Introduction to Laced
Laced is a casino slot from Shady Lady, where you will get relaxed whether you like it or not. In its protest against the flood of merry, bauble and candy cane-filled Christmas slots that pour into casinos this time of year, the studio is releasing a game in which a different kind of tree takes centre stage. Join The Dude in his bachelor pad, wade through a haze of weed smoke and sink comfortably into the couch to get ready for a chilled-out ride, but first... Oh maaan! You left the lighter all the way out there on the table? Come on, we're going to need that gear to fire up all those buds. I know it's quite a trip, but it's for the greater good! Got it? Awesome! Now wait for a sizable batch of greenery to flood the grid and hit it with a spark to reveal matching symbols and win big. Hold on, did you also just see an elephant float through the air? Damn, some of that stuff must be laced with something harder, as I just saw a giant golden one whizz across the room. Anyway, let's fire up another one as something tells me there might be a max win of 20,000x the bet waiting at the end of the rainbow this time.
If you find some of that stuff a tad too strong for your taste, go chill in the demo mode at the top of this page to get your head straight.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Laced is a video slot from Shady Lady with 5 reels, 6 rows, and 7,776 ways to win, where you can choose your stake from a range of options, starting from a Min. bet of 0.1 up to a Max. bet of 50. The game's math operates on a default RTP of 96.12%, indicating stable, long-term returns, although there are also several lower variants released, including 94.04% and 91.92%, so be sure to verify your version before playing. You can expect high wins to be further apart but carry more value on average due to high volatility, while the max win can reach 20,000x the bet. The base hit frequency sits at the rate of 27.50% and it takes 182 spins on average to trigger the bonus round.
If you were counting on lively interactions with your host upon entering his smoke-soaked dwelling, forget about it. The Dude, deep in his weed-induced trans, will barely acknowledge your presence, dozing off continuously as he tries to multitask between shoving crisps into his mouth and finishing a fat joint. Through the overwhelming haze, you can make out some of the apartment's unique decor, including a cannabis plant wrapped in lights and some pictures carelessly slapped on the wall. Since there's little to no response from the zoned-out fellow, let's focus on what we can expect to happen on the grid. Oh, and don't forget that Laced is available on all devices, whether you prefer to play on a desktop, a smartphone, or a tablet.
Creating winning combinations requires landing from 3 to 5 matching symbols on adjoining reels, starting from the leftmost one. There are two groups of symbols that will generate payouts once you align them correctly on the grid. Among the low-paying ones, there are Ziploc bags with stickers showing a star, a spider, an alien, and a ganja leaf, awarding 0.5x the bet for a complete way. The high-paying group includes images of a cell phone, a pizza slice, a smoking pipe, and a wallet, which bring payouts ranging between 1.5x and 2x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind hit. Reels will also hold Wilds in the form of an elephant smoking a joint, Buds that act as mystery reveal symbols, and Scatters represented by an alarm clock.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Laced?
You can win up to 20,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Laced?
The features are Cascading, Burning Buds, Laced Buds, Bonus & Super Bonus, Feature Buy, Highlight Reels, and Loot Boxes.
Cascading
The possibility of scoring multiple wins within the same spin always sounds appealing, and that's what cascading offers. Each winning combination disappears from the grid, leaving empty spaces behind to which the remaining symbols fall. Next, new icons will drop in to complete the view and potentially award more hits. The process continues until no new wins can be created.
Burning Buds
On each spin, a random number of Buds appears on the grid. When inactive, they act as blockers for regular wins, and they need a Lighter symbol to be activated. Once it lands anywhere on the board, it will light up a random number of Buds in random positions. All ignited Buds reveal the same paying symbol or another Lighter to continue the chain reaction.
Laced Buds
Two special types of Laced Buds may appear on the grid, identified by purple or gold colouring. Once ignited, Purple Buds summon a Purple Elephant Wild with a multiplier of x1, x2, or x3. Gold Buds summon a Golden Elephant Wild, which is 2x2 in size and carries a multiplier of x1, x5, x10, or x100. Elephants settle in random positions on the grid and substitute for any regular symbols during win evaluation.
Bonus & Super Bonus
Ending up with 3 Scatters anywhere on the grid at the end of all cascades within the same spin activates a Bonus Game with 6 free spins. During the round, there are more Laced Buds in the mix and a higher chance of landing Lighter symbols.
Super Bonus requires a total of 4 Scatters and awards 8 free spins. In this mode, the frequency of Laced Buds landing is even greater than before, and reels are riddled with Lighters for a much higher feature activation potential.
Feature Buy
If you prefer to bypass the nonsensical ramblings of The Dude and experience the most intense high right away, you can boost your base game spins and trigger certain features instantly from the Feature Buy menu that hides under the neon orange dollar sign icon.
1.5x = Bonus Boost, increasing the chance to trigger the Bonus Game by 236%.
5x = Big Bonus Boost, increasing the chance to trigger the Bonus Game by 1,185%.
25x = Lighter Boost, guaranteeing a Lighter symbol to land.
74x = triggers the regular Bonus Game.
237x = triggers the Super Bonus Game.
127x = triggers the Bronze-tiered Bonus Game.
347x = triggers the Silver-tiered Bonus Game.
1,596x = triggers the Gold-tiered Bonus Game.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Bonus Games are variants of the Regular Bonus with an enhanced average payout.
Highlight Reels
For a set price, you can skip the base game grind and trigger a large batch of spins instantly to receive the result of 3 top rounds in the series.
79x = best 3 out of 100 spins.
204x = best 3 out of 300 spins.
312x = best 3 out of 500 spins.
Loot Boxes
Loot Boxes offer empowered versions of the bonus rounds with potentially higher payouts. Once you purchase one, a selection of cards will appear, out of which one choice can award a Bronze, Silver, or Gold bonus round, each with a 1-3 star rating. Enhanced bonuses play out identically to the regular ones but have an increased chance of providing a higher total win.
186x = Rare Loot Box
344x = Epic Loot Box (higher chance for Gold Bonus)
571x = Legendary Loot Box (highest chance for Gold Bonus)
Final Thoughts on Laced
Having dabbled in controversial and mature topics in several of its productions so far (Brainwashed, Oops), despite the relatively short tenure, Shady Lady prepared us well for edgy themes that may spill from the creators' minds. Also, a narrative driven by drugs, booze, or other addictive substances was kind of expected at some point of the roadmap, so Laced wasn't exactly a shocker when it peeked from behind the curtain. At the same time, it showed that producers either did tons of meticulous research around the everyday environment of the so-called stoners or have some proper experience in the matter themselves, because the theme runs on stunningly amusing imagery and references. If you ever saw the type of guy like The Dude in a movie (say James Franco in Pineapple Express), you'll know exactly what we're talking about. Living alone, spaced out of his mind most of the time, staring blankly at a TV for days on end, and eating only what comes right out of a bag or can be microwaved. With the smooth, vibrant, cartoony design wrapping this entire setting, the Lady has absolutely nailed it.
The leading mystery reveal mechanism feels like a double-edged sword, and it persistently keeps us on the fence when trying to assess its attractiveness. On one hand, there are loads of those buds landing on the grid on every spin, making you think that when they catch on fire, everything will go up in smoke at once. It doesn't. Landing the Lighter picks only random spots to transform into matching symbols, and it can often be underwhelming how few actually get triggered. To make up for that, you can hit more Lighters under the buds to initiate a chain reaction and end up with a sizable set of identical instances. Plus, there are the laced variants, which will summon 1x1 or 2x2 Wilds with potential multipliers. Unfortunately, during our testing, we didn't get to experience them too often. The increased frequency of getting Laced Buds and Lighters in both bonus variants is noticeable, which gives the gameplay much more dynamism, although we've hit some utterly disappointing ones as well. But hey, that's high volatility for you. In any case, the central feature is straightforward and fills the game well on every spin, regardless of the stage, but can be quite fickle.
Laced scores way more points for its bold, humorous, and well-crafted theme rather than for its technical side, which creates the correct expectations but may be fussy on delivery.
