Scarab Kingdom Slot Machine: Review & Demo
The title might say Scarab Kingdom, but the reels of this slot machines have a gorgeous green forest as a backdrop, and it looks nothing like the usual desert that we’ve been used to so far. This is a joint release, from Microgaming and Just For The Win, which at least attempts at doing some things differently in this very crowded category of Ancient Egypt themed games.
Scarab Kingdom gives us 5x4 reels, with only 30 active lines, which is a bit low when we consider that only about 3% of all potential combinations are covered. A top jackpot of up to 5,000x the stake is promised, and the game blends this with high volatility and a 96.13% RTP. Among its main features, the slot includes a wild, scatters, free spins, and Cleo’s Bonus.
Scarab Kingdom Betting and Prizes
The player can select bets between $0.20 and $25 for each spin. There are 30 active lines offered in exchange.
I found the slot’s top payouts to be adequate, but there are others which do even better when offering the kind of high volatility found here. 5,000x the stake, or $250,000 cash, is the most that you can walk away with.
As we’ve seen in several other Microgaming slots lately, this one also has a range for its RTP, with the maximum at 96.13%. Casinos may choose smaller settings as well, unfortunately.
Slot Features
To start things off, I’d mention the Wild of Scarab Kingdom. It’s a paper scroll, that has a Wild logo on top of it. Use it as a substitute, but only in combination with regular symbols, not any of the other feature triggers. Should it happen that multiple wilds line up to form their own combo, they pay as much as the game’s top symbol.
At the top of each reel, you will notice a special location where collected Scarabs can be held. A meter is also present there, showing the progress as you’re collecting Scarabs for Cleo’s Bonus (100 are needed).
Before you get to Cleo’s Bonus, you will get a chance to trigger Wild Scrolls for individual reels, just by collecting 3 Scarab Scatters from those columns. This is a feature that will turn an entire reel into a full wild. These wilds move down by one position, until they leave the game area completely after several spins.
As for Cleo’s Bonus, it’s a picking feature, with 12 options at your disposal. You make picks, until you find 3 coins that match. The potential prizes range from 15x to 5,000x the stake.
With the Free Spins symbols landing on the reels 2-4 at the same time, the game gives you access to this feature. Just how many round you get, will depend on the presence of Wild Scrolls on its reels. You get one on reel 3, and by the time they leave the game area, you need to get a wild symbol somewhere else. If you don’t, then the feature is over.
One extra ability that’s important here, is the increasing multiplier. It goes up by 1x after each round.
Theme & Design
The Ancient Egypt theme is not unusual, and neither is the presence of a temple in the background, or of the Sphinx statue. They replaced the usual sand dunes with a luxurious green garden, made possible by the presence of a channel, possibly the Nile itself being its source.
Other than the unusual amount of green shown in the background image, the game doesn’t look that different from others. You find the Royal coins in the low-paying icons (J-A), plus images of a Lotus Flower, Eye of Ra, Ankh, Cleopatra, and the Pharaoh. Wild Scrolls and Scarabs are feature symbols.
Conclusion
Scarab Kingdom is not a typical new Microgaming slot, and while there are no new game mechanics being revealed here, I loved the unique mix of features and the different approach to the typical Ancient Egypt design.
