Something Spooky Is Spinning: Inside Greentube’s Ghost of Gambini

Gambini’s moved into a haunted mansion, and he’s brought a ghostly twin with him. Greentube’s Richard Ganster tells us what happens when the pigs get fed by a spirit, and why every frame in Super Lock & Spin turns into a jackpot.

Creaky floorboards, flickering candles and a pair of very hungry piggy pots: the Piggy Prizes series is getting into the Halloween spirit with Ghost of Gambini. 

Our favourite prize-flinging character is still here, but now he’s got company in the form of his spectral double, who boosts coins, scatters extra jackpots across the reels and fattens up the pigs for the brand-new Super Lock & Spin. 

We grabbed Richard Ganster, Director of Games Strategy and Games Portfolio Management at Greentube, to find out what lurks behind those padlocked prizes and which Gambini you’ll want to see when the centre reel stops.

Ghost of Gambini takes the Piggy Prizes series into a haunted mansion. What was the thinking behind the theme? 

The Piggy Prizes series is built around its characters and locked prize mechanics, so for this release we wanted a setting that gave Gambini something new to play with. A haunted mansion suits him well. It gives the game a playful, spooky atmosphere that fits the Halloween season, and it led us to the Ghost of Gambini, a second version of the character with his own set of abilities. Players who know the series will find the core gameplay they enjoy, and the ghost adds a fresh layer on top of it. 

The game features both Gambini and the Ghost of Gambini. How do the two symbols work together? 

Both symbols land on the centre reel position, and both act as Wilds. When either one is in view, the locked Coin and Pot symbols on the reels can be won. Gambini also throws coins up to the two piggy pots, growing them towards Lock & Spin. The Ghost of Gambini does more each time he appears. He adds extra coins and jackpots to the reels, boosts any coin he lands on to a higher value, and feeds the pigs towards Super Lock & Spin. Every time the centre reel stops, players are watching to see which version of Gambini turns up. 

Ghost of Gambini from Greentube.

The locked Coin and Pot symbols are central to the game. How does that mechanic build anticipation? 

Coin and Pot symbols land on the reels with a chain and padlock over them, so players can see exactly which prizes are on offer before they are won. The centre reel holds only royals and the two Gambini symbols, making it the key to every spin. With 15 reels spinning independently across a 5×3 layout and 40 fixed win lines, the outer positions fill with locked prizes, while the centre reel decides whether they unlock. The simple structure is easy to follow, and it gives every spin a clear moment of tension as the centre reel comes to a stop. 

Magic Spin and Magic Rewind can step in during the base game. What do they add? 

Both features bring Gambini into play more often. Magic Spin can trigger at random at the start of a spin and stops the centre reel first with a Gambini or Ghost of Gambini symbol already in view, so players know straight away that any locked prizes landing around it can be won. Magic Rewind can turn the centre reel back a random number of positions to land on a Gambini symbol. With a Gambini symbol in place, Magic Rewind can also move one or more non-winning symbols back to land on a locked jackpot symbol. Together they create extra winning moments in the base game and keep the pace up between bonus rounds. 

The game offers both Lock & Spin and Super Lock & Spin. How do the two bonus rounds compare? 

Both rounds trigger when you pop the piggy pots. Popping one pig starts the round with three spins, and popping both starts it with four. In Lock & Spin, which comes from the pots Gambini fills, White and Gold Ghosts can land. A White Ghost places a Bronze frame on an empty space or upgrades an existing frame from Bronze to Silver or from Silver to Gold, and a Gold Ghost places a Gold frame straight away. At the end of the round, every frame turns into a cash value or a jackpot. 

Super Lock & Spin is triggered when a pig pops after being fed by the Ghost of Gambini, and only Gold Ghosts can land. Every frame placed is Gold, and every Gold frame turns into a jackpot at the end of the round. That makes the Ghost of Gambini the route to the game’s biggest prizes, and it gives players a strong reason to keep a close eye on both pigs. 

What kind of player is Ghost of Gambini best suited to? 

The game suits players who enjoy hold-and-win style mechanics and like to see their potential prizes on screen. The locked symbols and centre reel make the base game easy for casual players to follow, and Magic Spin and Magic Rewind add extra action to every session. For more engaged players, the growing pigs and the chance of Super Lock & Spin, where every frame becomes a jackpot, give them a clear target to play towards. Fans of the Piggy Prizes series will also recognise the characters and core mechanics straight away. 

Looking ahead, how does Ghost of Gambini fit into Greentube’s wider release strategy? 

Piggy Prizes is an important game family for us, and Ghost of Gambini shows how we plan to keep developing it. The game keeps the elements players know from the series, including Gambini, the locked prizes and the piggy pots, and adds a new theme and a new set of features. The Ghost of Gambini symbol and Super Lock & Spin bring a jackpot-focused bonus round into the formula. The haunted mansion setting also gives operators and affiliates a strong title to promote during the Halloween season, and players can expect more new chapters in the Piggy Prizes series to come.