Expert review by Tanvi Clarke
Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the Queen of the Nile is reincarnated into the queen of casino slots in this ancient Egyptian themed game masterpiece. This wildly popular slot by IGT has wowed fans since its online launch in 2005 with its bright, bold and beautiful graphics featuring hieroglyphics decorated reel columns. This classic 5 reels, 20 payline slot has seduced fans all over the world and has achieved iconic status, with the game now playable on desktop, mobile and tablet devices for maximum player convenience.
Whilst Cleopatra is not as technologically advanced or offers the high number of features as its newer cousins, this game still packs a decent punch. The winning feature of Cleopatra are the bonus spins and bonus features, which have kept punters coming back for more because of the numerous potential winning opportunities that the bonus spins present. Bonus spins can be unlocked with either the 3, 4 or 5 Sphinx scatter symbols that appear anywhere on the reels and then can be tripled using the bonus feature.
There are low value and high value symbols in the game, with the lower value symbols being represented by the numbers 9 and 10 and the letters A, J, K and Q. Each symbol is ornately decorated with ancient Egyptian style graphics. The higher value symbols are represented by iconic Egyptian symbols, such as the Eye of Horus, the Scarab beetle, cartouches (carved tablets) and lotus flowers. If you manage to get 5 Scarab beetles across a payline, then you will get 37.5 times your stake.
The best is left for last, with the beautiful Cleopatra herself being the most valuable symbol in the game, as well as serving as the game’s Wild. Cleopatra also substitutes all other symbols except for the Spinx scatter. If you manage to get a winning combination that includes 1 or more wilds then your payout will be doubled. And if Cleopatra is smiling down on you and gives you 5 wilds across a payline, then you will pocket a whopping 500 times your stake! Makes us want to start spinning!
Bonus spins on Cleopatra are activated if you land on 3, 4 or 5 Sphinx scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. This is a great feature of the game made even better by the fact that you don’t have to wait very long before bonus spins are triggered. During bonus spins rounds, every prize that you win can be tripled and not only that! If you win three more scatters, you will be able to win another 15 spins! If your luck seems never-ending, remember that there is a limit of 180 bonus spins in total.
The maximum jackpot is 10,000 times your stake. In order to win this, you must land 5 Cleopatra symbols at the same time on the reels. As betting amount ranges from different casinos, with most of them offering a £400 bet, the potential jackpot can reach £4,000,000! Cleopatra appeals to the high-rollers, who can bet a maximum of £600 and could then cash out an incredible £6,000,000! A progressive jackpot version of this wildly popular game was launched by IGT in 2015 and is known as MegaJackpots Cleopatra.
Cleopatra has 20 betting lines (also known as paylines or winning lines). and 5 reels. Paylines, as we will refer to them, show the combination of symbols that may result in a win. Cleopatra’s payline is horizontal and wins are shown if you get certain matching symbols lined up in the payline. You can choose how many paylines to play per game, but we recommend you choose the maximum number to increase your chances of winning big. Your bet value will be calculated once you have decided on which coin value to play.
Cleopatra’s Return to Player (RTP) is a little lower than the 96% industry average, but 95.02% is still a perfectly good percentage. Essentially, the RTP tells you how much payout you can expect from a game, calculated over a long period of time. In other words, RTP tells what portion of bets are paid back by the machine in the form of winnings. For example, for Cleopatra, players can generally expect the game to return £0.952 of the £1 played. The RTP also tells you that the house edge for Cleopatra is 4.98%.
When reading a game review, you may see the word “volatility”, which simply refers to the amount of inherent risk to the slot and how often (and how much) you can expect to win. Cleopatra has a medium volatility, which means that the number of times you can expect to win is average and the payouts are neither sky high or super low. Many people like medium volatility slots because wins happen at decent intervals and are also decent in size. This is one reason why Cleopatra has a legion of fans.
Cleopatra is played religiously by slot lovers worldwide, which speaks volumes in testifying to the game popularity. This is a super fun, eye-catching and immersive slot that ticks boxes in all the right places. We never tire of the graphics, the sounds and the pleasure-inducing free spins that Cleopatra bestows. Thanks to the free-spin and bonus features, this game is highly playable and its medium volatility means that decent wins don’t come just once in a blue moon. We think that Cleopatra will remain a slot favourite for years to come!
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