Play Chi in New Zealand

Chi centres its pokies action on 27 fixed paylines that pay from either side of a five-reel, three-row vertical display. Released by ELK Studios on 7 May 2019, the game uses the Chi and Mow spirit totems to add wilds and multipliers. Stairway to Fortune and retriggerable free spins provide separate routes towards a maximum win of 12,500x the stake.

Chi Game Overview

Chi frames its spins as a mountain journey assisted by two spirits with different mechanical roles. The five vertical reels show three symbol positions each, and 27 line patterns are checked in both directions to produce 54 evaluated paylines.

Chi connects its base-game powers with two bonus modes. The Chi totem creates wilds, Mow supplies multipliers, Stairway to Fortune follows a step-based multiplier path, and the free spins round makes the spirit effects persistent.

Chi Key Game Details

Chi has the following principal specifications:

• Developer: ELK Studios
• Release date: 7 May 2019
• Game category: Video slot
• Theme: Himalayan journey and spirit totems
• Playing area: 5 reels, 3 rows
• Winning system: 27 paylines paying in both directions, 54 evaluated paylines in total
• Bonus trigger: 3 bonus symbols for Stairway to Fortune
• Free spins: 10, 15 or 20 from 3, 4 or 5 free spins symbols
• Chi power: Adds 1–6 wilds
• Mow power: Applies a multiplier from 2x to 5x
• Main mechanics: Chi wilds, Mow multipliers, Stairway to Fortune, Fortune Reels and retriggerable free spins
• Maximum win potential: 12,500x stake
• RTP: 96.00%
• Volatility: Very high, 9/10
• Demo available: Yes
• Supported formats: Desktop and mobile

Chi appears at Wildz with 96.00% RTP, 9/10 volatility and an enabled demo mode. Players should confirm the loaded game’s information panel before placing a wager because the permitted configuration and available stake controls can vary by operator.

How Does Chi Work?

Chi pays qualifying matching symbols along fixed line patterns crossing all five reels. Each of the 27 paylines is read from left to right and from right to left, which doubles the directions assessed without changing the underlying reel display.

Chi generates reel positions, totem effects and bonus symbols randomly on every spin. The two-way line system permits combinations to start at either outer reel, but a player cannot decide which side will produce a result or use earlier spins to forecast the next one.

Chi Spirit Powers

Chi activates as a fire totem that sends 1–6 wilds onto the reels. The added wilds can substitute in eligible line wins, and any wilds created by this power during free spins remain fixed for the rest of that bonus sequence.

Chi chooses the count and placement of its fireball wilds through the programmed random process. Changing a wager can alter the amount at risk and the value of a win, but it cannot force the totem to activate or direct a wild to a chosen position.

Chi Mow Multipliers

Chi uses Mow as its second spirit power, with multiplier values running from 2x to 5x. During free spins, Mow’s first appearance begins a sticky 2x multiplier, and each later activation raises it by one step until the 5x maximum is reached.

Chi applies Mow only when the game’s random outcome includes the required event. A multiplier that has not appeared for several spins is not overdue, while reaching 5x in one bonus has no effect on the starting conditions of a later round.

Chi Stairway to Fortune

Chi starts Stairway to Fortune after 3 bonus symbols appear. Chi draws a number from 1 to 6, Mow moves that many spaces along a route of increasing multipliers, and the sequence repeats until Collect pays the value reached or the journey advances to the Fortune Reels.

Chi controls both the movement values and the Collect result. The visible path explains the possible progression, but it does not give the player a method to stop on demand, avoid an early collection or guarantee access to the top feature.

Chi Fortune Reels

Chi awards one spin on each of five Fortune Reels after the top of the stairway is reached. Arrow symbols add their multipliers to the feature score, and an arrow on the uppermost reel contributes the final 10,000x value.

Chi caps the complete feature sequence at 12,500x the stake. That amount is possible only when the random progression and reel results combine at the upper end of the model, so it is not representative of the usual return from a bonus round.

Chi Free Spins

Chi triggers free spins with 3 or more dedicated symbols: 10 spins are awarded for 3, 15 for 4 and 20 for 5. Further trigger symbols can retrigger the round, while Chi wilds stay sticky and Mow’s multiplier can progress from 2x to 5x.

Chi runs awarded free spins at the triggering stake without requiring a separate wager for every spin. The number of retriggers, sticky-wild positions and multiplier steps remain random, meaning a longer or more valuable round cannot be secured by a particular staking sequence.

Chi RTP

Chi has a listed theoretical RTP of 96.00% in the MGA version supplied through Wildz. The figure represents the calculated return across a very large sample of wagering and is not a promise that 96% of an individual deposit, session or spin will be returned.

Chi can exist in other approved configurations outside the one listed here. Checking the rules and RTP panel in the opened game is therefore the appropriate way to verify the current setting before playing online pokies for real money.

Chi Volatility

Chi carries a very high 9/10 volatility rating on the Wildz scale. The combination of bonus entry, path multipliers, Fortune Reels and enhanced free spins can create wide differences between short sessions and concentrate larger values into less common feature sequences.

Chi does not use volatility as a timetable for payouts. A run of low or zero returns cannot make the next spin more favourable, and it does not increase the chance that either bonus route will activate.

Chi Maximum Win

Chi has a maximum win potential of 12,500x the stake. At a theoretical NZ$1 stake, that ratio corresponds to NZ$12,500 before any separate operator cap, account restriction or currency conversion was taken into consideration.

Chi links the top figure to the Fortune Reels reached through Stairway to Fortune. The maximum is a limit within the game mathematics rather than an expected feature payment, and additional spins cannot make it compulsory for the game to approach that ceiling.

How to Play Chi in New Zealand

Chi can be selected from the Wildz pokies catalogue after the account requirements and applicable identity checks have been completed. A player can open the game information, review the 54 directional paylines, select an available stake and begin a spin on the five-reel display.

Chi real-money play should remain within personal time and spending limits. Stake size affects the amount risked and the monetary value of a qualifying payout, but it does not alter which symbols, spirit powers or bonus triggers the random system produces.

Can You Play Chi on Mobile?

Yes, Chi is present in both the Wildz desktop and mobile game catalogues. Compatible phones and tablets can display the vertical reels, two-way line wins, Stairway to Fortune and free spins through touch-based controls.

Chi uses the same random game process when the same configuration is loaded on mobile. A smaller screen changes the interface rather than the odds, and switching devices cannot improve the frequency of Chi wilds, Mow multipliers or bonus symbols.

Can You Play Chi for Free?

Yes, Chi has demo play enabled in the MGA build listed by Wildz. Virtual credits can be used to inspect the paylines, spirit effects and bonus rules without placing a cash stake or receiving withdrawable winnings.

Chi free play is a rules demonstration rather than a prediction tool. A favourable demo sequence does not change later real-money probabilities, and repeated practice does not teach a timing method that can control randomly generated outcomes.

Chi in New Zealand

Chi is available through Wildz’s current New Zealand catalogue in desktop and mobile formats. Players must be 18 or older, satisfy the operator’s account checks and review the loaded information panel for the active rules before wagering.

Chi is offered during a transitional period under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. Operators that provided online casino services before 1 May 2026 may continue until 1 December 2026, while the new licensing process is expected to begin issuing licences from early 2027.

New Zealand Rules for Chi

Chi online casino play is overseen by the Department of Internal Affairs under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. The Act requires operators to take reasonable steps to ensure participants are at least 18 years old, and it establishes the licensing and player-protection framework for the regulated market.

Chi currently sits within the transition that applies before 1 December 2026. From that date, only operators entitled to continue through the application process may provide online casino gambling, with the fully licensed regime expected to become operational in 2027.