FatStacks Miami Cash – Interview With Lucksome

Interview with Bryan Upton

In this ever-growing industry, you would think we would see new mechanics weekly, but change isn't always so simple. With some of the most popular slots having been on the market for years, it can sometimes feel that everything that will be done has been done.

Still, many teams are working behind the scenes to come up with something fresh and unique, a way to keep players as interested in their product as possible; and the result is that we still get to reap the rewards of these fresh ideas.

One example of this is Lucksome, where the team are thinking of new ways to improve existing mechanics, like they have done with FatStacks, or new ways for players to experience their games, like they showcased in 6 In The Chamber.

We sat down with Lucksome's Bryan to chat about their FatStacks mechanic, and in particular FatStacks Miami Cash – a funky, 80s themed release that puts all of the focus on merging symbols and Luxpot multipliers.

Chloe: Hi Bryan – Happy New Year and congratulations on the success in 2023! We’re looking forward to the release of Miami Cash FatStacks. Can you tell us a little more about the FatStacks mechanic, how you saw it perform with Napoleon 2 FatStacks, and how you feel it will work in this game in particular?

Bryan: Happy New Year to you guys too! Of course: FatStacks is the latest and greatest mechanic aimed at improving existing mechanics that have variable ways to win on each spin.

The idea was to create a possibility for players to have increasing and changing ways to win on every cascade rather than having it fixed like competing mechanics.

FatsStacks gives that great feeling of a second chance at landing a ‘big ways win’, when the symbols double and triple up.

Watching the FatStacking happen is a thrilling feeling. We saw a lot of great videos and streamers having fun with Napoleon 2 for sure!

Before coming up with FatStacks, did you know you wanted to do something with increasing ways to win in particular, or were you open to any new mechanic that you felt would resonate with players?

Bryan: As previously mentioned, we set out specifically and carefully to design something to enthral players that was capable of delivering really big wins and that was versatile and can be applied to various profiles of games like Miami Cash and Napoleon which are very different.

Coming up with a brand-new mechanic can be tricky, especially when we’ve seen so many fantastic mechanics developed even in the last few years. Do you consider player feedback when having these conversations with the team, do you pay attention to what’s working for other studios, or is it a bit of both?

Bryan: I think because it’s such a fast-paced industry we tend to look at our stats once a game has gone out and then improve on the next game based on what we see in the data.

All forms of testing in a regulated industry such as our own is very expensive and time consuming; for a small studio such as Lucksome, failing fast and learning as we go is a solid strategy.

That said, we do read feedback on major player forums, but sometimes it can be hard to glean actionable insights from that.

We set out specifically and carefully to design something to enthral players

Miami Cash FatStacks offers a Prize Ladder, which we already know can be very popular with players. You’ve taken this a step further, introducing Unique Luxpots mechanics to enhance and upgrade the prize ladder for players. Did you feel it was important to keep this aspect of the game feeling fresh too?

Bryan: 100%. A major part of the design was to come up with something new and innovative and above exciting for the Ladder – and for sure we did that!

The shuffle, the merge, the upgrade and the unique Bonus trigger are all unique and wonderful twists to our successful Luxpots mechanic.

Can you tell us anything else about what Lucksome have in store for 2024?

Bryan: Mega Party Bucks is coming, featuring 20,000x win, with a player choice  – open a guaranteed cash prize or let it ride and hope the prize gets upgraded.

It’s a Cluster pay game with walking wilds, nudges and upgrades – we’re not sure there’s another game like it!  We think players are gonna love this one.

We are also showcasing our new game Stickermania: Wild Rumble soon, which is one of the best-looking games we’ve done to date, with some nostalgic touches that I think some of our more mature players will love!

If you want to check out what’s new, don’t forget to follow us on Lucksome Youtube Channel or our Lucksome Instagram or visit us at lucksomegaming.com.