The story
Fiction and adapted settings written by Akitsora Gaming for this title, including invented dialogue and events. This is not a historical or folklore reference. The rules and specification tables define the gameplay and math.
Flute and taiko echo down the New Year lane as the crimson lion dances through the gate.
One lucky bite chews away misfortune while the kite climbs above the clouds toward the first sunrise.
I. The Lion Dance at New Year
In the crisp mornings of the Japanese New Year, the lively sound of bamboo flutes and taiko drums announces the arrival of the shishimai troupe down the lane. Beneath a flowing cloak dyed with green karakusa arabesques, the dancer wields a carved red-lacquer Lion Head whose wooden jaw clacks in time with the festive street beat. Crimson tassels and brass bells jingle in time with the bamboo flute as crowds line the snow-dusted shrine path.
Old folklore holds that a lucky wordplay links the lion’s bite to divine blessing: letting the New Year lion bite your head chews away a full year of bad luck and invites good fortune in its place, while neighborhood children half-hide behind their parents’ sleeves and half-lean forward along the sunny street. Every spirited leap and snapping jaw of the ceremonial lion showers the New Year gathering with festive energy.
II. Paper Cutouts and Golden Bites
Across this five-reel, four-row all-ways board, every emblem is crafted as a traditional kirie paper cutout mounted on textured white washi paper: the auspicious first-dream trio of Mount Fuji, a hawk, and an eggplant, joined by stacked kagami mochi rice cakes, painted hagoita paddles, wooden spinning tops, hamaya arrows, and blooming red plum branches. Crimson tassels and brass bells jingle in time with the bamboo flute as crowds line the snow-dusted shrine path.
Whenever a Lion Head Wild lands on the middle columns, it immediately snaps its wooden jaws up, down, left, and right before ways are evaluated on the board. Every regular cutout symbol it bites transforms on the spot into a golden Fuku Wild, linking combinations across all five reels in a single chomp. Every spirited leap and snapping jaw of the ceremonial lion showers the New Year gathering with festive energy.
III. Kadomatsu and the Climbing Kite
When enough pine-and-bamboo Kadomatsu scatters appear anywhere across the grid, the scene opens onto a bright winter sky for the Takoage kite-flying free spins. Beside the reels rises a tall altitude scale where a traditional painted yakko kite with outstretched kimono sleeves catches the crisp New Year breeze and prepares to climb. Crimson tassels and brass bells jingle in time with the bamboo flute as crowds line the snow-dusted shrine path.
On every free spin that scores a ways win across the reels, the kite climbs one rung higher first and then multiplies that spin’s payout by its newly reached height on the scale. Because the kite never drops back down once lifted, every winning gust carries the remainder of the round onto higher ground. Every spirited leap and snapping jaw of the ceremonial lion showers the New Year gathering with festive energy.
IV. First Sunrise and the Big Bite
As the yakko kite ascends into the clear winter sky, breaking through the mid-altitude Cloud level grants extra free spins to keep the flight going; climb all the way to the summit of the scale, and the kite meets Hatsuhi—the year’s very first sunrise gleaming in radiant gold above the snowy horizon. Crimson tassels and brass bells jingle in time with the bamboo flute as crowds line the snow-dusted shrine path.
From the spin after the first sunrise is reached, every remaining turn unleashes the Big Bite: whenever a Lion Head lands on the middle reels, its jaws widen to turn the entire surrounding ring of regular symbols into golden Fuku Wilds while the top sunrise multiplier shines over every ways win. Every spirited leap and snapping jaw of the ceremonial lion showers the New Year gathering with festive energy.