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As the live casino landscape becomes increasingly crowded with software providers embracing the latest trend, one thing is abundantly clear: Game Show-style live casino games are taking center stage.
While this genre has occupied a niche market for some time, it has now firmly established itself as a staple feature in most live dealer lobbies. What’s particularly intriguing is the diverse range of directions and unique concepts each title brings to the table. With ample space for innovation and creativity, these games are capturing the imagination of players worldwide.
Let’s delve deeper into some of the standout game shows offered at live casinos to unravel what makes them truly exceptional.
Evolution Crazy Time – The Original Madness
No matter how you look at it, it’s hard to deny that Evolution was the company that opened the floodgates. Again, money wheel casino games existed beforehand – and the original Dream Catcher casino game was one of the more high-profile examples. However, these first Wheel of Fortune-type releases were initially simple and closer to roulette than game shows.
It was not until Live Monopoly came about that the true potential of these games was made clear. It’s no secret that Evolution is the first company to come up with something as spectacular and entertainment-driven as this game. They’re likely the only company that could have pulled it off at the time, too.
About a year later, however, Crazy Time hit the casinos with a fresh, even wilder approach to game design. Unlike Monopoly, Crazy Time had no need to rely on branded content to attract customers. Evolution fans from all over the world saw that live casinos can be so much more than just roulette and blackjack.
Monopoly vs. Crazy Time comparisons are still drawn to this day. Both have their merits, and your choice should come down to personal preference. In our opinion, though, Crazy Time is a more refined, mature version with a clearer vision of what it wants to be. That’s why we chose it as Evolution’s horse in the race.
What’s So Crazy About Crazy Time?
Special features and volatile, unique wagers were usually a way to spice up regular live casino gameplay. A good special bet makes the game stand out, but it’s ultimately secondary for most players.
However, Crazy Time ended up as many “regular” bets as it did “special” ones. This is an important thing to consider – the focus here is entertainment, excitement, and seeing something different with each spin of the wheel. It’s a remarkable departure from what was considered standard live table casino game design.
Funnily enough, this niche in the industry is still feeling the effects. It’s also why the special bets are arguably the most important part of any good casino Game Show. Moreover, these features are what truly separates one from the other – and what we’ll be focusing on when comparing them.
- Cash Hunt is one of the more creative features, presenting players with a sort of shooting gallery. This type of interactivity was almost unheard of in the live dealer casino industry before, offering 95.27% RTP.
- The Coin Flip uses a simple 50/50 flip to determine a multiplier on the players’ stake, with a 95.70% RTP.
- Pachinko is another interesting minigame that ended up inspiring multiple competitors. A ball is dropped down a sort of labyrinth, picking up multipliers along the way. Crazy Time Pachinko comes with 94.33% RTP.
- The Crazy Time Bonus Round opens a sort of wheel-within-a-wheel that allows each player to choose between three pointers. These then determine stackable multipliers and possible respins, allowing for some of the biggest payouts in the game. With interactive gameplay and a 94.41% RTP, it’s one of the most beloved Crazy Time features.
It’s worth mentioning that the regular bets offer 96% RTP. It’s hard not to appreciate Evolution clearly defining the RTP for each possible bet.
Crazy Time Stats and Strategies
There’s more to Crazy Time than meets the eye, which is why it became so popular in the first place. The strategy for it revolves around knowing which bets to place and which ones to avoid.
In short, different options have different RTP rates, which means some are inherently better than others. It’s a relatively complex topic, but we’ve covered it in our article about Crazy Time stats.
Sweet Bonanza Candyland – New Competitors
Entertainment-style money wheel games quickly started taking off – and competitors were taking notes. At the time of writing this post, Pragmatic Play’s take on the genre is the youngest to enter the fray.
This game wears its Evolution inspiration on its sleeve, obvious to anyone familiar with the broad live casino portfolio. The Sweet Bonanza Candyland game is just as big, bright, and colorful as Crazy Time. At 96.48% RTP, it’s also somewhat more reliably profitable at the cost of offering less interactivity.
Pragmatic Play left a clear personal stamp on this title, though. Namely, its biggest feature is dubbed Sweet Spins, and it works like a small slot game. Pragmatic Play are mostly associated with online slot games, so it makes a lot of sense. Besides, the original Sweet Bonanza game is an online slot.
The decreased interactivity does come with other advantages. It’s much closer to the experience of TV game shows that these Wheel of Fortune casino games were trying to emulate from the get-go. As such, comparing Crazy Time vs. Sweet Bonanza Candyland is down to how actively you wish to participate. With Pragmatic Play’s offer, you can easily just kick back, enable autobet, and enjoy the show. Not that there isn’t some interactivity here, mind you.
- Candy Drop kind of combines Crazy Time’s Pachinko and Bonus Round. The maze works the same way, except that three candies are dropped and you get to pick which one determines your payout.
- Sugar Bomb is a straight-up multiplier applied to the following spin. You can boost it for extra cash, but it’s the least interesting of these features.
- Sweet Spins is the mini-slot and Candyland’s main attraction. You get 10+ spins and a symbol tumbling system taken from some of Pragmatic Play’s most successful releases.
Sweet Bonanza Candyland Stats and Strategies
Similarly to Evolution’s counterpart, Pragmatic Play’s premier game show offers a lot of freedom to players in terms of how they want to play. You can customize the experience by carefully deciding which bets to place and which to avoid.
All of this comes down to the statistics and probabilities of each bet. Some have better RTP than others, and thus better long-term rewards. Check out our rundown of Sweet Bonanza Candyland stats for an in-depth look at the game and strategies you can use.
Closing Thoughts and Honorable Mentions
Our comparison of Crazy Time and Sweet Bonanza Candyland should make it clear as to why you would choose one title over the other. However, it’s important to understand that this isn’t the whole market for innovative, entertaining live dealer game show games.
For starters, multiple straightforward options simply stick to the basic numbers bets. We’ve opted against comparing them directly in this article. In short, the focus on special features makes Crazy Time and Sweet Bonanza Candyland direct competitors.
However, the aforementioned Evolution Monopoly is also worth considering. Playtech also has a very interesting title in Adventures Beyond Wonderland. If you want an alternative to the games we discussed, Wonderland also comes with 3 special bets and an exciting presentation.
Where to Play Crazy Time and Sweet Bonanza Candyland
Note that your choice between these two live casino giants isn’t permanent (barring any money you’ve already spent, of course.) Why not have the best of both worlds? Below, you can find casinos that have both Pragmatic Play and Evolution games! THey’re some of the best casinos to play Crazy Time and Sweet Bonanza Candyland, and you can mix and match these two titles to your heart’s content!
