Beetle Bailey Launch - Interview With Lady Luck Games

Hello! Congratulations on the release of Beetle Bailey. This game has a fascinating theme and is based on a comic book from 1950. Can you tell us more about what inspired you to bring this title to live on reels?

It was an easy choice for us, as the story about this iconic U.S. soldier is known worldwide. But let`s start from the beginning! Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker and published on September 4, 1950. As of 2016, the strip was being syndicated (by King Features) in over 1,800 newspapers in the United States and the rest of the world.

There’s no doubting that Beetle Bailey is a truly iconic character that will put a smile on players’ faces across the globe. He is close to our hearts as private Bailey enjoyed great prominence in Scandinavia and other European countries, locally appearing as Knasen, Basserne, Flippie Flink and Billy in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Netherlands. It became a classic comics for over 40 years in these markets alone! Knowing the popularity of this fantastic comic strip we had no doubt that he should join our portfolio on the reels.

Our personal favourite character from the game is the guard dog in the background. What is yours and why?

That`s interesting! First, let me give you some story background here. So, this dog belongs to Sarge Snorkel. His name is Otto. Sarge and Otto are inseparable in the comic strip. They are always together, even dress up the same. Otto`s first owner abandoned him, and he was placed in the shelter. One day Sarge visited the shelter and decided to give Otto another chance for a happy life. Those two have become inseparable ever since.

My favourite character is Beetle Bailey. He is a member of "Kilo Company" the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 13th Division. The comic strip says that he came from Dublin, Ireland. Bailey is a feckless, shirking, perpetual goof-off private, enjoying his lazy life and endless naps. He does not really want to change his bad habits, even though they put him in trouble regularly, and he often fights with his superior, Sarge Snorkel.

Beetle Bailey`s main bonus game is a Camp Swampy Golf Bonus. Can you share the story behind it? What awaits players in this additional feature?

One of the comic characters at Beetle Bailey is General Halftrack, the commander of Camp Swampy. His ultimate passion is playing golf. We`ve decided to use the golf course as the main scenery of our bonus game. Together with private Zero, who is a naïve farm boy who blindly follows orders and does not understand anything, they help players achieve big wins. To trigger the bonus game, the player needs to land the bonus symbol anywhere on reels 1 and 4.

During Camp Swampy, Golf Bonus players are represented as a jeep, collecting cash prizes. The aim here is to collect as many prizes as possible and avoid explosive grenades. Players are given three lives. Every time the jeep lands on a grenade, one life is taken away. If players are lucky enough, they can trigger a big, mega, or super win and enjoy the fantastic ride with the Camp Swampy iconic characters.

We absolutely loved the theme and plot of the game, but could you please tell us more about what makes Beetle Bailey special mechanic-wise?

Beetle Bailey is a four reels slot, with 81 ways to win. Every symbol has a different value. Players can enjoy eight regular symbols, such as Bailey himself, Miss Buxley, or Sarge, as well as four special symbols: Wild, which comes as a much-coveted Daily Pass; the Bonus symbol, which triggers the Camp Swampy Golf Game; as well as Sarge and Bailey, once both characters are connected, it triggers the Wild Wake Up Bonus, during which Wilds will appear in the ruckus.

Once the dust settles, they stick on the reels creating more winning combinations and massive wins. For those that can’t wait, players can use the buy feature to choose between those two exciting bonuses. Once the wins are achieved, they can be increased during the gamble feature round.

What are your future plans for collaboration with King Features?

We have a couple of very exciting productions up our sleeve that will hit the news in the next couple of weeks. About the branded content, we have signed a three-year co-development agreement with King Features, therefore the industry and players can expect more branded content from our side. It is no secret that we’re also working on another iconic slot, Popeye, and we can`t wait to show it to the world, once ready.