Emperor of the Sea Slot Machine
When we think of ancient China, certain things spring to mind: incredible riches, beautiful artefacts and captivating legends of mythical monsters. But where did all this fortune and sense of imagination come from? This new slot machine from Microgaming software might just have the answer – the vast blue sea.
Emperor of the Sea explores the maritime culture of historical China, giving punters a glimpse into the influence that seafaring had of the country's wealth and story-telling. Spinners won't only learn something but they might also find some prosperity for themselves while sailing the 5 reels and 88 paylines of this video slot. Helping players to navigate their way through the ocean is a round of 8 free spins with “Growing Wilds” and “Rolling Reels”. This medium to high volatility slot machine has a theoretical RTP of 96.28%.
The Good Ship China
China didn't become one of the wealthiest nations in the world by sitting about on land all day. The great historical country acquired much of its riches and notoriety by taking to sea to establish important trade routes with other countries in the world. Spinners of this game can discover some of the precious things that might have been transported on the merchant ships of ancient China in this oriental slot machine, with symbols that depict magnificent jade vases, interesting statuettes of turtles and incredibly valuable golden sycees – an old form of currency used in the oriental world much like a golden coin in the Western world.
Visually speaking, the slot machine does a good job at presenting an orientally themed game with a seafaring twist. The game screen is set within an illustrated scene of swirling waves and beaming sunlight while the symbols are all illustrated in a traditional Eastern style. Some of the other icons on the reels also reveal some water-dwelling beasts which are symbolically important in Chinese culture, from the humble koi carp to the almighty sea dragon, both of which are symbols of good fortune and prosperity.
An Ocean of Wins
This slot machine is symbolic in many ways, from the icons on the reels to the number of paylines upon which players can catch some wins. There are 88 paylines in total, which may appear like an odd number although it has plenty of significance since this is considered to be the luckiest number in Chinese culture. With all paylines in play, punters can place a minimum bet of just 0.88 and a maximum bet of 44.00. The biggest win of all in this mid to high variance video slot comes in the form of a 100x total bet multiplier. In order to land a prize of that size, spinners will need to find five golden sycee scatter symbols in any reel position.
Grow Your Wins
Finding five scatters in this game will award the biggest prize return but it will also trigger a round of 8 free spins. In fact, finding just three scatter symbols in any position on the reels will activate this bonus gameplay feature which involves “Rolling Reels” and “Growing Wilds” for extra winning opportunities.
First of all, the Rolling Reels gameplay element will cause all icons involved in a winning line to vanish, allowing new symbols to drop into place and potentially create another prize-paying sequence of symbols without using up an extra free spin. The Growing Wilds element adds extra wild icons to a stack of wilds with every consecutive spin up to a maximum of 15. This means that there will be a very likely chance for punters to complete winning combinations since the wild will substitute for any icon except for the scatter.
Go East
If you fancy exploring more of the seas around China, then you can check out another maritime themed slot machine called 1421 Voyages of Zheng He. This slot machine by Spielo software also focuses on the merchant ship industry of old that brought unthinkable riches to the nation of China. The game is also similar to Emperor of the Sea since it has 88 paylines and stacked wild icons.
Worth a Spin?
If players want to try an oriental slot machine that isn't confined to the usual Chinese New Year or Ming Dynasty theme, then Emperor of the Sea is a very good option. The Microgaming slot machine has a medium to high volatility level, meaning that it might not be suited to casual punters who want to find little wins with every other spin. That said, the game does offer the chance for spinners to find their own seafaring wealth with a free spins feature that comes with Rolling Reels and Growing Wilds.
