Egypt has always been a place shrouded in secrecy and intrigue. Pharaohs were revered as much as kings or even gods in ancient Egypt. We have no idea how the Egyptians managed to construct the Great Pyramids of Giza to such precise specifications, with some even suggesting that they were aligned with specific stars in the sky. No one can say for sure when or why the Great Sphinx was constructed, yet it remains a mystery to this day.
These factors combine to create Ancient Egypt a realm that only a select few will ever be able to truly comprehend, and it is likely for this reason that hundreds of slot games use the era as a backdrop. Here are a couple of our favorite Egyptian-themed slot machines to play the next time you’re in the mood for some ancient mysteries.
Doomsday Book
Play’n GO released one of the most well-known and played slot machines ever in 2016 with Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead (more commonly referred to as Book of Dead). Its success encouraged a slew of imitations, but many players are still loyal to the original.
The 10 wagering options in this game introduce players to the ‘daring explorer and acclaimed Egyptologist’ Rich Wilde. The game’s layout consists of five reels and three rows. Symbols include the 10, J, Q, K, and A from standard playing cards as well as images of Horus, Anubis, Tutankhamun, and Rich Wilde in elaborate designs.
The central feature of this slot machine is the Book of Dead itself, which acts as a wild and a scatter with multiplier and payout potential. You’ll trigger 10 free spins with an expanding symbol that increases your chances of winning if you get three or more books anywhere on the reels. While we’re on the subject of prizes, the maximum payout on this traditional slot machine is 5,000 times your initial wager, which could easily cover the cost of your plane ticket to Egypt to see the pyramids in person.
The Gods of Valley 2
The sequel to Valley of the Gods was launched by Yggdrasil Gaming in 2020. This slot machine was released in 2017 and is a follow-up to the original Valley of the Gods. Valley of the Gods 2 is even more rewarding than the original game, which was a huge smash upon its release and remains a favorite at casinos across the world.
This slot machine has a novel 6 reel structure that can grow to accommodate more players. At the start of the game, you’ll have 240 options to win, spread across rows of 1-2-3-4-5-2; by eliminating scarab blockers, you’ll be able to raise the number of rows to 3-4-5-6-7-8. With all 6 reels activated, you have 20,160 possible winning combinations.
Lower-value symbols are represented by an expanded set of playing card ranks (9–A), while higher-value symbols are represented by four ancient Egyptian gods. If you win, the scarab blocks will be eliminated, allowing you to play with more rows. For each winning combination of symbols, one scarab will be picked at random and killed.
If you are able to eliminate all of the obstacles, you will trigger the Scarab Collections bonus round, which can award you with multipliers, free games, and wild reels to increase your chances of winning.
Egyptian New Day
Play’n GO’s Dawn of Egypt is a slot machine set in the year 2020 that looks stunning and manages to make Ancient Egypt look futuristic. The game has no overt story or plot, but its visuals may make you wonder if the pyramids were actually built by humans or if they were erected by a culture far more advanced than our own.
The playing card values J, Q, K, and A represent the lower values, while the lotus flower, ankh, scorpion, snake, Bastet, and Horus represent the middle values. The scarab machine acts as the wild symbol, while the pyramid from the future is the scatter that can pay out up to 1,000 times your wager.
Free Spins are triggered by three or more scatters. During the bonus round, the pyramid scatter will act as a wild, and you can win up to 20 free spins by spinning a wheel. In addition, on each spin, one of the medium-value symbols will be replaced by a higher-value symbol at random. If you get two or more pyramid symbols, you’ll activate a bonus round called Pyramid Spins, during which your symbols will remain upgraded as before.
Pyramid: Seeking Eternal Life
Although this slot from NetEnt is the oldest in our curated selection, it hasn’t lost any of its appeal since its first debut in 2015. It uses a 3-4-5-4-3 pattern and provides 720 possible winning combinations on each spin. Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace playing card symbols, plus five Egyptian hieroglyphics, make up the symbols. The ankh is the wild card, and the symbols are portrayed on sand-colored rock slabs that thump into place.
Avalanche slots work by removing winning slabs and replacing them with new ones that fall into place, allowing you to win multiple times in a row. The multiplier can reach a maximum of 10x if you get three consecutive winning avalanches in a row.
If you look closely, you’ll notice a strange energy field in the top cell of the middle three reels. Any symbol that lands in one of those cells and is part of a winning combination will turn into a wild symbol for the next cascade. If one of those wilds helps you win, it will remain wild for the next avalanche and the one after that, and so on. Because of this, you can experience some thrilling prolonged avalanche periods in which the multiplier value can start skyrocketing.