Mr. Monopoly and the iconic Yahtzee scorecard will join table-game pits early next year with Galaxy Gaming’s new side bets and progressive bonuses.
The new games, featuring bonus bets and linkable progressive jackpots, add excitement to any existing table game without affecting play of the primary game, said Steve Cvetkoski, Galaxy’s vice president of product. The games, debuting at Galaxy’s G2E booth 4452, are the first produced under a licensing agreement with Hasbro announced in July.
“We wanted to make a game unto itself, while maintaining the integrity of table games,” he said.
The Monopoly game is being demonstrated on both a traditional blackjack table and a newly released poker variant called Heads Up Hold ’Em Extreme, but Cvetkoski underscored that it is available for any table game. “If you like Monopoly, just tell us what table game you want or have and we’ll do it. Pai gow, baccarat, other carnival games. We can do it on the dice game. It’s anything and everything.”
The Monopoly game consists of two optional side bets that make the player eligible for progressive linkable jackpots based on posted combinations and a must-hit-by Community Chest jackpot. The demonstration model shows a $5 bet on one Monopoly bet and a $10 bet on the other. Players may bet on one, both, or neither.
Before each round, the Monopoly video screen mounted on the table shows an animated Mr. Monopoly multiplying the payout for specific winning payouts, raising them by three to 10 times the base amount. The increase applies only to that round.
Cvetkoski said Galaxy has learned that offering players two optional progressive bets is ideal. “Two has sort of been our sweet spot – one for spacing, but also for providing operators the most flexibility, the most bang for their buck, giving players also a chance to play two different things.” For side bets within the base table game, the number is “as many as your players want to play.” Players can bet on whatever they want. “What we want to do is give players options.”
Offering side bets on table games “invariably” raises an operator’s hold on table games, he said. “When you add side bets, you add excitement. You get some good play, and you’ll see a direct increase.” The amount depends on player participation, but history suggests a game holding about 16 percent without side bets can see an increase to around 20 percent.
The Yahtzee side bet is demonstrated on a dice game, Three Dice Duel, a rebranding of a Galaxy table game. In the base game, the dealer uses shakers for three red dice and three blue dice. Players bet on whether red or blue will have a higher total, with a tie as a third option. The scoring is similar to baccarat. The roll closer to nine wins; if the three dice add up to more than nine, only the second digit is used.
The Yahtzee side bet is based on specific dice combinations, such as one color showing three sixes or three consecutive numbers. As in the Monopoly game, payoffs for certain combinations are randomly multiplied before each round. The animation on the Yahtzee screen shows a traditional Yahtzee scoresheet with a lead pencil marking it.
Cvetkoski said the primary goal is to make the games simple yet engaging. “If they’re easy to deal, easy to understand, easy to play, then it’s honestly seconds of an evaluation” whether a bet wins or loses.
Under the agreement with Hasbro, the Monopoly and Yahtzee games cannot appear on casino floors until Jan. 1. Galaxy also has rights to develop games based on Hasbro’s Battleship, but Cvetkoski said that will be developed over the next several months.
“The big focus for us this year is to showcase our Hasbro relationship and Monopoly is front and center. We wanted to do something with it that’s unique and screams ‘Monopoly.’ We want to do justice to the progressive, the brand, and our table games all at the same time.”
