King’s Valley Slot Machine
It’s time to put on our Pith helmets and head off to the ancient pyramids of Egypt with a brave explorer in the King’s Valley video slot from Octavian Gaming. It’s not the first slot themed around pyramids, Egyptian queens and Pharaohs, and we’re pretty sure it won’t be the last, as this topic is quite possibly the most widely covered of all by the developers of online casino games. Italian outfit Octavian Gaming clearly don’t want to get left behind and have brought us a 5-reel, 10-line game which has surprises waiting around every corner of the ancient tombs.
Landing the right symbols will help players to collect extra winnings, or take them to a free spins bonus feature, but let’s first look at the great design of this game, which sets the main game against a dark blue-shaded backdrop of statues and stonework deep within the pyramid. There’s a stripy blue and gold staff flanking each side the reels, and the clever little design touches extend to the papyrus effect to the reels themselves. A cartoon quality to the explorer, Queen and mummified Pharaoh helps with the style, while lower-value symbols are classic Egyptian-themed objects which will be familiar to anyone that likes these slot games.
Apart from high standards of design, Octavian Gaming slots all have a few things in common, with each game certified as being fair and reliable, the range is mobile optimized and they all tend to be aimed at casual players rather than high rollers, with maximum bets of around 20.00 per spin. Online games are still a relatively new venture for Octavian Gaming, as they have previously specialised in land-based games, providing software and cabinets to casinos across Italy and beyond. King’s Valley will surely bring their games to the attention of a much wider audience.
Into the Valley
The Valley of Kings lies on the west bank of the River Nile, near the city of Luxor, and Octavian Gaming have been inspired by the many tombs that are dotted around the region. Hidden within one of these, we find the treasures of the King’s Valley video slot, with spinners claiming prizes whenever 3 or more matching symbols are seen across an active payline.
The lower-value wins come from the precious blue, red and green jewels, while the mummy, blue and gold beetle, all-seeing eye and golden Ankh symbols are all worth a little more.
The top wins are claimed when the Queen or the explorer appear, with 2x, 10x, or 50x the total stake awarded by our bearded hero when he swings his pickaxe across a payline. Symbols that are part of a winning combination will be highlighted by decorative surrounds and move around in little animations, which is another common Octavian Gaming feature that makes their range stand out.
Players get treated to the mummy lurching towards them, with his eyes glowing, while the Queen gives us a little wink, or the explorer gives a wave as he heads of on his adventures, for example.
Digging up Extra Features
The golden Pharaoh mask is a wild symbol and while you won’t win anything when it’s seen across a line, anytime there’s a break in a continuous run of any other symbol and the wild is in the right place, it can substitute, and you still win a prize.
The wild can also be stacked several high on a reel, which makes it much more likely that it will complete combinations.
The doors to the tomb are a special bonus symbol that opens up a free spins round when they are seen in any 3, 5, or 5 places at once. During the free games feature, the mix of symbols will be modified, which leads to higher returns throughout them, while they can be retriggered by the bonus symbol and if this happens you get more spins added on to the end of the current round.
Exploring the Betting Options
Punters can activate any number of lines, from just 1 to all 10, although any winning combinations of symbols that land on an inactive line won’t be worth anything, so it’s always best to have a stake on them all and collect all the possible wins.
Coin values per line can be adjusted from a low limit of 0.05 to a maximum of 2.00, while other control buttons can activate a Quick Spin mode, or you can do away with the need to click each time by choosing the Autoplay function.
Unearthing Other Egypt-Themed Slots
There’s literally hundreds of slots based on the riches of ancient Egypt, so if you’re a fan of the genre, you will be completely spoilt for choice. If we had to pick a single game as the most popular, then the classic Cleopatra video slot from IGT is perhaps the one. It feels like it’s been around almost as long as the pyramids themselves, but remains a massive hit, thanks to the exciting gameplay, traditional symbols and potential for great rewards from the most famous Egyptian of them all.
The Sphinx triggers 15 free spins, while Cleo herself is a wild symbol that doubles the value of any lines that she helps to complete. Land a full line of wilds and the reward will be equal to 100x the total bet in this classic slot. It’s been so successful that there’s now a series of Cleopatra video slots, including a Megajackpots version that can pay a massive progressive prize, and the Cleopatra Plus version which comes with updated graphics and features.
Another explorer is the star of Novomatic’s Book of Ra slot game, where beetles, pharaohs and winged statues return some of the top prizes. The mysterious book is a wild symbol that also opens up to reveal a free spins round that has special expanding symbol in play throughout them. Book of Ra is another slot that’s been so popular it’s spawned a couple of sequels, such as the Deluxe version and a 6-reel game that can pay out some big rewards.
What do we Sphinx of this game?
It’s no surprise that Octavian Gaming has released an Egyptian themed video slot and they have clearly ensured that it’s a high-quality game that will draw punters to these reels in a very popular and competitive subject matter.
It looks great, especially when symbols become animated, and while the bonus rounds are nothing new, wild substitutions and free games are features that work well in any type of game. Although no free King’s Valley video slots are available, the low starting bet means that you can start spinning for cash prizes from just 0.50, while the fact that it’s been designed to be mobile optimised lets you play on a variety of smartphones and tablet computers.
We wish Octavian Gaming slots came with higher maximum bets, as any high rollers looking to land massive payouts from higher stakes is perhaps going to be put off by the fact that they can’t place wagers of more than 20.00 per spin, but this will be an adequate amount for the vast majority of us.
Explore the rich reels of the King’s Valley at the growing number of online casinos that are now including slots from this respected developer and see if you can dig up some of the treasures of Egypt.
