L Pachislot Karakuri Circus 2
Explore this model alongside other AT pachislot machines in our Japanese pachislot machine library. For the basics, read how pachislot works in Japan.
L Pachislot Karakuri Circus 2 (Lパチスロ からくりサーカス2) is SANKYO’s second smart-pachislot Karakuri Circus AT machine. Normal play routes through multiple CZ opportunities into the difference-coin AT Karakuri Circus, while repeated Passionate Judgment success opens the route toward the premium Super Karakuri Circus.
Last verified: October 8, 2026.
Key terms: Smart Pachislot · AT · Upper AT · CZ · Setting · Setting hint · Payout rate · Initial hit · Net increase · Small role · Rare role · Watermelon · Zone · Push-order navigation · Ceiling · Reset · Quit timing · Mode · Advantageous section · Chance pattern · Replay · Bell · Weak Cherry · Strong Cherry
Quick specs
Quick specs
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Official Japanese name | Lパチスロ からくりサーカス2 |
| Manufacturer | SANKYO |
| Series | Karakuri Circus |
| Machine type | AT |
| Japan rollout date | July 6, 2026 |
| Model | Lからくりサーカス2jG |
| Normal-play base | Approx. 31.8G per 50 coins at Setting 1 (Administrator research) |
| Machine format | AT / Smart Pachislot |
| Main AT | Karakuri Circus (からくりサーカス) |
| Main AT net increase | Approx. 2.8 coins/G (SANKYO official guide) |
| Upper AT | Super Karakuri Circus (超からくりサーカス) |
| Upper AT net increase | Approx. 8.0 coins/G (Administrator research) |
| AT-interval ceiling | 2500 real games (Administrator research) |
Setting probabilities and payout rate
Setting probabilities and payout rate
SANKYO publishes the CZ and AT initial-hit columns; payout rates are Administrator research. AT initial hits show the clearer setting spread, while CZ frequency is almost flat through Settings 1–4 and becomes more favorable at Settings 5–6.
| Setting | CZ | AT initial hit | Payout rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/342 | 1/519 | 97.7% |
| 2 | 1/341 | 1/504 | 98.8% |
| 3 | 1/339 | 1/474 | 101.2% |
| 4 | 1/339 | 1/458 | 104.3% |
| 5 | 1/327 | 1/430 | 110.5% |
| 6 | 1/318 | 1/410 | 114.9% |
CZ routes and success conditions
CZ routes and success conditions
Administrator research. Karakuri Circus 2 uses three normal-play CZ routes. Their combined occurrence rate does not describe the individual clearing rules.
| CZ | Length / expectation | Success condition | Success reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deus Ex Machina | 10G + α / about 55% | A small role enters Hold; another small role while Hold — effectively two consecutive small roles — clears the CZ. A small role on the final game also clears it; rare roles can win directly. | AT |
| Intermission Chance | 10G / about 41% in normal play; 5G / about 17% after AT | Role-based success draw; a rare role clears the CZ. | AT |
| Theater Judge | 4G / about 47% | Success is drawn at entry and from each role; a small role on the final game clears the CZ. | AT with a three-digit coin addition and one Passionate Judgment success already credited |
Game flow
Game flow
Normal play builds toward CZ entry through game-count, role and machine-specific progression routes. The newer Theater Judge CZ can start the AT with one Passionate Judgment success already banked, while the other CZ routes feed into the same main AT structure.
Karakuri Circus is a difference-coin AT. Passionate Judgment is the central progression checkpoint: reaching three successes earns the right to challenge the approximately 50%-class Destiny Strike route, which can open Super Karakuri Circus. SHOWTIME and the evolved Dance! Olympia add large difference-coin rewards during the main AT.
Administrator research. Additional play and result interpretation:
Follow the coin counter and Judgment count
- A normal-play CZ entry may come from a displayed-game mode, a real-game protection or the Mechanical Goddess failure route. Identify which counter produced it before updating your record.
- Clear the actual CZ. Theater Judge (劇場ジャッジ) starts the AT with one Passionate Judgment (激情ジャッジ) success already credited; the other ordinary CZs do not automatically award that credited success.
- During Karakuri Circus (からくりサーカス), coin additions extend the reward counter while successful Passionate Judgments advance the upper-route requirement. Coins and Judgment wins are different progress measures.
- Three credited Judgment successes earn the Destiny Strike (運命の一劇) right. Earning the right and clearing its approximately 50%-class challenge are separate outcomes.
- A successful premium route reaches Super Karakuri Circus (超からくりサーカス). Its faster net speed belongs to upper AT; it should not be applied to the whole ordinary run.
Ceiling, reset and quit timing
Ceiling, reset and quit timing
Administrator research. Several independent protection routes exist. CZ-related protection includes a liquid-crystal count reaching the 1100G zone with a deepest point around 1200G, 890 real games since Mechanical Goddess, or the fifth Mechanical Goddess after four failures.
The separate AT-interval ceiling is 2500 real games. Reaching it awards direct AT entry plus a guaranteed-success Passionate Judgment. Because the CZ counters and the AT interval are different concepts, do not treat a CZ hit as proof that the longer AT interval has reset.
Quit timing should account for the current Mechanical Goddess failure count, visible CZ/game-count state and remaining AT-interval value before leaving.
Administrator research. Additional play and result interpretation:
| Counter to record | Relevant protection / purpose | Why it is separate |
|---|---|---|
| Displayed games | Current mode target and displayed-game CZ zone | Display progression differs from real games |
| Real games since Mechanical Goddess | 890-game CZ protection | CZ entry is not an AT initial hit |
| Mechanical Goddess failures | Fifth attempt after four failures | Attempt count rather than ordinary games |
| Real games since AT | 2500-game AT interval | Its award includes a winning Passionate Judgment |
These counters can overlap. A shallow-looking displayed counter does not automatically erase the deeper real-game AT interval, and one CZ failure does not prove that the queue changed to Heaven. Confirm the recorded event rather than inferring every reset from a hall counter.
Karakuri Circus and Super Karakuri Circus
Karakuri Circus and Super Karakuri Circus
Karakuri Circus (からくりサーカス) is the main difference-coin AT, with approximately 2.8 coins/G net increase in SANKYO’s official guide. During the AT, reward additions and Passionate Judgment (激情ジャッジ) progression lead toward the upper route. The sequel also adds SHOW TIME (ショータイム) and Dance! Olympia (踊れ！オリンピア).
Passionate Judgment (激情ジャッジ), games 1–3: SANKYO publishes the following conditional victory draws. These percentages apply when the listed role occurs during those games; they are not the per-game occurrence rate or the overall Judgment win rate.
| Role on games 1–3 | Victory draw |
|---|---|
| Replay or 3-coin bell (リプレイ・3枚ベル) | Approx. 40% |
| Weak cherry, watermelon or chance bell (弱チェリー・スイカ・チャンスベル) | Approx. 50% |
| Chance pattern or strong cherry (チャンス目・強チェリー) | Victory expected |
On the final Judgment game, any small role or stronger result is expected to win. Approximately 10% of Passionate Judgment entries are already selected as winning before play; this is an entry share, separate from the game 1–3 role draws.
AT cut-ins: The following percentages are the chance of stopping the middle reel on the indicated target given a lever-triggered blue or green cut-in. They do not describe the occurrence rate of the cut-in itself.
| Target cut-in | Blue cut-in | Green cut-in | Middle-reel stop reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAR–cherry–BAR (BARチェリーBAR) | Approx. 55% | Approx. 83% | Reward addition / Dance! Olympia route |
| Cherry–Passion–cherry (チェリー激情チェリー) | Approx. 38% | Approx. 56% | Passionate Judgment expected; a middle-line Passion alignment indicates an already winning Judgment |
A gold BAR–cherry–BAR cut-in indicates Dance! Olympia; a red one that only adds coins gives at least 100 coins. Red Cherry–Passion–cherry indicates at least a Judgment and gold indicates a winning Passion-symbol alignment. A cut-in occurring as reel rotation begins indicates a middle-reel stop. During the AT, a 7-target cut-in occurs at approximately 1/130,000; its 7 alignment indicates at least 100 coins plus Passionate Judgment, while a blue 7 cut-in indicates 300 coins.
Marionette Performance (懸糸傀儡演舞／マリオネットエンブ): a small role indicates at least 30G added. Olympia (オリンピア) indicates at least 50G, and Jack-o’-Lantern (ジャック・オー・ランターン) indicates at least 100G. Administrator research: Super Karakuri Circus (超からくりサーカス) is the upper AT at approximately 8.0 coins/G; an exact upper-entry rate is not published here.
Setting differences and identification
Setting differences and identification
AT initial-hit rate is the clearest published setting-wide numerical indicator, improving from approximately 1/519 at Setting 1 to 1/410 at Setting 6. Combined CZ frequency alone is less useful at Settings 1–4 because those rates are nearly identical.
Administrator research. AT end screens and other presentation elements include setting-hint patterns. Use direct hint/confirmation elements together with the AT sample rather than treating one favorable CZ streak as a setting conclusion.
Administrator research. Additional play and result interpretation:
For this sequel, Settings 1–4 have closely grouped combined-CZ rates. Separate the CZ type, its entry trigger and initial AT hits if you keep a session log; an unusually good run of CZ clears can raise AT results without demonstrating a higher CZ-entry setting. Cut-in success measures a conditional reward draw, while the initial-hit table measures a longer normal-play sample.
Normal-play internal modes
Normal-play internal modes
Administrator research. Five internal modes control the displayed-game CZ/AT target, favored zones and, for some modes, the reward attached to a hit.
| Mode | Ceiling / characteristic |
|---|---|
| Normal A | Displayed 1200G; even-hundred zones favored |
| Normal B | Displayed 800G; odd-hundred zones favored |
| Normal C | Displayed 1200G; a hit awards direct AT |
| Normal D | Displayed 1200G; a hit awards Theater Judge CZ |
| Heaven | Displayed 100G |
Mode selection is performed when the advantageous section starts and after CZ or AT. Five future modes are selected at the initial decision; after each is consumed, another future mode is appended. This mode queue is separate from the Normal/High internal state used for role-based lotteries.
Administrator research. Additional play and result interpretation:
The five-future-mode queue describes normal-play targets. Normal / High role state instead modifies the current role-based opportunity. A stage hint for a stronger role state does not identify a specific item in the five-mode queue. Likewise, a favorable queued target does not imply that every weak rare role now uses a high-state lottery.
How to play
How to play
No navigation: stop the left reel first. If numbered stop instructions appear, press the stop buttons in the displayed order (1, then 2, then 3). A symbol-target instruction tells you which symbol to aim for; follow it together with any displayed stop order.
During normal play, use left-first play and aim around the black BAR on the left reel. When the resulting stop pattern requires watermelon coverage, aim the indicated red-7/watermelon area on the remaining reels. Follow all push-order navigation during CZ and AT states.
Do not deliberately use an uninstructed stop order during assisted states; the displayed navigation takes priority over the normal small-role procedure.
Data policy and official references
Data policy and official references
First-party manufacturer information is labelled official. Administrator research identifies the administrator’s review of published information; it does not by itself mean original measurement or manufacturer confirmation. Calculated examples are labelled separately and explain their inputs. A page verification date records an editorial check, not a new experiment or a remeasurement of every value. See our editorial policy for the distinction.
- SANKYO official Karakuri Circus 2 product page
- SANKYO official Karakuri Circus 2 setting specifications
- SANKYO official Karakuri Circus 2 guide
- SANKYO developer note — Passionate Judgment (激情ジャッジ) role draws
- SANKYO developer note — AT cut-in conditional middle-reel stop rates
- SANKYO developer note — AT 7 cut-in frequency and rewards
- SANKYO developer note — Marionette Performance (懸糸傀儡演舞) additions