August Gaming

About the Company

August Gaming is an online slots developer originally founded in 2015. The Curacao-licensed company's Random Number Generator (RNG) was certified by iTech Labs in the summer of 2019, meaning it is fully compliant with regulations in jurisdictions such as the UK.

Unlike many Asia-based software developers, the firm provides a link to their certification as well as to their Curacao license.

We applaud that level of transparency but are frustrated by the fact that no ownership, management, or other internal company information is readily available to the public.

We can take a few clues to arrive at the conclusion the company is based in Asia - many games are Asian-themed and their certificate announcement mentions "...UK Gambling Commission, PAGCOR, First Cagayan and North Cagayan standards". Finally, one of the preferences for a game artist is Mandarin language skills.

Even though we can't peer into the crystal ball and know the owners, artists, designers, animators, mathematicians, and other developers here, the fact that the RNG has been tested, certified, and fingerprinted gives us enough to proceed with our review on the reasonable assumption that the games are fair.

Software and Games

The RNG certification (.PDF) examines several elements of a random number generator. The most commonly used RNGs are actually "pseudo" random number generators as is the case with this one. The pRNG algorithms are available in the public domain and represent the core of all fair slot games.

The following evaluations were performed and the resultant numbers passed  Marsaglia's "diehard" tests for statistical randomness.

• Statistical randomness
• The internal state of the RNG
• Seeding, re-seeding, and cycling
• Unpredictability and non-repeatability
• Usage of random numbers including scaling

The certified code for the RNG was 'fingerprinted' by the labs. This means that all that's needed to reconfirm fair operations is to compare the code at any given time in the future to the code that created the test samples. If the fingerprint hasn't changed, then neither can the results.

HTML5 Framework

The lab's games are all deployed using HTML5. This allows the slots to be played in any web browser without the need for plugins or additional software. All of the programming activity takes place on the server side of the equation for lean, fast game delivery, and state-of-the-art security.

Lottery, Scratchcards, and slots can all be played on any operating system - desktop, Mac, PC, tablet, or handheld devices such as iOS (iPhone) or Android.

Slots Games

As of review time, we find about 20 slots titles with the decided majority of them having Asian themes. The stylized art on all of the titles from oldest to newest works well for the genre. It is simple, yet vibrant. The animation on some of the more recent games adds to the experience with some reel symbols showing a bounce and return to position effect. Gameworld/background effects add depth.

The English language versions of some games could use some QA help with misspellings locked into the graphics in at least one game title (Lucky Kids).

The feature mechanics seem to have evolved over time with some of the most interesting showing up in the most recent titles. 

Fortune Luck is an older 3x5 game with 50 paylines. When a certain symbol appears on reels 1 and 5 a random prize up to 33x total stake is awarded.

Scattered coins from left to right trigger free games which can be triggered again inside the feature.

During free games, the wild symbol will randomly multiply the win by 2x, 5x, or 10x.

Double 88 is a 25-pay line game on a 3x5 reel set. 

Wild symbols and scatters are featured.

Landing scatters on reels 2, 3, and 4 will trigger free games. Free games can be triggered again.

In addition to 10, J, Q, K, and A there is also JJ, QQ, KK, and AA symbols.

Rather than acting as multipliers, the double symbols make up to 10 virtual reels - i.e. KK on reel #1 and K on reel #2 is three of a kind on a payline. 

Lucky Kids is a 3x5 slot with 243 ways to win. The game features randomly synchronized reels (same symbols on each reel) during the base game and feature play.

During the base game, the first two and sometimes three reels will be identical.

During Lucky Kids free games, at least the first two reels will move in sync. At random, the 3rd and 4th reels can also move in sync with the first two.

At least three matching symbols from leftmost to right are needed for a win.

Stacked symbols and wilds increase the maximum possible payout and chance to win.

Mr Tiger shows four symbols on each of the five reels and has 50 paylines. The reels are mapped out with only the title character stacked to potentially cover all four reel positions in the base game.

During the free spins feature, wild symbols, which appear on all but the first reel, are also stacked up to four reel positions.

At 0.10 per line (5.00 total bet) landing a stack of four Mr Tigers on reel #1 plus filling the remaining reels with the same or wilds would yield a return of 100.00 per line, a 5,000.00 jackpot, or 1,000x total stake. Max bet is 20.00 per spin (0.40 per line) for a maximum potential jackpot of 20,000.00 on a single spin.

Free spins can be retriggered and 3 scatters will always award 10, 12, or 15 games at random.

Other titles to date with interesting features include The Magical Lamp, King Kong, Super Fruit, and Numbers Deluxe - a fun but simple respin-based slot with big and small respin modes.

The Final Analysis

There are plenty of slots out there with gloriously rendered artwork and game mechanics that leave more than a little to be desired.  That, nor the reverse is true of August Gaming. The artwork and game execution here seem purpose-driven with a variety of styles from cartoon to realistic.

The maths models are solid with a variety of volatilities presented and the feature mechanics are on par with other premier Asian game makers. 

Nothing quite pleases this reviewer more than discovering new Asian slot games that are built masterfully. The reverse is true as well. As one who studies and enjoys many kinds of casino games, I expect brilliance in Asian slots and am rarely disappointed... but it does happen.

We're happy to say that August Gaming does not disappoint!