• Lobstermania Casino Game
• Larry Lobstermania Free Slots
• Lobstermania Game Free
• Free Lobstermania Game
• Lobstermania Slot Free

• Appendices
• Slots Analysis
• Miscellaneous

Introduction

Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania is among the most dated slot machines by IGT, a top player in both the online and offline gambling business. The massive success of this slot game has been so impressive over its decades of existence that IGT saw it fit to release an online sequel Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 2. Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 2 is a feature-packed lucrative online slot game. It has free spins, multiplier and many cash-rich icons on the reels. If you are not happy with the regular wins, go for the progressive jackpots. Try Lobstermania 2 free slots to experience these engaging bonus rounds and take a shot at that sky-high jackpot of. Lobstermania is a popular IGT pokie machine game among UK players. It is a progressive slot designed for iPhone, for iPad, and requires no download for real money or free play. Playing for fun is possible without registration at an RTP value of 96.52%. Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania slot machine is a quirky and entertaining sea-based casino slot, where the lead character takes control of his boat, ‘The Lobster Magnet’ to trawl lobster. It was one of the first casino slots to feature a second-screen picks game.

In my continued effort to lift the veil of secrecy behind slot machines, I present the following analysis of the IGT game Lucky Larry's Lobstermania. The information regarding the design of this game is taken from the academic paper PAR Sheets, probabilities, and slot machine play: Implications for problem and non-problem gambling by Kevin A. Harrigan and Mike Dixon, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

The authors of the paper obtained par sheets for the game through the Canadian Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. I applaud the government of Canada for this release. The purpose of this page is to further the analysis of Lobstermania beyond what was presented in the Harrigan and Dixon paper.

It should be noted there are other versions of Lobstermania besides this one. As far as I can tell they differ by small changes to the pay table and details of the bonus round.

Reel Strips

Harrigan and Dixon give the symbol distribution for two Lobstermania par sheets, one for 85.0% and the other for 96.2%. Both are presented below. Notice how the 96.2% version has more high-paying symbols and that any given symbol is distributed more uniformly across the 5 reels. To illustrate that the distribution is more choppy in the 85.0% version, notice that the number of clams per reel on the 85.0% version is 10,8,3,4,7. On the 96.2%, the distribution is 6-6-5-6-6. However, the number of key symbols (wild, scatter and bonus) are the same in both games.

Lobstermania Casino Game

Lobstermania Symbol Distribution — 85.0%

Lobstermania Symbol Distribution — 96.2%

Harrigan and Dixon do not indicate the exact reel stripping. However, as long as the scatter symbols are not so close on the same reel that they can appear at the same time, the symbol order does not matter for this game, as well as for most video slots. The following reel stripping is hypothetical, based on the 85.0% version.

Lobstermania Symbol Distribution — 85.0% Reel Strips

The way the game would work would be to choose 5 random numbers, one for each reel, and map each random number to a position on the corresponding reel. For example, for reel 1 the game would draw a number from 1 to 47. For example, suppose this number were mapped to the symbol in the top row. If the random number for reel 1 were 37, then the symbols shown on reel 1 would be a Clam on top row, a Star Fish in the middle row, and a Boat on bottom row.

Pay Table

The next table shows the Lobstermania pay table. All wins must be left aligned. The wild symbol can substitute for any line-pay symbol.

Lobstermania Pay Table

Line Pay Math

There are 47 × 46 × 48 × 50 × 50 = 259,440,000 possible outcomes in Lobstermania. The following table shows how many of these combinations result in each possible win. These figures are the result of a program with five nested loops that tallied the total for each win for each possible combination.

Lobstermania Line Pay Combinations

The next table shows the probability of each possible win. This is the number of winning combinations for that win, shown in the table above, divided by the total number of combinations of 259,440,000. The total in the lower right cell reflects a hit frequency per line (probability of winning anything) of 3.25%.

Lobstermania Line Pay Probabilities

The next table shows the contribution to the return for each possible win. Each cell is the product of the probability, from the table above, and the pay table. The right cell shows a total return from line pays of 55.28%.

Lobstermania Line Pay Probabilities

Scatter Pay

The player gets credit for a 'scatter pay' symbol if it appears anywhere on the screen. Scatter pay wins are based on the total amount bet. The following table shows the number of scatters per reel, total symbols per reel, and the probability of a scatter on that reel, which is 3×(column 2)/(column 3). The reason for multiplying by 3 is there are three visible positions on each reel.

Lobstermania Scatters per Reel

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The next table shows the probability and contribution to the return for 0 to 5 total scatter symbols. The lower right cell shows that the scatter pay feature returns 10.65% to the return of the game.

Lobstermania Scatter Pay Probabilities and Returns

Bonus

The player earns the bonus if he gets the bonus symbol on reels 1, 2 and 3 on any active pay line. The following table shows the probability of getting the bonus symbol on each of the first three reels. The lower right cell shows the probability of activating the bonus on any active pay line is 0.06%, or 1 in 1,730. If the player plays the maximum 15 pay lines, then the bonus probability per spin is 0.87%, or 1 in 115.

Lobstermania Bonus Symbols per Reel

There are three parts to the bonus game, as follows:

• Number of lobster traps.
• Number of lobsters per trap.
• Size/win of each lobster.

There are three possibilities for the number of lobster traps, 2, 3 and 4, each with equal probability. Thus, the expected number of traps is 3.

There are two possibilities for the number of lobsters per trap, 2 or 3, each with equal probability. Thus, the expected number of lobsters per trap is 2.5.

The prize per lobster can be anywhere from 5 to 250. Each prize has an associated weighting, as shown in the table below. The way the game might work is it would pick an integer from 1 to 322 and map it to a weight according to this table. The bottom right cell shows an average win of 44.02 per lobster.

Lobstermania Bonus — Lobster Wins

The average win per bonus is (average traps)×(average lobsters per trap)×(average win per lobster) = 3 × 2.5 × 44.021739 = 330.163043.

The expected return for the bonus feature is (bonus probability) × (average win per bonus) = 0.000578168 × 44.021739 = 0.190890.

Summary

The following table summarizes the three ways to win in the game. The bottom right cell shows an expected return of 85.012%. In other words, for every dollar the player bets he can expect to get back 85¢.

Lobstermania Summary

The Harrigan and Dixon paper mentioned they were given par sheets for seven versions of Lobstermania. The available returns were 85.0%, 87.5%, 90.0%, 92.5%, 94.0%, 95.0%, and 96.2%.

More Deconstructions

I have deconstructed lots of slot machines. Here is a list of them:

• Deconstructing Jackpot Party analysis of the video slot machine.
  
• Deconstructing Lion's Share analysis of the classic MGM progressive game.
  
• Deconstructing Cleopatra analysis of the popular IGT game.
  
• Deconstructing Lionfish analysis of the slot game found on many Game Maker machines.
  
• Deconstructing Megabucks.
• Deconstructing the Atkins Diet slot machine.
• Deconstructing Lucky Larry's Lobstermania.
• Deconstructing Hexbreaker.
• Deconstructing Blazing Sevens.
• Deconstructing Hot Roll.

Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania slot machine is a quirky and entertaining sea-based casino slot, where the lead character takes control of his boat, ‘The Lobster Magnet’ to trawl lobster. It was one of the first casino slots to feature a second-screen picks game.

You get to meet Lucky Larry himself in the main bonus feature, he will pull up pots, commenting on the catch while you win credits. Alongside Larry on the reels, there is a buoy, boat and a lighthouse, while the wild lobster symbol might be the most relaxed crustacean you’ve ever seen. The pop song ‘Rock Lobster’ by the B52’s plays while you spin.

Alongside the original Lobstermania slots, you will find newer versions. These can be enjoyed in Michigan at live casinos as well as online at sites like DraftKings Casino and FanDuel Casino. This page focuses on the entertaining original.

Other popular games

Ship Ahoy – How Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania Slots Work

This IGT designed slot features the popular 5×3 reel set up. The game has a maximum number of 25 win-lines, although this number can be customized to be any number between 1 and 25. The win lines are indicated by colorful fish either side of the reels.

The lobster wild is one of the most important symbols in the game. As the wild it will substitute for any other symbol the game apart from the bonus and the scatter. This is also the highest paying symbol, paying an eye-catching 10,000 coins if you are lucky enough to hit five in a row. This wild has a distinctive ‘laid back lobster’ design. The lobster lazes happily on the sand, wearing a pair of shades, with a drink in its hand

Alongside the wild, the standard symbols feature the buoy, the boat, the lighthouse, and a series of playing card symbols ranging from the Jack through to the Ace.

Unusually in today’s slots world, there is a scatter symbol that does not trigger a feature. Land 3 or 4 of these scatters and you win 4x your total bet and 25x your total bet respectively. Hit the maximum 5 scatters and you get 200x your total bet – meaning 5,000 coins if you are playing the full 25 lines.

The Buoy Bonus Feature

The bonus symbol features a lobster in a yellow raincoat. To activate the main feature of the game you will need to land this bonus symbol three times in a row on a win-line.

At the start of the bonus, the three bonus symbols will now display the words ‘pick me’ and in doing so, you are awarded 2 or 3 picks in the feature.

The feature now cuts to a new screen, where Lucky Larry appears on his ‘Lobster Magnet’. All around the boat are colourful buoys bobbing up and down and your job is now to select them. Having made your choice, Larry will now pull up the trap and begin to pull lobsters out, with each of them awarding an immediate prize. For each buoy you receive at least two prizes, while Larry can continue for much longer. When Larry finally pushes the last buoy into the water, the feature comes to an end.

Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania Slot Design

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The reels of Lobstermania are raised on the hull of the Lobster Magnet trawler. Look into the distance and you can see the sky is blue, with just a few clouds in the sky – the perfect day for fishing. The boat is all ready to set sail out on to the sea. The reels themselves have a wooden frame, which is being held together using nuts and bolts, while the wood looks like it has seen better days.

There is a clear element of humor running through this game. The bonus symbol features the yellow rain coated lobster with his claws in the air, while if you look closely you can see he is smoking a pipe. The laid-back lobster will put a smile on your face, as will the antics of Lucky Larry in the bonus game.

Free Lobstermania Game

Will Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania Land You a Catch?

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This IGT designed slot was one of the first to feature a second screen picks game. While simple compared to recent slots, it was an exciting new development at the time.

As well as the quirky humor, Lobstermania has plenty of big win potential. The high paying wild lobster ensures that a five-figure win is possible on any spin. Scatter symbols can give you a big cash boost at any time. The highlight of the game is the main bonus feature, where Lucky Larry now gets to work in catching those lobsters. You are guaranteed a win in this feature, it is just a matter of how much. If you like the idea of playing a sea-themed slot, this might be the game, but keep your fingers away from those claws.

Lobstermania can now be enjoyed at the best online casinos in Michigan, as well as at live casinos in Detroit and around the state. This is one of a long list of iconic IGT slots which have made it online. You can also enjoy Cleopatra slots and Wheel of Fortune.