, 97% and 98%. Open the game menu, then Help, and scroll to Return To Player to see it. Habanero's free demo shows 96.73% there, plus a separate 1.00% line for its Jackpot Race.
Where to play Lantern Luck in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying Lantern Luck, 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 Lantern Luck. Bonus, payment and payout terms for each are on its review.