Ever since the release of Brian Christopher’s Pop’N Pays More, the first casino slot machine to be branded around a social media influencer, fans have been persistent in asking the question: When will the next slot come out?
Brian Christopher and Gaming Arts have extended their relationship, culminating in the upcoming launch of Brian Christopher’s World Cruise, which is being previewed at G2E and is slated to come out in the first quarter of 2025.
The theme was chosen to highlight Brian’s excitement for cruising, driven by the 8-10 cruises he takes annually as part of his travels, each featuring hundreds of fans.
The game was front and center at the Gaming Arts booth, alongside other new games, as well as classic titles like Kung Fu Empress (which also sees a new title coming soon) and the original Brian Christopher’s Pop’N Pays More. The slot was announced in Gaming Arts’ recent press release around new games being showcased at the conference.
In person, the graphics are impressive and immersive, showing a continued evolution and growth from Gaming Arts, which has been taking giant leaps forward in recent years with titles like Deal or No Deal. Animated Brian also takes a big step forward, continuing his evolution of previous years.
Leading into this year’s show, we spoke with Jason Pawloski, Vice President of Game Design at Gaming Arts, who was part of the development process of this new game, including oversight of game design, sound and art, as part of the decision making process.
The creation of a second slot featuring Brian was an easy decision given the success of the original game, Pawloski said.
He noted that the first slot “played a big role in Gaming Arts’ history. Gaming Arts did very well with that game. We have a successful brand, and we want to expand and improve upon it.”
Our conversation discussed some of the goals and insights that went into developing the new slot.
For instance, Brian’s Christopher World Cruise will offer three different bonuses, connected to the three rubber duck characters on the screen above the reels. The rubber ducks above the reels will grow over time, with ducks on the reels flying up, and potentially growing the ducks above the reels in size.
The rubber ducks are connected to cruising by the concept of hiding ducks throughout a cruise ship for others to find, an activity that’s been gaining in popularity over time.
Unlike many of the games that feature the three pot format, the growth of the ducks has value to the player, as they will also increase in level, which corresponds to an improvement in the bonus when triggered. This level up system offers a new twist to the three-pot mechanic that this game brings to the front.
The level up feature rewards players who are patiently awaiting a bonus, Pawloski said. “The longer the player plays between features, the better that feature ends up being. The levels act as a multiplier or feature enhancer.
“We’ve all had those dry spells between features when playing our favorite game, but this game will reward the player for sticking it out by giving them a better multiplier or enhancement.”
Another difference is that each of the ducks leads to a different bonus, as opposed to all three enhancing a single bonus. The three main bonuses available are:
- Wheel of the World: A wheel spin that can award credits, Mini and Minor jackpots, and an additional spin, which allows you to win a prize and spin again. Higher levels mean better prizes on the wheel slices.
- Dance ‘Til You Drop: A free spins bonus that includes wilds that stick around for a bit, helping you boost you wins on the spins. Higher levels mean more spins for the player. One of the dancers is Marco, who saw his face in the slot for the first time at the booth.
- Stuff Your Face: A picking bonus that can award credit prizes as well as jackpots from the four jackpots available. Higher levels mean a higher bonus multiplier.
The choice to do three distinct bonuses was to offer some diversity of gameplay for players.
“We really just wanted to get as much variety and as much content as we could,” Pawloski said. “We have three very different features. You can still trigger multiple features on the same spin, so you can win all three. When you do, you play them in sequence.”
The inclusion of the wheel actually created a visual question for the development team: Where should Brian go?
“It is the Brian Christopher game, so we want him on the screen at all times,” Pawloski said. But Brian wasn’t the only important element to showcase when it comes to the game’s features.
“When you have a wheel, you want to advertise the wheel,” he said. “You want to show it off – the values are unobstructed, and players can see what they could be getting. So that kind of left us with a bit of a quandary of where to put Brian. We decided to put him on the reels. He is wild, so that wild is always fixed, and he doesn’t go away in the base game.”
Brian also lends a helpful hand. The “Rude” feature returns from the first game, where he can upgrade a losing spin into a winning one, but he does so in new ways.
This slot includes two progressives, which are the same across all denominations (which will feature 1 cent through 10 cent options at launch), and two flat jackpots that change by denomination. Similar to other games with this structure, the chance of winning a flat jackpot increases by bet within a denomination, while progressive chances increase with overall bet.
There’s so much to enjoy here, and we haven’t even covered all the features the game will have when it comes out! Stay tuned here at Flip The Switch and at Brian Christopher’s site BCSlots.com for more information as the game is released!
No it’s all about the timing! Can’t wait to see you play your new slot machine.
We’re so excited to see what everyone thinks! It shouldn’t be too much longer :)
Is the Brian Christopher slots only available at the Plaza? BTW: Looking into a cruise and I have a question. Where can I go to ask my question about the cruises? Thank you, Kathleen.
Hey Kathleen – Brian’s original slot has been over time found in more than 75 casinos and cruise ships. We maintain a list of where it can be found on his website.
As far as cruise questions, you can send us a message via the Brian Christopher Slots page on Facebook, or reach out to us via our contact form, and someone can get back to you directly!
I think the new slot machine will be so much fun and I can’t wait to play it thank you for all you do .
Thank you for the kind comment – we’re excited about the slot ourselves!
Hopefully your machine will make it to washington
Hey Roberta! Washington’s one of those states that don’t have standard Vegas slots, but other types of games that approximate it. Sometimes that keeps a game out of a market, but it can depend, so we’ll see what happens this time!
I wish you had a link to play slots for free and no download when I want to try out some these games you play and try out the new ones. I do not have enough memory to keep downloading different slot games. I found some free sites like casino.com to do this. I wish you had a link to your games. P.S. – I am no longer “rolling in it” but still love to play the games!
Sincerely,
Ed Mockapetris
Thank you Ed for this feedback! We have occasionally looked at this concept, so you may get your wish!
100% agree with Ed!! I’m no longer able to go out… Wheelchair etc, but this new game looks AWESOME! Thank you for what you do! I’ve lived in Nevada for over 40 years! 38 in Reno … and I miss going to my favorite casinos!
Thanks Valerie! This feedback is really helpful, and it’s something we’re happy to explore!
Read your comprehebsive article Josh, and thank you for the details! Gaming Arts is taking a number of annoyances away, such as the non-correlation of the 3 ‘pots’ sizes to actual possibilities. Knowing that as the ducks grow, so do the outcomes, is so exciting! Would be super if there is a premiere party where fans can participate in the launch, and a corresponding ‘win a cruise’ promotion along with it! In another lifetime way back in my early twenties, I was an advertising director for a local department store in my hometown. Pre-computers and internet, to give you an idea of the era. One of the many reasons I enjoy the entire Brian phenomena, is watching the progression of the ‘brand’ and the team’s ideas in action!
Hey Susan! Great ideas here, and we’ll likely do some sort of launch, like we did two years ago when we launched the original game at Plaza! Once the final details are firmed up I’m sure something will be sent out to everyone!
Love the videos every week I stay up at night and watch them all I love Brian and Marcos I have been watching since he only did small bets I also love Chumba I play very often and have won some good jackpots keep up the good work I love you all
Thanks so much Madelyn – we appreciate you dropping by and leaving a comment!
I am so hoping this game is released and in Brian’s room at the Plaza in time for RW25…it looks like so much fun.
Question tho— was there a video of the machine embedded in the article and I missed it?
Hey Chris – right now the game is on track for a Q1 launch, so we’d say the chances are pretty good!
No video was embedded – the game that was showcased was still in development, so we opted against it for now, but there have been shorts from Brian showcasing the game, and more of those to come!
Will this one be on Chumba? I love pop it pays
Hey Lori! Nothing to announce for now on Chumba, but you never know!
Huge congratulations to Brian (and Marco!) for the new slot machine! It’s honestly pretty awesome that he’s such a figure in the slot world! Tho I’m not expecting this to reach any of my local casinos it’ll be very fun to see it in action on youtube! :)
Hey Jason – we’re expecting that this one will reach even farther than the first, so you never know!