Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx online slot released with Win Booster

The last time we bumped into Mircogaming's erstwhile adventurer Jungle Jim was back in September 2016, when he was adventuring around the fabled city of gold, El Dorado. Well he is now back in a brand new adventure from Stormcraft Studios, Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx.

This beautifully presented slot is awash with features that players can unlock or select to play through. This includes a Win Booster option, which can increase your chances of a win, but at a cost of 4x your usual bet size. Furthermore, there are a number of other options you can unlock in the game, all of which could lead you to that big value win.

Egypt has proved to be a popular source for slot game inspiration over the years, so how does this latest offering from Microgaming shape up? We decided to load up the game and try it out to learn a little more.

Overview

• Game: Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx
• Developer: Stormcraft Studios (for Microgaming)
• Reels: 5x4
• Pay Lines: 35, then 50 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.10
• Maximum Bet: 20.00
• Jackpot: 125,000
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Presentation

I have to say that I have been very impressed with the quality of the presentation on previous Stormcraft Studios games for Microgaming, such as Agent Jane Blonde Returns, and this latest outing for Jungle Jim doesn't disappoint. Set against the backdrop of a beautiful starry sky in the Egyptian desert, the reels are enclosed in a tomb, which is decorated with hieroglyphics. It is a simple set up but one that is particularly effective.

The soundtrack to the slot is excellent too with some suitably Egyptian/North African styled music along with some rather ethereal, mysterious sound effects when you spin the reels and land a win. The overall effect of this is excellent and makes this a very memorable slot to play. The reel is a 5x4 set up, and has Rolling Reels in effect on each spin, both in the base game and during the Free Spins bonus round.

Overall, this is a very fine looking and sounding slot and with the different features available, it is one that sticks long in the memory.

What is on the reels?

There are a total of eight standard symbols on the reels in the game. There are four lower value symbols, which are the precious rocks and stones and these offer a range of wins, which vary from a very small amount (1/10^th of your total bet) up to just a little more than your total bet for landing five across the reels.

The higher value symbols are the Egyptian vase, a box (which I think is modelled on the Ark of the Covenant), a mysterious looking book or tome, plus the smiling, dashing face of Jungle Jim himself as the highest value of the standard symbols. You can win from 1/5 of your total bet up to 10x your total bet using these symbols across the lines alone as standard.

However, there are a number of other symbols on the reels, including Wilds and Scatters, that offer the player a chance at some bonuses, as well as the Rolling Reels set up itself offering a chance to radically increase the size of any win in the game as we will explore in the sections below.

Rolling Reels operates throughout the slot and in the base game, it has a Multiplier Trail which increases from 2x up to 10x on five separate steps. The more Rolling Reels wins you trigger from a single win, then the greater the size of the multiplier applied to successive wins up to the maximum 10x the base amount. If you trigger three Rolling Reels wins in a row, then you also trigger a further 15 additional pay lines, increasing the number of winning ways available from 35 to 50.

If you do not land a win on the third re-spin then you get a Second Chance ReSpin, which will re-spin the reels without resetting the trail to see if you can land a win on that second attempt.

A different Multiplier Trail (featuring six amounts, each of greater value) is in play during the Free Spins bonus round.

Wild features

The Jungle Jim logo is the Wild symbol on the game and it appears on all the reels apart from the first reel. There are no prizes for landing this symbol across the reels obviously, but you can use it as a substitute symbol only to help you land wins using the standard symbols.

The Wild does land frequently in the game, but it doesn't see you hit a payout quite as often as when a Wild lands in other slot games, so its effects can be less. However, if you can land several across the reels, especially when the Rolling Reels and Multiplier Trails have kicked in, they can prove to be very useful and lead to some very big value wins.

Free Spins features

The strange amulet object is the Scatter symbol and if you land three or more of these across the reels in the base game, then you trigger a cash prize (of between 5x and 20x your total bet) and also the Free Spins bonus game.

One thing to note here is that you can elect to play the slot with the Win Booster option in play. If you trigger this, then a Scatter symbol will be added to the reels on every spin, which increases your chances of unlocking the bonus, but of course, when you activate this option, the cost of your bet increases markedly to 4x the standard bet (so, if you are betting 0.10 per spin, with Win Booster activated, this becomes 0.40 per spin).

However, with Win Booster activated, you not only get the addition of a Scatter but you also get far more likelihood of wins due to symbols being stacked on the reels. It is an expensive feature on the slot, but it is one that can result in quicker and greater value wins if you are lucky enough.

When you trigger Free Spins, you receive 12 Free Spins and you will see Jungle Jim appear on the screen. The tomb falls away and you are taken inside the tomb to the Sphinx, all through a very neatly done animation. A new set of reels appear, this time 5x5 in size. In addition, on the third reel is a Sphinx symbol and when you land this symbol, it increases the value of the base multiplier in the bonus round from 2x up to potentially 20x.

Best feature of the Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx slot

With so many great features to pick from, it is hard to single out just one which makes the Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx slot so memorable, but if I had to pick then I would say the Free Spins bonus. The animations to introduce the bonus are superb and the actual game itself, played with more pay lines and on a larger reel-set does produce some great value wins. It is far more valuable to trigger it without the Win Booster's help, but it is much easier with the Win Booster option on.

Conclusion

Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx is a beautiful looking slot that is packed to the brim with features and which has a truly satisfying narrative. You won't find many better looking or sounding slots around today and the gameplay is also excellent. The Win Booster option needs to be used carefully as it radically increases the size of your bet, but does offer a much greater chance of base game wins and of triggering the Free Spins bonus round. Regardless of whether you play with or without that in play, this is still a fabulous slot to enjoy.

You can play Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx at any of the Mega Moolah casinos.