The Wombat says: Ever fancied being a knight in shining armour? You know, like the dashing Lancelot on his quest for Guinevere. No? OK then, let’s move swiftly on.
It’s time for a cartoon medieval-themed slot Wombat Fans, in the shape of NextGen’s Queen of the Castle! We like our regal ladies here at Wombat Towers (the Temple of Isis slot is worth a try if you like them too, but I digress).
As far as we can tell, it looks like this Queen is trapped on an island and if you manage to come to her aide you could be very generously rewarded. ‘Why not have a go?’ this Wombat thought. It certainly beats scratching around for witchetty grubs…
Look and Feel
The reels in the Queen of The Castle slot are set in the walls of the castle that’s perched on a very tiny little island. While the reel formation is a bit different than those we’re used to seeing with its 3x4x4x4x3 layout. This is no traditional game like the Unicorn Bliss slot machine– so get ready for some quirks.
The graphics are cartoon-like and very brightly coloured – they’re ok but won’t be winning awards anytime soon.
Queen of the Castle Slot Gameplay
If you want a standard pay-lines game like the Secret Garden slot, then look away now as this is not one of those. This NextGen slot has 5 reels and gives you 576 ways to win – which is a funny kind of number. But let us explain: all you need to do to win is to land 3x or more of the same symbol across adjacent reels from the left to right. Bets start at 0.40 coins per spin going up to 20.00 coins per spin- so at push we would this slot isn’t aimed at high rollers.
Your symbols on the reels include: the Queen of the Castle logo, a rather cute looking puppy, a bag of golden coins, a royal banner, an ornate throne, a yellow gemstone, a blue gemstone, a pink gemstone and a green gemstone. Plus the standard J, Q, K &A playing cards that make up your low-value symbols.
The Wild in this slot is her royal highness Queen herself (who looks a bit young to be ruling, but anyway), and she will do the usual wild job of substituting for all symbols on the reels to make up more winning combos for you.
Meanwhile, the Bonus Shield is the scatter symbol here and will land on reels 2, 3 and 4 only. 3x or more of them will set off the Free Spins – so keep your eyes peeled for it – and for the Red and Purple Mystery Chests too! These are responsible for setting off the 2 Mystery Chest bonuses.
Free Spins and Bonus Features
There are A LOT of extras in Queen Of The Castle slot, and they include:
Locked Reels
Randomly triggered after any spin in the base game, a load of vines wrap themselves around reels 2, 3 and 4, locking them in place and you’ll be given a re-spin.
Red Mystery Chest Reveal
This is triggered when the Red Mystery Chest symbol lands stacked on the first reel. The stack can be nudged into position, too. Next these icons will replace all the J, Q K & A symbols on the reels and at the end of the spin will turn into another random symbol to give you (hopefully) a screen full of winning combos.
Purple Mystery Chest Reveal
You’ll set this cool extra off when the Purple Mystery Chest icon lands stacked on reel 5. Now all the gems will be replaced by the Purple Chests and you’ll get another spin. When it’s over, they will randomly transform again into one of the higher paying symbols (throne, money bag, puppy or banner) so you have a better chance of a big win.
Free Spins
The free spins feature is set off when 3x Bonus Shield symbols land on the 3 middle reels. You’ll get 14 free spins to start with, and collect crowns to get the chance to level up where you’ll accrue even more spins:
Level 2 (Tower Meter 3), the number of symbols positions on the 3 middle reels shoots giving you 2 extra free spins and the game pays 1,125 Ways.
Level 3 (Tower Meter Size 4) 2 extra free spins are yours with another row of 3,087 ways added on.
Level 4 (Tower Meter Size 5) you’ll have 3087 ways to win plus an extra 3, 4, 5 or 6 free spins will be given.
The Tower Meter resets after you complete each level. Once you get to level 4, the Tower Meter resets to 6 which means an unlimited amount of free spins are yours. EEEKK!
Conclusion
Queen of the Castle slot is jampacked with bonuses, and they can be pretty generous, but (as always) it’s Free Spins that, if you´re lucky, could pay out some wins. Not a bad little slot overall, but we do think the cartoon theme is a bit weird…