Wild Knights Slots
This looks like a plain and simple slot when you first see it, though in this case looks can be deceptive. Wild Knights is packed with features, some with big win potential and others smaller. While the plain black backing and large number of playing card symbols might make you think this is just another ordinary slot – a quick spin is all that is needed to find out that there are some very good reasons for playing it. Options include a high-roller spin button, a free spins game, knight bonus wheel, jousting reels, stacked wilds and even moving wilds during the free spins feature.
The background (frame) of this slot is made to look like chain-mail armour. On the reels, many of the symbols come with knights’ helmets – with different coloured shields. The brighter shields without a helmet have a role to play in determining which bonus you get. There is a wild symbol and a king. Animations are basic, with the helmets or King turning slightly when involved in a win. Sounds are a mix of the standard computer thuds and bleeps used on many Barcrest games – along with a medieval sounding tune when you win or enter the free spins bonus.
You’ll find a lot of bonus games for this slot, with the free spins being ‘unlimited’ (at least until a dragon comes along to stop them).
Setup and Play for Wild Knights
This is a fixed 10 win line game with 5 reels and the standard 3 rows of symbols. You can take the stake per line right down to 1c, for a 10c minimum spin – or at the other extreme go for $40, for a $400 spin. Auto-play is available for up to 25 spins. There is a high-roller button which lets you choose 5 spins at a time for $20 or more. This changes the game by holding any of the shield symbols which trigger the bonus games. These are held above the reels, and do not become sticky within the reels themselves. The RTP (return to player) percentage is higher for the high roller option than for standard play overall – though the individual pay-outs are smaller to balance the more frequent free spins.
The King is the top prize symbol; this one pays 1000 coins for 5 on a line, with 100 coins for 4. The red, purple and green knights come next, worth 500, 300 and 200 respectively. After that the playing card symbols do their usual role of making up the smaller wins. The wild symbol (which says Wild on it) does not have wins of its own – it simply substitutes for the regular symbols.
Shields, which appear on the middle 3 reels are an important symbol. These trigger the free spins games, and depending on the configurations of red and blue, they can give you extra lives to spin with.
Wild Knights Bonus Features
A lot to get through here - I have started with the on-reel features and then covered the free spins game.
A novel idea is the ‘jousting reels’, which involves entire reels swapping places. When you get a losing spin this will kick in at random – moving reels into a combination that gives you at least one win. There are also expanding wilds, which grow to cover all 3 rows on one or more reels at random.
The ‘Knight Times’ bonus brings up a wheel at random when you spin for more than $2. This contains multipliers for your current win, and some segments have shields to start the free spins feature instead.
Free spins are ‘unlimited’. This means you keep spinning until you see a dragon in the last reel, which roars – bringing your game to an end. You trigger this with shields across the middle 3 reels, and combinations of one colour mean that you get extra ‘lives’ for the spins (you can see the dragon once or even twice before it kills you!). There is an extra on-reel feature during the free spins. When you get wilds, these move down the reels one spot each time. Since they usually come stacked this can make a big difference to your winning chances.
When the dragon appears, you’ll get a message giving you the total won, and then return to the main reels.
Wild Knights Slot – Conclusion
This slot is packed with different features – though you’d never know it from the first look. Plain and blocky design makes it look like a retro slot, maybe one with a free spins round. When you see the on-reel and break out bonuses you’ll quickly realize that there is more to it than that. I liked the novel free spins round, with the moving /sticky wilds being a great touch. The jousting reels can also rescue the odd bad spin too. I recommend that you take this slot for a spin, that solid Barcrest game play and many features makes for a great combination.
