By 
Booongo can best be described as a rising star in the casino provider industry with an aim to create the next generation of slots that are easy and fun to play. Yuriy Muratov, Head of Account Management & Business Development, at Booongo spoke to BonusFinder about how to grab players’ attention and about its new promotion tools which can help operators increase player acquisition and retention levels.
You recently launched your Money Chase tournament. Could you tell us a bit about that and what makes it stand apart?
Prior to Money Chase, we held many different types of tournaments and combinations but for this summer we wanted to prepare a long lasting campaign of tournaments packed into a series. From the outset, we wanted to develop a tournament offering that ensured every player felt they had a chance of winning. This is why we created a Tournament Series promo tool where players can win prizes daily, based on their luck – highest multiplier or highest payout – while at the same time compete in the longer extra leaderboard running in parallel. Players who come back to each tournament and had lady luck on their side could get even more prizes in the series leaderboard. We have been preparing this tournament for a long time and the prize pool was an incredible €280,000 euros. It was a tremendous success, with a variety of seasoned players and casual entrants winning a share of the prize fund when playing a selection of their favourite Booongo slots.
Where does the inspiration for your slots come from?
Booongo was founded by gaming enthusiasts to create the next generation of slots. With a deep understanding of land-based and online player behaviour, Booongo slots draw inspiration from the cultures of different countries, preferring to develop slot titles with an abundance of 2D graphics and special effects. The core of Booongo slots are that they are easy and fun to play, where math balancing is met with psychological highlights, done by animations, sounds, vibrant colours and precisely set differentiation.
What’s your main focus when developing a new game?
It’s difficult to pinpoint the main focus, as each slot is approached with the same aim of creating a game that will remain in a player’s memory. It’s all about the player experience and emotion. Slot creation involves a huge amount of work for the whole team, with each unit focused on its own tasks and responsibilities. Music and sounds, design and arts, maths and mechanics – all this must be put in place together with quality and balance, and only then can you achieve a new slot that will give players an incredible sense of immersion.
How do you best ensure that your slots appeal to beginners, intermediate, and more experienced players?
The clinking coins, the lights, the buzz, the ringing, the jackpot! The days of three white reels and some faintly blinking lights are long gone. New players require a gameplay that instantly engages them into the slot, while more experienced players are looking for new and interesting mechanics and the opportunity to compete with other seasoned players. Booongo has an extensive portfolio of games, from classic slots to our line of Hold and Win games, regular tournaments with leaderboards and incredible prizes for everyone, no matter how skilful they are. This diverse product range means we can appeal to an exciting array of demographics.
What do you think are the key factors that make your games appreciated by players?
Every player wants to win, and our games truly offer this opportunity. We are constantly evolving and following trends in the gaming industry. We are trying to introduce new features into our games and test new mechanics that resonate with players. A key factor is to ensure player trust they can win in this game, because with the thrill of knowing a win is close can keep players coming back again and again.
What is your own personal favourite title in your portfolio?
It is difficult to name a single slot, as there were so many of them and they all carry a lot of emotions. But my personal favourites include Dragon Pearls, Book of Sun Choice and Sun of Egypt. The expansion of our Hold and Win series has been very exciting for us, as players have really resonated with the engaging gameplay and mechanics within the game. We will continue to grow this game range within our portfolio over the coming months.
What is the most important aspect of the game from your perspective?
I would say that the main aspect is the player engagement. Creating a slot with the right mechanic that will ensure the player will spend their time in an enjoyable environment can be difficult, but with the right approach, it’s an achievable task. This is exactly what our Hold and Win games set out to accomplish. Dragon Pearls has been the top performing title for us for more than a year and players are delighted with the mechanics and the feeling of win opportunity, in addition to the classic bonus game, to compete for various different jackpots.
What can we expect from Booongo in the coming months? Any exciting upcoming titles?
The highly anticipated follow up to Dragon Pearls, 15 Dragon Pearls, was released at the end of August, with adjusted mechanics that will increase winnings and player engagement. During the gameplay, new pearls gather values from all other pearls, and there’s also a new Symbol +1 that comes to the board and gives one additional respin in the bonus game. These two new features will increase the chance for players to collect all pearls and win the x5000 Grand Jackpot.
We also have an exciting Greek-themed slot called Thunder of Olympus, which is scheduled for release in September. The slot is the latest to feature Hold and Win mechanics, and with a x1000 jackpot, amazing design and immersive soundtrack, we have high expectations for this new creation.
Finally, we’ve prepared many interesting promotional campaigns, with lots of cash to be given away in the upcoming tournaments and new promo tools coming this year. As usual, our promotions and bonus campaigns will be packed into events where our fans and players won’t get bored and have the opportunity to spend time enjoying their favourite slots!
