Ming Dynasty Slot Machine
The Ming Dynasty ruled China for over 270 years, ending in the 1660’s, and the classic Ming Dynasty video slot has brought images of Emperors, treasures and great cities to players at online casinos that carry the Spade Gaming slots range. It’s a 5-reel, 50-payline game that has tried and tested bonus features such as stacked symbols, wild substitutions and free spins, so if you are one of the many gamblers that likes the ancient Chinese theme, then it’s a good way to enjoy the images from the time in a slot that doesn’t surprise you with complicated gameplay.
It’s a nice-looking game as well, where the purple reels are framed by red columns and topped with stylish cappings and the city sits behind them as a decorative background image. A bit of added realism comes from the clouds gently moving across the city, but we’re here to review what happens when you start spinning the symbols, and to look at how much can be won, so let’s move on.
Before you claim any cash awards however, you’re going to have to place a bet, and while free Ming Dynasty video slots are available, there’s a low limit of just 0.50 needed to play for real cash. This can be raised to a maximum stake of 250.00 per spin, which should put this game within most players’ ideal bet ranges. Wins occur in the usual way, when matching symbols land across an active payline, in an unbroken sequence from the left side, so no surprises there either.
Playing Ming Dynasty
Something else that’s very common across casino slot machines is the use of high card symbols to create the lower value win-lines. Some players are happy to see familiar icons used, while others would prefer to have unique symbols related to the theme, but it’s up to personal preference and we won’t criticise any games developer for sticking with convention. It’s not all completely standard however, as the symbol of an archer will fill much of the reels as they spin and once they come to a stop, a hail of arrows will hit any positions that he’s on, transforming into other stacked symbols. This can make it easier to land winning combinations, but even if you don’t get a win-line, it’s a nice animation.
The paytable is laid out across several scrolling pages, and as you move from one to the next, there’s a neat animation of the page rolling up and then unrolling to reveal new information. Rewards from the card symbols range from the number 9 that’s worth 2x, 5x, or 20x the line bet when it stops on 3, 4, or 5 reels, to the A, which will pay 2x when it’s on just reels 1 and 2, or 6x, 25x and 50x if you land it on 3, 4, or 5 reels of a payline.
Picture symbols will also reward you when landing on just reels 1 and 2, starting with the 2x the line bet paid by a strange ring that has blue energy coming from it. This symbol returns up to 75x when it fills a payline, while a jade stamp, of the type used to seal scrolls, is worth up to 100x, the actual scroll is worth up to 150x, and beautiful princess will pay out a top award of 200x the line bet.
A Wild Emperor and Scatter Features
Between 5x and a huge high limit of 5,000x the line bet is up for grabs when you land the Emperor across the reels of an active payline, and he’s also the games’ wild symbol, able to act as others and complete extra winning combinations.
Some Chinese writing is a symbol that won’t actually pay you directly, but as it’s the scatter symbol, any time it appears in 3 or more places in a single spin, it triggers the main bonus feature of the Ming Dynasty video slot. This is a fairly basic free spins round, and while just 7 spins are initially awarded, it’s possible to retrigger the games if at least 3 scatters appear again, with the new ones added on to the end.
The Verdict on Ming Dynasty
There’s a huge number of Asian themed online slot games available, making this probably the most popular theme of them all, and setting the action in Medieval China is certainly nothing new. But by playing safe with the topic, Spade Gaming have almost certainly created a slot machine that’s destined for success, and by having fairly standard wild substitutions and free spins, they have ensured that the widest possible audience will appreciate the way that the game plays.
The one unique aspect of the game is the way that an archer fills up so much of the screen when the actual spins are in progress, often taking up all 15 places on the grid, and we liked the way that arrows a then fired at the poor guy, revealing super-stacked symbols.
It’s mobile-optimised as well, which is going to broaden the appeal even further, and like all Spade Gaming slots, it’s fully tested by independent companies for fair play, reliability, and a good return to player percentage.
