300 Shields Slot Review
We are exploring the historic battlefield of Thermopylae in our 300 Shields slot review. In the 300 Shields slot, players get to take part in a reenactment of the well-known Battle of Thermopylae alongside the warriors of ancient Sparta; and if you have seen the movie 300, you will know exactly what to visualise. This highly volatile 5-reel, 25-payline game, developed by NextGen Gaming, has a dynamic free spins feature. After it is activated, all wild warrior wins during your five free spins will be doubled. Gather shields to receive five more free spins with a five-fold multiplier and a retrigger, but more on all this later. Check out our comprehensive 300 Shields review to learn more about this ancient Greek tale, which offers potential wins of 17,773 x stake each spin.
300 Shields
300 Shields RTP and Wagering
The 300 Shields slot has an easy-to-understand configuration that will be instantly familiar to regular slot players. There are 25 paylines, 3 rows, and 5 reels where the action happens. Land three or more matching symbols, or wilds, across a payline beginning on reel 1 to produce a winning combination. All payouts will be made in accordance with the paytable.
As all 25 paylines of this slot game are fixed, the minimum allowed stake is 25p per spin, which translates to 1p per line and the maximum stake is £12.50 per spin; or 50p per spin. To change your stake, click the coins in the settings tab and slide the bar. You may also enable autoplay in Settings with up to 100 auto spins allowed to be played for those in eligible regions.
With a theoretical RTP of 95.3%, the 300 Shields slot game is statistically below average. Combine this with high volatility and variance, players may be in for a bit of an uphill battle (if you will pardon the pun) However, reinforcements do come in the form of a pretty high top payout reaching up to 17,773 times your total stake thanks to potential multipliers of up to 300x.
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300 Shields Symbols and Audio & Video Design
The 300 Shields slot machine draws inspiration from the historical Battle of Thermopylae, which pitted 300 Spartan warriors against a far more formidable Persian army. If you are a fan of the silver screen you might be familiar with this tale thanks to the epic blockbuster movie 300, featuring Gerard Butler and the iconic ‘This is Sparta!’ line. As you may guess, therefore, this slot sides with the fearless Spartans, and thus features imagery that has a Spartan theme rendered in an effective comic book manner, which has helped the slot age far better than other titles, as it was released all the way back in 2015.
Spinning the reels is accompanied by a rousing drum-heavy military soundtrack as well as sound effects whenever a shield scatter symbol is landed on the reels. Swords and arrows, ships and fighters, and fields full of crops with a marble temple building in the background are the backdrops against which the reels featuring A to 9 royals are set. It is a little disappointing to see these low-paying symbols because they are quite contradictory to the overall theme, however, they have been given a bit of an ancient Greek makeover to help them blend in a bit. At the upper echelons of the paytable, the most lucrative symbol is the warrior and the ship symbols, which pay you 10 times your stake when you get 5 in a row. The best thing about these symbols is that they can pay for just 2 of their likeness on the reels.
The wild symbol is famed leader Leonidas himself. If you land 2, 3, 4, or 5 across a payline, you will be paid 0.2, 1, 10, or 40 times your entire wager. This substitutes all conventional symbols in a winning combination. Due to the potentially enormous multiplier boosts that are available during the free spins, those numbers can grow significantly; but more on this a bit later in our review.
A full list of the paytable for this slot machine is as follows:
Nine
Awards 4-100x wager
Ten
Awards 4-100x wager
Jack
Awards 5-125 wager
Queen
Awards 5-125 wager
King
Awards 10 to 150 wager
Ace
Awards 10 to 150 wager
Arrows
Awards between 12-200x wager
Swords
wards between 12-200x wager
Ship
Pays for just 2 on a payline. Awards between 2-250x wager
Warrior
Pays for just 2 on a payline. Awards between 2-250x wager
Leonidas
The wild symbol which is able to substitute for all other non-special symbols and can pay up to 40x your stake for 5 on a payline
Shield
Scatter symbols used to trigger bonus features
300 Shields Mobile Features
Despite being an older slot game, 300 Shields is available in fully optimised versions for PC, tablet, and smartphone use. The straightforward gameplay and cartoon style are ideal for the small screen and as mentioned have helped this slot to visually age well and transition more satisfyingly into the world of mobile gaming. Therefore, there is no difference in performance or experience when playing 300 Shields on mobile devices vs traditional laptops and PCs.
300 Shields Bonus Features
There is only one bonus feature on offer (outside of the generic special wild and scatter symbols), but this feature, called the Battle Free Games Feature fuses free spins with other bonus elements such as multipliers. We explore this in more detail below:
Battle Free Games Feature
There is nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to triggering the Battle Free Games feature as landing 3, 4, or 5 shield scatter symbols anywhere on the reels in a single spin will activate it. You will receive a payout equal to 5, 12, or 100 times your whole stake as well as the commencement of the bonus round which is a nice additional touch.
Players will be given 5 free bonus spins, which does not seem like much at first, but there is more than meets the eye to this feature. Each winning combination during this bonus round which includes a wild warrior symbol will have its payout value doubled. Alongside this, every scatter that appears on the reels during the free spins will be collected and will fill a reel found to the right of the reels. Landing just two scatters within these initial 5 free spins will retrigger the bonus round anew for five more free spins, with the additional perk of the bonus multiplier being increased from 2x to 5x.
Another retrigger occurs if you are able to gather six shields in the second round of free spins. This time, for the third retrigger, a 25x wild multiplier is active.
Get 12 shields to unlock the fourth series of five bonus spins. These have a huge wild multiplier that increases payouts by an astounding 300 times. Get three shields during a single free spin to receive five additional free spins at the current multiplier value. There is no limit to the number of times the bonus round can be retriggered from here on although the multiplier will not exceed 300x. The table below enumerates this process more clearly:
| Shields Needed to Fill the Metre | Multiplier Value Awarded | Extra Free Spins Awarded |
| 2 shields | 5x multiplier | +5 free spins |
| 6 shields | 25x multiplier | +5 free spins |
| 12 shields | 300 x multiplier | +5 free spins |
| Every 3+ shields | Same as the current multiplier | +5 free spins |
300 Shields Final Thoughts
When it comes to historical-themed slots, many developers opt for transporting their players to Ancient Egypt, or, if choosing an Ancient Greek theme, will focus on the antic of the gods, over that of mortal men. Therefore, NextGen choosing to focus its theme on an actual historical event is a refreshing change and is sure to go down well with the history buffs out there. As mentioned, this slot is now over 8 years old, and many slots released during this time feel drastically outdated and therefore unappealing to new players. However, because it is rendered in a slightly cartoonish style, the 300 Shields slot has been able to pass the test of time as the visual style feels more charming and intentional than a sign of the times.
Outside of the theme, where the 300 Shields slot certainly stands out from the crowd is its Battle Free Games feature. While fans of bonus features may be a bit disappointed to only see a single feature on the books, this feature is actually far more than it seems and with an impressive 300x maximum multiplier up for grabs and countless retriggers, this feature feels both unique and rewarding.
The main area where the 300 Shields slot falls short (when compared to modern releases at least) is some of the mathematical statistics. The theoretical RTP of 95.3% is a good deal below the current market average of 96% and when combined with the high volatility and variance rating it feels as though the 300 Shields slot is set to give players not just a battle in terms of theme but gameplay too.
Overall though, if you don’t mind the volatility potential for this game, the 300 Shields slot has strong potential to both entertain and dazzle players with its exciting bonus round and hefty payout potential.
Rating: 8.5
If you like 300 Shields, then check out these other Ancient Greek Theme slot games
300 Shields FAQ
Here are some of the most common questions we get asked about the 300 Shields slot machine from NextGen.
