Return to player
95.13%
Min bet size
0.10
Game type
Live
Variance
Low
Reels
-
Progressive Jackpot
No
Popularity
Max bet size
10,000
Game provider
Evolution Gaming
Bonus Features
Yes
Paylines
-
Theme
Live Casino Game Show
Lightning Storm
Lightning Storm Live is yet another exciting live casino gameshow using a Wheel of Fortune to bring players wins of up to 20,000x via the game's Lightning Storm round. On top of this, four additional bonus games can fetch up to 10,000 times your bet. One of the most appealing aspects of what is now Evolution's most expensive game show yet is that you have a 51% chance of hitting a bonus game on every spin. In this review, we describe our experience testing this fun live game show for 1,000+ spins.
Lightning Storm Live Main Facts
- The game host physically spins the wheel, so there is no random number generator.
- Lightning Storm Live comes with five bonus games packed with multipliers.
- The wheel hosts 39 segments, with 19 assigned to multiplier wins and 20 that trigger a bonus.
- With this setup, each spin has a 51% chance of hitting one of the bonus segments.
- The maximum payout is 20,000x your bet via the Lightning Storm bonus round, while all cash wins are capped at €/$ 500,000.
Theme, Graphics and Audio
Lightning Storm Live is set in a dedicated studio and streamed via HD webcams. The theme is a mish-mash of ideas jumbled into one: Frankenstein, lightning storms, and electricity generated through lightning strikes and other symbols.
We tested the game playing on mobile and desktop devices and found that the desktop version displayed on a larger screen gives you a more personal gameplay experience. However, if you want to play this game on the move, the mobile version also offers plenty of entertainment.
As for the audio, the studio uses entertaining background music, including the Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers 1960s Monster Mash song. Furthermore, game sounds are in sync with the wheel spins and bonus rounds.
Finally, as Evolution uses high-tech microphones, you'll have no problems listening to the game presenter.
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How to Play Lightning Storm Live
The objective is to place your chips on any bet spot related to the segments you feel the wheel will stop. To decide the winning segment, there is a ticker at the top of the wheel.
To get involved in a betting round, you have several bet spot options. Just be aware that on the version we played, there were just 12 seconds of betting time before all bets were off, while each game round can last over a minute and a half if the wheel stops on a bonus symbol.
Leaf Symbol Instant Win
There is one leaf in between each number on the wheel, giving instant cash wins that pay even odds on your bet. There are 19 leaf symbol segments in total, giving Roulette-like outside bet odds with a 49% chance of winning.
If a game round hits a leaf, this speeds up the gameplay as there is no bonus game delaying the next betting phase.
Odd or Even Instant Win
At the side of the betting panel, you can choose to bet on odd or even numbers, which also offer instant payouts. Although we don't strictly recommend the Martingale strategy, you could place bets using this system on the odd or even betting option as a side bet.
Bonus Numbers
Alternatively, you can bet on numbers 1 to 20. These numbers are where symbols for the five bonus rounds will appear.
Storm Chaser Bet
For a more strategic approach, there are advanced betting options like the Storm Chaser Bet, which ensures that a bet will be placed on the number where the Lightning Storm Bonus segment is located. However, keep in mind that the Storm Chaser Bet costs 2.7x your original stake.
X Chaser Bet
There's also the X Chaser Bets, which cover all numbers with bonus symbols. The X Chaser Bet costs 7.8x your stake, making it a higher-risk for higher-rewards option.
Lightning Storm Live Bonus Games & Features
The game randomly assigns bonus symbols to the numbered segments on the wheel once the betting timer has expired.
Random Multipliers
Once you have placed your bets, the RNG selects some of the bonus segments and adds a random multiplier to each worth between 2x and 50x. This is where the game gets exciting because if the wheel hits a segment with a bonus symbol showing a 50x multiplier, you could potentially win the max 10,000x or 20,000x wins.
Bonus Rounds Symbol
Before getting into the various bonus rounds, we compiled a list of bonus symbols that appear on the numbered bonus segments. If the wheel stops on any of these symbols, the following bonus rounds will trigger:
- Lightning Storm Bonus Symbol: Red Triangular Lightning Bolt
- Hot Spot Bonus Symbol: Purple Target
- Battery Charger Bonus Symbol: Green Battery
- Monster Mash Bonus Symbol: Blue Frankenstein
- FireBall Bonus Symbol: Red Fireball
Lightning Storm Bonus Round
We begin with Lightning Storm because it's one of the most profitable bonus rounds in the game, with the highest multiplier worth 20,000x your bet. When the Lightning Storm bonus game triggers, you'll be taken to a rooftop view, looking over a city where there is a billboard of numbers and three lightning strikes.
Choose one of the three lightning storm bonus segment options to enter the lightning phase. The billboard will begin to swivel as lightning strikes, and it will start to select some impressive initial multipliers.
There is a caveat with this game round because there is an RNG in play deciding the multipliers. At the end of the round, your multipliers will be a combination of standard and boosted multipliers.
Hot Spot Bonus Game
The Hot Spot bonus game uses a 9x12 grid with guaranteed multipliers. In the beginning, the game will show a series of multipliers grouped together.
It will then hide them behind lightning-strike symbols and jumble them up. You then have 10 seconds to choose one of the lightning strike symbols in the hope that a large multiplier win is behind it.
After the 10 seconds are up, all position reveal their multipliers. Next, a 3x3 Hot Spot grid covering nine numbers will eventually stop randomly on the grid, and if your pick is within this grid, your win is doubled.
Combined with a Hot Spot 2x multiplier and a 50x multiplier from the main wheel spin, you could win 10,000x your bet. In fact, this game reminds us of Cash Hunt on Crazy Time.
Battery Charger Bonus Game
In this bonus game, you can win one or more multipliers depending on how the batteries on the conveyor belt react.
In the Battery Charge bonus round, a battery charger conveyor belt will reveal ten batteries. Out of the ten batteries, one will have a global multiplier, while the rest have a set multiplier.
Every battery that flows through the conveyor belt is connected to the battery charger, which will turn them red or green.
When a battery turns red, then you don't receive a multiplier and it falls off the conveyor belt. If it turns green, then the multiplier is added to your total.
If the global multiplier hits, it will apply its multiplier to the current total multiplier, and it will also fall off the conveyor belt. When there is only one battery remaining or if the battery charger turns green, this will signal the end of the bonus round.
Monster Mash Bonus Game
When you trigger the Monster Mash bonus, a tank appears and spins three segments. The idea is to build a Frankenstein-inspired monster by combining body parts with multipliers within the horizontal reels for big wins.
Blue different colored body part receives a multiplier:
- Blue: 1x to 50x random multiplier
- Gold: 4x to 6x global multiplier
Once a monster has been built, all the multipliers for each body part accumulate to reveal the total multiplier displayed at the top of the tank.
FireBall Bonus Game
Out of all the Lightning Storm Live bonus rounds, this is the only one that the presenter physically gets involved in and the only one with a dedicated studio.
The game has 149 pockets, with multipliers in some and a double in others. The presented drops the ball onto the board, and if it lands in a pocket with a multiplier, you get paid that number.
If the ball drops into a double, you will see powered-up multipliers double their value. The game ends when the ball stops in a pocket, and all players' bets are multiplied by the amount the pocket is worth.
Expert Tips on Winning on the Evolution Lightning Storm
Bear in mind that compared to most other Wheel of Fortune games, you have more betting options than usual especially if you start to include the X Chaser Bet and Storm Chaser Bet, so that betting rounds can become quite pricey.
- Bet Sizing: Make sure you watch the game before you start betting so you can estimate how much you think you will bet per round.
- Roulette Strategies: The leaf betting options give you a 49% chance of winning and even odds payouts. If you compare this to Roulette's odd/even, red/black and high/low betting options, which give you a 48.60% chance of winning, strategies like the Martingale, Paroli, or D’Alembert could be more effective when playing the leaf bet on Lightning Storm.
Game Technical Details
The maximum payout is 10,000x your bet for the Hot Spot, Monster Mash, Battery Charger, and FireBall bonus games. However, for the Lightning Storm bonus round, you can win up to 20,000x your stake.
When it comes to planning your bets, the minimum bet is 0.10 and depending on the online casino you play at, the maximum bet can be between 2,500 and 10,000 per betting round.
RTPs Explained
The theoretical RTP is between 95.13% and 97.44% depending on a number of variables, such as the bonus round the ticker lands, whether you bet on the additional betting options and the size of the game's many regular multipliers.
- 97.44% - Leaf Bet
- 95.13% - RTP X Chaser
- 95.12% - Storm Chaser
- 95.13%- All bonus rounds via numbered spots
The Best Alternatives to Evolution Lightning Storm
The Wheel of Fortune style live dealer game has become one of the most popular since the first release of Dreamcatcher and Mega Wheel by Evolution and Pragmatic Play. Now, there are more than 15 options to choose from, and we have picked out two of the best alternatives to Lightning Storm Live.
Plus, we've added a preview of some of the other tiles in the Evolution Gaming selection.
Crazy Time
The reason Crazy Time, also by Evolution Gaming, stands out is because its max win potential is 50,000x your bet up to a maximum of €/$ 500,000. However, the key differences are that there are 54 segments instead of 39 and four bonus rounds instead of five.
Also, only nine segments can trigger a bonus, which means you have just a 16.67% chance of hitting a bonus game, but if you do, the multipliers are generally higher in comparison.
Funky Time
Another Evolution Gaming live casino wheel of fortune game that was released after Crazy Time but before Lightning Storm. The game has a theoretical RTP of 95.99% and has four bonus rounds, which can land up to 10,000x your bet and also has a capped cash win of €/$ 500,000.
It is the opposite of Lightning Strike because it has a more upbeat disco-style theme. In this game there, the number of segments is higher, too, with 64 in total, and 12 contain bonus segments, thus giving you an 18.75% chance of hitting the bonus round.
Other Lightning Games By Evolution Gaming
The key features of all Evolution Gaming lightning games are that they offer multiplier wins applied to various bet types.
- Lightning Roulette: This game offers regular multipliers for players who stake straight bets. If the ball lands on a number with a multiplier you've staked, then the game multiplies your bet.
- Lightning Dice: This is another game offering regular multipliers each game round, and like Lighting Storm is based on lighting strikes. All you need to do is bet on the outcome of a roll of three dice. After you place your bets, a lightning strike randomly applies multipliers to the numbers on the board, and if your number rolls in, you get paid the multiplier amount.
Verdict and Summary
There are mixed opinions about this game. Most of us here at Playcasino still prefer games like Crazy Time and Monopoly Live. We can see the appeal of Lightning Storm Live, but for many of us, we felt the number of bonus rounds slows down the gameplay between betting rounds—however, each to their own.
There may be some of you out there who will welcome the slower pace of gameplay between game rounds, as you will find you don't get to bet as often as other Wheel of Fortune games while playing Lightning Storm. Also, if you prefer to play a Wheel of Fortune game with plenty of bonus rounds that pay out regular random and global multipliers, then Lightning Storm Live is definitely going to suit your style of play.
James is a casino games expert on the Playcasino.com editorial team. With many years of professional experience at a leading casino game development company and a passion for playing casino games, James has become a true expert in slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and other games.
James uses this expertise to provide reliable, insider advice through his reviews and guides, breaking down the game rules and offering tips to help you win more often. Rely on James's extensive experience for expert advice on your casino play.
