Sonnenkafer Slots
An exciting new slot offering from Merkur, Sonnenkafer is themed on the mysteries of ancient Egypt.
This is one of the strangest slots around right now as it contains only one reel, which is almost unheard of in the slots world. Instead of matching symbols across the reels, players can only spin one symbol at a time to climb the rewards ladder of that particular symbol.
There is a colourful sphinx, a golden flying beetle, a jewelled cross and a mummy all waiting to appear on the single reel, while some spins reveal no symbol at all. This is an innovative slot game with a truly unique feel and we’ll be honest (as always) – you will love it or hate it!
Exploring Ancient Egypt
Before getting started on your strange adventure you need to select your stake. You can alter your bet by clicking on the plus and minus buttons to give a minimum bet of €0.05 and a maximum bet of €5.00. There are a range of other options here to help your game play, including a ‘fast game play’ button within the tools menu at the top of the screen, and an ‘autoplay’ button to give the ability to play up to 100 spins automatically.
You can select your bet and start to play, but make sure you are happy with your stake because you can only change it again when you are at the bottom of all the ladders and your jackpot is on zero.
The Mummy’s Revenge
Whenever you press spin, a symbol will spin into place on the reel. There are four symbols in the game: the colourful sphinx, the golden flying beetle, the jewelled cross on a chain, and the bandaged mummy or zombie. Each symbol has its own rewards ladder and whenever the corresponding symbol appears, you move one step higher on the ladder to secure a new cash prize. However, if the mummy appears, you move down one step on all the ladders.
Climbing the Jackpot Ladders
There is no paytable in this game because the monetary rewards are all clearly visible on the jackpot ladders. As you land on the symbols and you move up the ladders connected with those symbols, your jackpot balance increases to show the overall total amount of cash you have collected.
The gold beetle is the best paying symbol paying €20 for just one symbol. The ladder has seven rungs and if you make it all the way to the top of the beetle’s ladder you will be rewarded with up to €1,025, if you are playing max bet. Plus, this is an ‘action spin’ ladder, which means you get to spin a wheel at the top to reveal another cash prize, which could be up to €2,500! The beetle ladder is the ladder to concentrate on for the biggest rewards.
The sphinx symbol pays up to €225 when you reach the top of the ladder, which is the fifth rung, and an additional €105 for any more symbols beyond the top rung. The gold cross pays up to €52.50 coins if you reach the top of the ladder, which is the third rung, and an additional €37.50 for any symbols beyond the top rung.
It is not all roses in the garden of this Egyptian slot game, however, as the mummy is waiting to spoil all the fun. Whenever you spin one of these evil symbols, you will move down one position on all your ladders. So if you keep spinning a few mummies in a row, all your hard work can be undone and you might end up at the bottom of the ladders again. This is why it makes sense to keep collecting your winnings regularly.
Collect Your Cash or Gamble
While playing Sonnenkafer, you can click ‘collect’ at any time to bank your current jackpot balance. After pressing ‘collect’, you will get the chance to gamble your winnings in one of the two gamble games. You can also select ‘partial collect’ to bank half your cash and gamble the rest – a good choice if you have racked up a small fortune and only want to gamble some of it. Of course, you do not have to gamble any cash at all, in which case press ‘collect’ again to bank your money.
If you select the left gamble button, you enter a card game where you have to pick the colour of the next card in the deck. Press either ‘red’ or ‘black’ – a correct choice doubles your money while the wrong choice means you lose it. The other gamble game is the ladder game. Two cash prizes will be lit up on the ladder and you click to choose which one you will win – another 50/50 gamble. After this, you can keep gambling to move slowly up the ladder but a few bad gambles and you could leave with nothing.
An Innovative Adventure
This is a unique slot game with some potentially huge rewards. The trick lies in managing to climb to the top of the ladders without the mummy getting in the way too often. The lack of bonus games and usual features does not feel a problem because the style is so different to your usual slot machines, the action is non-stop and the visual excitement of climbing the ladders keeps the jackpots always in view. This is an excellent offering from Merkur and could inspire a new range of games with similar ladder features.
