King of the Aztecs Slots
Unusually for Barcrest, this slot has a host – a 3D character which stands at the side of the reels watching you spin and celebrating your wins. In this game it is none other than the king of the Aztecs himself rooting for you. This is an unusual slot by today’s standards, with all of the action happening on the reels instead of breaking out into different bonus games. The key feature is the randomly awarded expanding wilds. These can turn an otherwise ordinary spin into a big win out of nowhere. There is an element of humour about this slot, which is good to see in a theme which is often treated as a serious one. You’ll also enjoy the solid game-play which Barcrest Games is well known for.
The first thing that will strike you about this slot are the bright colours. The frame is very elaborate, with topped off by statues which look like they come from Easter Island. At the bottom of the screen is grass on which the big-bellied king stands, hands on stomach, wearing a big feathered head dress. Symbols on the reels have a cartoon like quality; some of them (for example the green lizard) could look quite sinister, though they are made to look more comical than dark or threatening. Likewise the bird and the skull have a cartoon type quality.
Sounds on this slot only happen when the reels are spinning. These include a jungle-drums backing track and series of musical thuds as the reels stop. When you hit a win a pan-pipes tune kicks in – while the host ‘King’ dances in celebration. There is also a satisfying ‘ping’ like an old cashier’s till when the win is sent to your total credits at the end of the spin.
There are no break out bonuses for this game, with only scatter wins and the expanding wilds adding interest to the game-play. If you hit a big win, the king jumps in front of the reels and is met with a cascade of coins coming from the top of the slot and a big-win sign.
A Journey Through History
This is a 20 line slot with a 5x3 standard grid setup set in the times of Montezuma, Cortes and the ancient Aztecs. While you can lower the number of lines, I would advise against it. The expanding wilds cover entire reels, meaning you will maximize the number of win lines that these wilds will cover if you stay with the full amount. Since spin costs range from just 1c per line (20c per spin), this is affordable for most players, Auto-play is standard on Barcrest slots and is available here.
The best paying symbol is the King of the Aztecs logo. This comes stacked, and will pay up to 500 coins for 5 on a line. Keep in mind that you could make several of these lines at once, especially if you are lucky enough to combine them with the expanding wilds. 4 of the logos pays out 200 coins, and just 3 gets you 100.
Next on the pay table is the skull, this is worth 200 coins for 5 – then the bird (120 for 5) and the green lizard (also 120). The playing cards all have the same prizes, which are topped by 80 coins for 5 of a kind.
The big wins in this game come when entire reels are turned wild. This is randomly triggered during play, and reels 2, 3 and 4 can all be entirely wild. When this is the case you’ll be paid off on scatter wins (just once if you get 3 wild reels) and then cycle through all the different win-lines which have hit. Just one or two of the King of the Aztecs logos on top of these wild reels can result in some very big wins. Sometimes, reel 4 will go wild and miss everything, though this does balance with those times that a lot of lines become winners all at once.
The final way to win is with the scatter symbols. 5 of the king (with the word ‘Scatter’) will get you 200x your total stake. 4 of them anywhere on the reels is worth 10x and 3 is worth 2x. These wins are in addition to the coin / line combination wins on that particular spin.
Can You Conquer this Slot?
Considering there are no break-out bonuses or particularly advanced features, this is a very enjoyable slot. I liked having the 3D host dance when I won, and those wild reels make a big difference to your wins when you least expect them to. The Barcrest focus on solid game-play also shines though. I like this game, and will certainly be back for another spin at some point down the line.
