Funky Time vs Crazy Time – Which Game is Better and Why?

Evolution's Crazy Time is one of the biggest success stories in the history of live casinos. After Funky Time hit the casinos, however, many players were left wondering – which of these two games is better?

To answer that question, we'll go through a deep comparative analysis of both games.

We'll compare Crazy Time and Funky Time in terms of gameplay, bonus rounds, theme and graphics, and RTP. We'll then try to draw conclusions as to whether you should play Crazy Time or Funky Time.

A word of warning – this article is not meant to cover the basics of how these games work. We highly recommend that you start by familiarizing yourself with them if you haven't done so already:

Our Crazy Time game review covers the basics of how the game works. You may also wish to check out this guide to Crazy Time statistics and strategy
Our Funky Time game review similarly contains a basic how-to guide, but you should also understand the underlying stats in Funky Time

Both of these games are excellent examples of top-notch live casino game shows, and both are highly reviewed and hugely popular. The decision of which to play largely comes down to personal preference, and this guide should help you see why you may prefer one over the other.

Crazy Time and Funky Time - Differences & Similarities at a Glance

Before we dive into our comparative analysis, we’ll go through some basic bullet points about the two games. We’ll then discuss these points further down in the article, one by one.

Both games use similar money wheels. However, Funky Time’s wheel is considerably larger with 64 segments compared to Crazy Time’s 45.
The older Crazy Time offers betting options more typical for the money wheel genre, with four standard Numbers bets. Funky Time technically has more betting options, but few of them work like the classic numbers bet.
Both titles have four bonus bets and four types of bonus rounds. However, they’re vastly different from each other and represent the most noticeable difference between the two games
Both games use a combination of a physical wheel and RNG. Most bonuses depend entirely on RNG.
Both of these Evolution-made games are entirely dependent on luck. Players don’t have the opportunity to influence the outcome in any way.
The optimal RTP of Crazy Time is 96.08%, while Funky Time is slightly worse off at 95.99%. However, different bets have different RTP rates in both titles.
Broadly speaking, Crazy Time is somewhat more volatile.

Now that we have a broad idea of how different Crazy Time and Funky Time are, it’s time to start comparing.

Core Gameplay & Main Bets

At first glance, the basic gameplay loop of these two games looks almost identical. You bet on a segment, the wheel spins, and you win if the pointer lands on your chosen segment. Simple, right?

It is – which is one of the main advantages of both titles. In terms of this core concept, the biggest difference here is that Funky Time enjoys a bigger wheel with 64 segments.

However, there are also important differences in how the main bets work.

Crazy Time uses a simple model based on Evolution’s Dream Catcher. Every non-bonus bet is a number that also represents its own payout. The Number 5 bet pays 5:1, the Number 10 bet pays 10:1, and so on. Every number appears a different number of times, which fundamentally affects the game’s statistics. Each of the four main bets is different in terms of the payout, probability of winning, and RTP.

On the flip side, there are technically only two types of main bet in Funky Time – The Number 1 and the Letters. The former is identical to Crazy Time, so no surprises there. The letters, on the other hand, are all technically separate wagers. However, every letter bet is identical to others of its kind. All of them appear twice on the wheel, pay 25:1, and offer 95.99% RTP. It’s also worth mentioning that this means Funky Time has 13 non-bonus bets available.

Theme, Graphics, and Presentation

The incredible graphics and presentation of Crazy Time helped the game stand out back when it was released. Although high-concept live casino game shows are relatively common these days, it’s important to remember that most of them were inspired by Evolution’s success. This whole idea of intricate studios and bonus rounds bolstered by CGI was essentially popularized by this one, single game. Although Evo’s Monopoly Live was released earlier, it wasn’t nearly as massive of a success as Crazy Time.

In short, the graphics are good enough to change a whole industry, and the studio is design is something only Evolution could pull off. However, the theme itself is a bit vague compared to many competing titles. Everything is bright, shiny, colorful, and – dare we say it – crazy. That’s pretty much the only real description we can offer, though.

On the other hand, Funky Time Live is firmly committed to a 70’s disco theme. Although things are just as bright and colorful as with its spiritual predecessor, the colors are more purposeful. It’s supposed to leave an impression of a discotheque, and it does so quite successfully. We would also say that the CGI is a bit more present in the bonus rounds compared to Crazy Time, but that’s neither here nor there.

Ultimately, both games are true game shows, through and through. A lot of importance is placed on keeping audiences engaged and entertained. This is achieved through a combination of graphics, top-notch presenters, and a fun atmosphere.

Bonus Rounds

The special features and bonus rounds are essential to both Funky and Crazy Time. Most people who play these games are there for the bonuses. If you want proof of that, just consider the fact that not nearly as many players choose Dream Catcher, the money wheel game with no bonus rounds.

All of the bonus rounds in both games are quite unique. If you’re looking to find more info on how they work, check out the reviews and guides we mentioned above.

Here, we’re just going to compare Funky Time and Crazy Time bonuses through some figures.

Both games have four bonus rounds in total. Most of these include separate screens and mini-games in one form or another. Some of them are also interactive, allowing players to make decisions that determine their winnings based on luck. Three bonus rounds in Crazy Time require player interaction, while only two do in Funky Time.

In Crazy Time, two bonus rounds appear twice on the wheel – Pachinko and Cash Hunt. The titular Crazy Time bonus round appears once, while the Coin Flip appears four times.

In Funky Time, the Bar bonus round appears on 6 segments of the wheel. Stayin’ Alive appears twice, Disco appears three times, while the special VIP disco covers only one segment.

However, it’s also worth noting that there are more wheel segments in Funky Time. As such, Crazy Time bonus rounds have a 1.85% of triggering per segment they appear on. Conversely, Funky Time bonus rounds have a 1.56% chance of triggering per segment.

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Fun Comes First

The first question you should ask is which of these two games you find more fun to play. That should be your most important factor - this comparison serves as a way of understanding why one may be more enjoyable to you than the other.

Payouts & Volatility

All Evolution-made live casino games have a maximum payout limit of $500,000. That’s the hard cap, and you can’t ever go over it.

However, there are differences in terms of the maximum stake multiplier.

The biggest payout you can secure with a single bet in Crazy Time is 20,000x your stake. We don’t need to point out that that’s a massive haul, even if your chances of actually getting it are tiny.

In comparison, payouts in Funky Time only go up to 10,000x. Overall, the game feels less volatile, even though most of the bets technically have a lower hit frequency than in Crazy Time.

There’s a simple way of explaining this, though, and it has to do with the extra multipliers that both games enjoy. Let’s compare the Number 1 bet in both games to illustrate.

In Crazy Time, the Top Slot feature can multiply the winnings of specific bets, which is important for the game and the underlying maths. If the slot lines up a 3x and a 1 bet, for example, the game’s smallest wager suddenly becomes much better. Almost 40% of all possible results end up multiplied. That’s why the Number 1 bet has such high RTP despite paying 1:1 and only appearing on 38.85% of the wheel. The RTP calculation accounts for the possibility of a multiplier.

While Funky Time also has multipliers, they affect individual segments instead of bets or types of segments. You’re considerably less likely to have your winnings multiplied this way.

The difference is especially impactful for bets that appear on many segments, most notably the Number 1. That’s why the Number bet in Funky Time has a weaker RTP than its counterpart in Crazy Time even though it pays the same and is more likely to win.

In short, the biggest difference in terms of these games’ payouts is the fact that Crazy Time is more volatile than Funky Time.

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Return to Player (RTP)

As noted in the introduction, Crazy Time has a higher optimal RTP. In this case, however, that figure is referring strictly to the Number 1 bet.

Note that every bet in both games has its own separate RTP. We’ve covered this in more detail in our strategy guides, but we’ll highlight this below. Here is the RTP for every bet in both games in direct comparison.

Crazy Time vs Funky Time RTP Comparison
Crazy Time		Funky Time
Bet	RTP	Bet	RTP
1	96.08%	1	95.99%
2	95.95%	Letters	95.49%
5	95.78%	Bar	95.98%
10	95.73%	Stayin’ Alive	95.49%
Pachinko	94.33%	Disco	95.51%
Cash Hunt	95.27%	VIP Disco	95.38%
Coin Flip	95.70%
Crazy Time	94.41%

As we can see in the table, the overall RTP of both games is quite similar.

We can note that Funky Time tends to be somewhat more consistent, while Crazy Time has higher maximums and minimums. The advantage of Crazy Time is somewhat dulled by the fact that most players want to enjoy the bonus bets, which tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum.

As such, it would be fair to compare the average RTP of all bets in both games and get a better picture.

Crazy Time average bet RTP: 95.41%
Funky Time average bet RTP: 95.64%

In other words, the newer game is somewhat stronger across the board. Of course, the difference is quite small, so we can’t say this should be crucial to your decision.

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Conclusion – Which Game Should You Play?

In our opinion, the most important differences between these two titles are the presentation and the volatility.

The former is completely down to personal preference. We can’t claim that one looks or feels objectively better than the other. We can say, however, that Funky Time’s theme seems more important to the overall experience of the game.

Speaking of the player experience, the fact that Funky Time is less volatile than its predecessor means that your time with the game might feel somewhat different. Don’t get us wrong – both of these games are quite volatile by table game standards. You can expect a lot of small wins with occasional big payouts every now and then. However, this volatility is more noticeable in Crazy Time.

If you enjoy chasing big wins and aren’t bothered by smaller returns in the meantime, play Crazy Time. Otherwise, you may prefer Funky Time.

Also, we wouldn’t get too hung up on the differences in RTP. If you know how RTP and expected value work, you’ll understand that the 0.2% discrepancy won’t affect your enjoyment too much. If not, you may want to check out our guide to expected value in gambling.

All in all, both titles are superb examples of quality live dealer casino games. You can’t go wrong no matter which option you choose to go for. As for the LiveCasinos team, we know we’ll be enjoying both for a long time to come.