Chicken Run is a video slots game developed by Microgaming, a renowned online gaming software provider. The game is inspired by the 2000 animated film of the same name and features a unique theme that revolves around farmyard animals attempting to escape from their farm owner.
Theme and Design
The game’s theme is centered on the popular Aardman Animations film, which was later adapted into a Chicken Run live-action movie. The design of the slot game takes inspiration from the film’s colorful characters and farm setting, providing players with an immersive experience reminiscent of the animated classic.
Upon launching the game, players are greeted by a scenic farm landscape set against a bright blue sky, complete with rolling hills and lush greenery. In addition to the standard reels and paylines, there is also a special "Escapade" feature that serves as a secondary bonus round within the main free spins feature.
The slot features 5×3 reels and 243 ways to win in its base game, although players can choose to play with fewer lines for lower betting ranges. The design is crisp and colorful throughout, with animated elements and effects used strategically to enhance gameplay.
Symbols
Chicken Run boasts a wide variety of symbols inspired by the film’s characters and setting. These include high-paying icons like Ginger (the clever and resourceful female chicken), Rocky (her laid-back love interest), and Fowler (their overbearing but lovable owner).
In addition to these higher-value symbols, players will also encounter lower-paying farmyard animals such as chickens, ducks, cows, horses, pigs, sheep, and geese. There are 4 different wilds in the game: a generic Wild symbol that can substitute for any of the base game’s icons; Ginger, Rocky, and Fowler as separate high-paying symbols that cannot be used as substitutes.
Payouts
When it comes to paying out winnings, players must consider both the standard paytable values and potential free spins bonus rounds. Wins in Chicken Run occur when 3 or more identical symbols land adjacent on an active reel from left-to-right; however, combinations that do not cross any gaps will result only in a single win.
Standard payout values are as follows: chickens (1-5x multiplier), ducks (2-10x), cows and horses (4-20x), pigs (8-40x) and sheep/ geese (10-50x). The main game’s symbols also serve as Wilds with similar payouts, while Ginger, Rocky & Fowler appear on only the last reel of each spin offering 1:2000, 2:1000 & 5:1000 odds respectively.
Wilds and Scatters
Chicken Run features both Wild and Scatter symbols. In addition to its standard Generic Wild that can fill gaps in a winning combination when two high-paying characters appear on an active line with wild symbols filling the middle spaces or left-most of those two icons, there are three other special symbols.
Ginger appears as a 3-symbol bonus only when two others have been previously caught by Fowler; she acts similar to regular Wild but her multipliers can go up to: (2.5x/6.25x) if on one reel (any three line wins featuring these symbols and no wilds are paid x1), or (5-20x), & also provides bonus free spins when fully caught by Fowler with others around her on board the flying machine.
Rocky serves a similar purpose, acting like Wild but limited to doubling or tripling multipliers: (2.5/4.75), though not used as substitute for base game symbols; however offers higher values than Ginger – between 7 and 25 times that line wins featuring just him on all reels do pay out (in place of ‘any three line wins’ rule); again fully caught with others will provide the same outcome, starting bonus round free spins.
Fowler is Wild but may only be used to create a winning combination when two or more high-payers are involved; it has no multiplier and pays x 20 any time part of a win (e.g., Ginger & Fowler). His symbols alone do not contribute towards meeting conditions required for starting ‘Bonus Spins’ feature that activates upon occurrence.
Bonus Features
The main bonus features include the Farm Frenzy free spins round, triggered when three or more scattered farm vehicles appear in any reel from left to right and also an added Escapade Bonus which counts as one of its 243 potential winning combinations per spin.
Players have access to an auto play mode for setting parameters but it lacks customization options & number limitations on the number of consecutive rounds played. The minimum bet is set at $0.25, while maximum wagers go up to $100 per spin.
The highest possible win within Chicken Run occurs through hitting five wilds with multipliers ranging between 2:200x and 5-10 times base line payout; if successful during bonus free spins these two conditions may reach an incredible (20 x total stake bet).
