Golden Century at a glance
| Place in the series | Original four |
|---|---|
| Approved in the ACT as Dragon Link | 29 March 2018 |
| Free games | In free games every special symbol reveals the same symbol, jackpot symbols included, which gives Hold & Spin another way in. |
| In Australia now | On Aristocrat's MarsX cabinet, first in its Australian Dragon Link bank |
| Victorian approvals | Golden Century Dragon Link 2024 (10 December 2024); a 2026 version (20 August 2026) |
| Free to play | Named in Lightning Link Casino's App Store listing and Mighty Fu's Google Play listing; virtual coins only |
| Shared by all ten | Maker, jackpots, lines, denominations, volatility and return: what every Dragon Link game shares |
What the free games do
Aristocrat's description of Golden Century's feature is one sentence: in free games, "all special symbols will reveal the same symbol, including the chance for jackpot symbols, which provides players an additional way to trigger the Hold n Spin feature".
In practice that means the special symbols that land in a free spin all flip to one shared symbol. When that symbol is a high-paying one, several lines pay together; when it's the orb, several orbs appear at once — and orbs are what start Hold & Spin. That's the point of the design: the feature you're really chasing can arrive inside the free games, not only in the base game.
The free games start from scatters: the Autumn Moon screen on its own page, which shares this feature, prompts “3 [scatter] Start FREE GAMES”. The number of free games isn't published online, so check the help screen on the machine.
Hold & Spin on Golden Century
Golden Century uses the same orb and the same Hold & Spin as every Dragon Link title. Aristocrat doesn't publish the counts online, but player and review descriptions line up: six or more orbs start the feature, they lock, you get three respins, each new orb resets the count to three, and filling all 15 spots wins the Grand. Each orb carries a credit prize or a jackpot, paid when the respins run out.
You can watch the lock-and-reset rhythm in the free demo on the home page — it's our own model in credits, not Aristocrat's maths — and the step-by-step is on how to play Dragon Link.
The jackpot panel
Above the reels sit the four Dragon Link jackpots: Grand, Major, Minor and Mini. Aristocrat describes the Grand as "a linked progressive", shared by the machines on a bank, and the ACT approved Golden Century as "1 Link + 1 iSAP" — one linked progressive plus one inside the machine.
What the Grand starts at is up to the venue. Club Burleigh on the Gold Coast publishes its setting: $10,000, reaching a maximum of $23,500 across 20 machines. In the United States Aristocrat has put Golden Century on a $1 Million Dragon Link with a $5 minimum bet — a casino product that shows how far the same game can be scaled, not something you'll find in a suburban club. More on the four jackpots.
Golden Century in Australia
Golden Century is the first of the four cabinets in the image Aristocrat uses for Dragon Link on MarsX in Australia, next to Happy & Prosperous, Autumn Moon and Genghis Khan. It was approved for ACT clubs as a Dragon Link game on 29 March 2018, and Victoria's regulator approved "Golden Century Dragon Link 2024" on 10 December 2024 and a 2026 version on 20 August 2026 — so it's still being refreshed for venues.
Venue websites rarely name individual titles; they say "Dragon Link". The twelve venues that confirm Dragon Link on their own pages are on Dragon Link in Australia.
Golden Century or Autumn Moon?
They're mechanical twins: the same free games, the same orb, the same jackpots. Pick on theme and on what's free at the venue. If you like Golden Century's feature but want the royals out of the free games, Happy & Prosperous is the one to try.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free games can hand you several orbs at once, a second route into Hold & Spin.
- One of the original four, and still being approved in new versions in 2026.
- Free to try in two Aristocrat apps.
Cons
- No published return to player.
- The number of free games and the Hold & Spin counts aren't published online.
- Medium-high volatility: long quiet runs are part of the design.
My verdict
Golden Century is the Dragon Link I'd point a first-timer to: the feature explains itself, and the same-symbol free games make the Hold & Spin chase visible. Read the help screen for the free-game count and set your amount first — then check where to find it.
