Join us as we turn back the sands of time in our Riches of Ra slot machine. Created by Play’n Go, you will not require riches to play this title as the reels will spin for as little as 15p per spin. The Pick A Prize Bonus lets you choose from three urns to win up to 150 times your stake and there is a Free Spins feature that includes two sticky wild reels. So, will Ra’s blessing shine down upon us? Keep on reading our review to learn more.
The Riches of Ra slot has a typical 5x3 reel configuration. There are 15 unfixed paylines which means players can pick the number of lines they would like to activate. This means that wagers start at just 1p per line, up to £2.50. This means a minimum bet for all lines covered is 15p per spin, and the maximum is £18.75 per spin. The game operates using a coin system that was common in older slots, meaning that once players have activated the number of lines they want they need to set their coin value and the number of coins used per spin; a bit of a hassle, especially for mobile players.
The game boasts various practical settings. Non-UK players can make use of turbo spins and auto spins. The auto spin feature comes with a variety of limits players can configure such as stopping when a bonus round or a prize for a set value has occurred, as well as h a balance limit, at which the game will stop automatically.
The Riches of Ra slot has a 94.01% RTP, which is low when compared to today's video slots of 96% or more, but it is pretty on par for a slot game of its age. The Riches of Ra game has a medium-to-high volatility rating which should suit the expectations of the majority of players.
As mentioned, the payouts used in this game are presented in coins, and the top prize is 2,500 coins, most likely achieved by making use of stacked wild reels found during bonus features.
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This Ancient Egyptian-themed slot is set against the sweltering desert sands; afterall Ra is the Egyptian sun god. The presence of the pyramids and Sphinx add to the theme, as does the Riches of Ra paytable, in part, as outside of the low-paying playing card symbols (which have been designed with a nod to the overall theme) the higher-paying symbols are based around recognisable Egyptian iconographies such as the Ankh and Ra himself; the games’ wild symbol. Should a winning payline be spun, the icons come alive in a simple animation that adds a fun touch to winning outcomes.
The sound design of this game is pretty decent, especially considering the age. There is no blaring soundtrack upon loading the game, and a simple soundtrack (which can be turned off) accompanies gameplay; including a fun little riff whenever a winning combination is achieved. The reels themselves, when spun have been given a stone sound effect - think ‘tomb door’, which at least to me is very a satisfying sound.
As mentioned earlier, the payouts in this game are displayed in coins, with the full paytable being as follows:
Ankh
Awards 25, 75, or 250 coins for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline, respectively.
Scarab
Awards 25, 75, or 250 coins for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline, respectively.
Ra Crest
Awards 50, 150, or 500 coins for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline, respectively.
Pharaoh’s Mask
Awards 100, 500, or 2500 coins for 3, 4, or 5 matching symbols across an active payline, respectively.
As Play’n Go is a mobile-first developer, even their older releases such as Riches of Ra have been optimised for play on all devices including mobile ones. While the unfixed paylines and coin betting system make getting started more fiddly than other slots, mobile players will not find any difference in their gaming experience when playing the Riches of Ra slot on the go.
While they are nothing out of the ordinary, the Riches of Ra slot includes a decent assortment of bonus features including stacked wilds, free spins, and a pick-and-win feature. Let’s take a closer look.
Ra, the falcon-headed god can only appear on reels 1 and 5. It can stand in for all other non-special symbols to form a winning combination outside of the bonus symbol.
The free spins bonus round is not triggered by a scatter but by the wild. If the Ra wild appears stacked on both reels 1 and 5 the free spins feature will begin. Players will gain 15 free spins with two wild reels. Getting another wild reel will retrigger the free spins bonus feature.
Landing three of the Urn Bonus symbols in any reel position will trigger the Pick and Win feature. Here players pick one of the Urns featured on screen and reveal a prize inside. The top prize for this feature is worth 150x the players' total stake.
This is an optional feature which players can choose to use after any winning outcome. The feature is a simple guessing game. To double their winnings players will need to guess the colour of the face-down card correctly (red or black). If they want to quadruple their winnings they will need to correctly guess the suit of the face-down card (hearts, diamonds, spades, or clubs). If players guess incorrectly they will lose their initial winnings.
In the battle for the most used slot theme the Ancient Egyptian slot genre only has the ‘Luck o’ the Irish’ genre to content with for top spot. With such a crowded market, the games created within this genre have to stand out from the crowd or they get lost in the noise. As a slot that is now 12 years old, I feel as though the Riches of Ra slot has had its day, and is likely only to be enjoyed by players looking to nostalgically spin the reels of a slot they had fond memories of playing in the past.
This is not to say that on paper the Riches of Ra slot is a bad game. While its 94.01% RTP cannot compare to modern standards, and its coin payout system is outdated, the design elements; particularly the audio design, symbol payouts, and array of features are all of a high standard and entertaining. The kicker is simply that there are so many Ancient Egpytian-themed games that offer the same, but with better graphics, improved RTP, and more convenient wager configuration.
All things considered, the Riches of Ra slot gets a respectable 5.5/10 from me; a perfectly serviceable slot, but nothing special to make it relevant to the modern online slot player.
Rating: 5.5
Here are some of the most common questions we get asked about Riches of Ra.