Book of Merlin slot reviewed by MegaMoolah.com

One of the most famous characters of Arthurian legend, Merlin was the wizard who famously guided and advised King Arthur at his most crucial times during his reign at Camelot. A mysterious character who was well versed in the darker arts, although not unfriendly, he was a distinctly odd fellow and always had you feeling a little uneasy.

However, 1x2 Gaming have taken a different tack with the Merlin story for their newly released Book of Merlin slot. This Merlin is a scholar, with a rather large library of books and his music is rather more whimsical than mysterious. It's an odd combination to be honest, but I will forgive them if it works well for the game.

So how does this slot which offers a maximum pay line win of 5,000 coins pan out? Does it cast a spell on the player, or leave them feeling disenchanted? We headed off to the round table to take a look.

Overview

• Game: Book of Merlin
• Developer: 1x2 Gaming for Microgaming
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 10 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.10
• Maximum Bet: 50.00
• Jackpot: 5,000x
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: No
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Presentation

The presentation of the Book of Merlin slot is somewhat unusual. When I think of Merlin, I think of the old wizard, being mysterious and appearing at various natural locations around Camelot. Alternatively, you'd have him in some kind of cavernous lab where he can concoct his magic potions and the like. However this game is set in what appears to be a library, which to me is a bit out of keeping with the Merlin mythology.

Anyway, super-imposed over the backdrop are the 5x3 reels with 10 non-selectable pay lines in play in each game. The controls are at the foot of the screen and it is all very familiar to you if you have played this particular type of slot before.

The musical accompaniment is also somewhat in the Harry Potter style, rather than a classic old Arthurian-legend style. Again, I am not sure that is a conscious decision, but the tune itself is pleasant enough to put you in a positive frame of mind when you play through the spins.

What is on the reels?

There are 10 symbols in total on the reel, though a couple of these symbols are the main bonus features in the game and we will explore what they do below. The lower value symbols are the five playing card symbols, which go from the 10 through to the ace and which offer wins ranging from 5 coins up to 150 coins.

The higher value symbols on the reel sare the red potion, the brooch, the staff and Merlin himself. These offer wins ranging from 5 coins (for just two symbols on a pay line with these higher value symbols) up to 5,000 coins if you can land five of the Merlin symbols across a single pay line.

There is just one other symbol on the reel, which is the eponymous Book of Merlin symbol and this serves two purposes in the game as both a Wild and also the trigger for the Free Spins bonus round.

Wild features

When used as a standard Wild symbol, the Book of Merlin symbol can substitute for any of the standard symbols in the game listed above. It does not offer any multiplier attached to those wins and you can of course land more than one Wild to help increase the value of a win.

When you land three or more of the Book of Merlin symbols then you can trigger standard wins, but you will also receive an added bonus in the form of Free Spins.

Free Spins features

When you land three, four or five of the Book of Merlin symbols on the reels, then you will receive a cash prize of 20, 200 or 2,000 coins, depending on whether you landed three, four or five of the symbols on the reels.

In addition, you will receive a bonus of 10 Free Spins and during this bonus round you will also have one specially selected Special Expanding Symbol on the reel for each spin. This symbol is chosen at random from any of the nine standard symbols in the game.

If during a Free Spin you land this symbol, it will Expand to cover the reel, which means that you could win across multiple pay lines with the same symbol. Indeed, it is theoretically possible to cover all five reels with the same symbol, which can lead to some very sizeable wins indeed.

You can also trigger additional Free Spins in the bonus round by landing three or more of the Book of Merlin symbols on the reels during the round. You will then receive 10 further Free Spins as part of the bonus.

Best feature of the Book of Merlin slot

The Book of Merlin slot is a relatively simple game to play and it is easy to follow. However, it is a bit light on features. The only real feature in the game is the Free Spins bonus round and while this is generally good, and offers some sizeable rewards at times, it can take a bit of time to trigger in the base game. However, generally, your patience is rewarded when you hit Free Spins and the fact that it can be re-triggered and you do have that Expanding Symbol on the reels, means that you generally get a far better level of pay out from this part of the game than you do the base game.

Conclusion

There are a number of this type of slot available today and I can't say that the Book of Merlin slot adds anything wildly different to what you can already find in those games. I think the actual setting of the slot is a bit odd when you think of the name of it, it is too modern and the music is to Disney-esque. I'd have preferred a more medieval setting for the game to fit in more with the title. The Free Spins bonus round does go some way towards balancing the game out more positively but I always have the feeling that 1x2 Gaming could have done a little more with this slot than they did.

You can play the Book of Merlin slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.