Sakura Fortune slot guide

About the Sakura Fortune slot machine

Sakura Fortune is one of Quickspin's best-known titles, alongside Big Bad Wolf and Goldilocks. It was released in April 2017 and uses a Japanese setting with cherry blossom, temples and a warrior princess who doubles as the game's wild. The grid has five reels and four rows, giving 20 positions and 40 fixed paylines.

The design is about one symbol. Nearly every feature involves the Princess wild: stacking her, nudging her into place, holding her for respins or expanding her during free spins. Once you understand how she behaves, the whole game makes sense. Quickspin is owned by Playtech (since May 2016) and holds a Gambling Commission licence, account 38516.

How Sakura Fortune works on each spin

1. Set your stake. It is spread over 40 fixed lines, so a 40p stake is 1p a line.
2. Press spin. The RNG fixes the result, including any nudge or respin that will follow.
3. Three or more matching symbols along a line, counted from reel 1, earn a line win.
4. If two or more Princess wilds land on a reel, the Mystery Nudge may push them into a full stack.
5. Two full stacks of Princess wilds trigger the Sakura Fortune Respin.
6. Three or more scatters on consecutive reels from the left trigger free spins.

The order matters for understanding near misses. A partial stack that does not nudge looks frustratingly close, but the nudge decision was part of the same random result, so there was nothing to influence and nothing that carries over. Our page on slot machine near misses explains this effect.

The Princess wild and the Mystery Nudge

The Princess is a stacked wild: she can fill several positions on a reel at once. A full stack covers all four rows, so it contributes to every line passing through that reel.

Partial stacks are where the nudge comes in. When two or more Princess wilds land on a reel without filling it, the game may nudge them up or down so the stack covers the whole reel. It is the online cousin of the nudge feature on British fruit machines, with one key difference: online, you have no decision to make. On a pub machine, a nudge offered to the player is a choice that can affect whether you collect a win the machine has offered. Here it is automatic and decided by the RNG. Our page on nudging wilds covers other games that use the idea.

Sakura Fortune bonus: the Princess respin

The Sakura Fortune Respin starts when two full stacks of Princess wilds are on the reels at the same time. According to Quickspin's own game page, the number of respins you receive is tied to the wilds on the reels when the feature starts, extra Princess wilds that land add respins, and the feature ends when no more wilds land.

In effect, the Princess wilds act as sticky wilds for the duration of the feature: each new one makes the following respins more valuable because more lines are covered. A respin that adds two more full reels to the two that triggered it can produce large line wins across 40 lines; a respin that adds nothing ends the feature with whatever the trigger spin paid.

Sakura Fortune free spins

Sakura Fortune free spins are triggered by three or more scatter symbols landing on consecutive reels starting from reel 1. The number of spins awarded is shown in the game's paytable.

• During the round, a Princess wild that lands expands to cover its whole reel.
• The expanded reel stays wild for the rest of the free spins.
• Each Princess that expands also awards an extra free spin.
• As more reels become wild, every following spin covers more lines, so later spins in a good round are worth more.

This combination of expanding wilds and sticky reels is why the free spins round carries much of the game's value. A round in which no Princess lands can pay very little; a round in which three reels turn wild early can pay a great deal.

Sakura Fortune RTP: 96.58% or 90%?

The Sakura Fortune RTP is up to 96.58%. Quickspin's own page describes two RTP models, rounded to 96% and 90%, and casinos choose which to run. The gap is large: the 90% model keeps £10 of every £100 staked on average, against about £3.42 on the top version.

Because the difference is so big, checking the RTP before playing is the single most useful thing you can do with this game. You will see it in the rules screen, and the RTP-finding walkthrough points to the right page. Remote games must meet the Commission's remote gambling and software technical standards (opens in a new tab), which set the information games have to display.

Sakura Fortune volatility and session planning

Quickspin describes Sakura Fortune as an ‘extremely volatile’ 40-line slot. In practice that means the base game will often return less than you stake and the value is concentrated in the respin and free spins features, both of which depend on the Princess landing in the right way.

Real play is slower than the minimum because of animations, but the table shows how quickly a budget goes at higher stakes. For a highly volatile game, a lower stake and a time limit work well together; see our bankroll guide.

Sakura Fortune max win

Quickspin's page does not state a Sakura Fortune max win, so we do not quote one. The largest results come from free spins in which most reels turn wild early. How much you can put at risk per spin is fixed by the online slot stake limits: £5 from age 25, £2 for 18 to 24-year-olds.

Sakura Fortune under UK slot rules

The game launched in 2017, before the UK's online slot design changes. Today's British edition has been adapted to the slot game design rules that took effect on 31 October 2021. Autoplay and quick-stop have gone, a spin cannot finish in under 2.5 seconds, a return at or below your stake gets no fanfare, and your net position stays on screen. A feature buy is not offered either.

Sakura Fortune demo

A Sakura Fortune demo is a good way to see the Mystery Nudge and the expanding Princess in action. British-licensed sites only open the demo once you have proved you are 18 or over, under the rules the Gambling Commission announced in its February 2019 changes to make online gambling fairer and safer (opens in a new tab). The play-money balance is worthless outside the demo, and a brief look at a game this volatile shows almost nothing about real results.

Slots like Sakura Fortune

For another Quickspin game with a strong central feature, Big Bad Wolf uses cascading wins and a blow-down bonus at medium volatility. If it is the Asian setting you like, 88 Fortunes and other games on our Asian-themed slot machines page are worth comparing. For other games built around stacks, see stacked symbols.

Sakura Fortune myths and facts

• ‘A partial Princess stack means the nudge is due.’ Each spin is random and independent; the nudge does not build up.
• ‘Free spins come after long base-game droughts.’ There is no catch-up; see do slot machines remember past spins.
• ‘The game is easier at night or on quiet days.’ The RNG does not know the time.
• ‘Max stake improves the respin chance.’ The chance is the same at every stake.

Is Sakura Fortune worth playing?

Where to play Sakura Fortune in the UK

Quickspin games are stocked by many UK-licensed casinos, but which games each one carries changes, so search the lobby for Sakura Fortune and check the RTP before you play. None of our partner deals names Sakura Fortune. Coral credits 100 free spins (10p each, selected games) once a new player bets £10 on slots; Ladbrokes hands out 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 at 10p, after £10 of slot play; PlayOJO's 80 free spins on a first deposit of £10 or more are locked to Big Bass Bonanza. Newcomers aged 18 and over only, and full terms apply.

If you want to talk to someone about your gambling, GamCare (opens in a new tab) runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours a day.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.