Excalibur’s Choice Slot Machine
Excalibur, the legendary sword of the mighty King Arthur, has been featured in countless tales going back to the glorious medieval era of Britain. There were more than enough reasons to produce just as many movies – and of course, at some point, it landed on some royal slot reels too.
Back in 2012, Barcrest, being one of the leading suppliers of slot cabinets in brick-and-mortar casinos, released the original version to casino floors around the world. Given its popularity, it has now transitioned to an online video slot for all existing – and no doubt, many soon-to-be – fans.
Simple but Not so Simple
Nobody should be fooled by the simplistic look of Excalibur’s Choice™. While it comes across as a good old 10-liner in a 5x3 format with a free spins round as the only bonus feature, it clearly places at the top of the volatility scale with a potential win in a single spin clocking in at well over 5,000x your bet.
Just as simple and clutter-free is the design of the game window displaying only the essential controls for bet size, autoplay and the obligatory win box. Nevertheless, the graphics are crisp and sharp. Pay symbols at the low end feature the 10s to As playing card set. A royal ring, the royal crown, and King Arthur in full armor on his horse are the medium-value symbols, while at the top are the royal castle and King Arthur himself. The Excalibur sword doubles as the wild and scatter symbol.
Return to player (RTP) is set at a flat 94% while stake sizes start at a low-roller friendly 0.10 credits, peaking between 100 and 500 depending on what casino operators choose. A single five of a kind will award between 10 and 500 times the initial bet, while three to five scatters will pay 2x, 20x or 200x your stake.
One Simple Feature
The simplicity continues in the only bonus feature on Excalibur’s Choice™. Three or more scatters anywhere on the reels will award ten free spins plus coin wins of up to 200x your bet. Keeping it simple, there are no win multipliers but the feature can be retriggered indefinitely.
The bonus round has one kicker that makes a whole world of a difference. Before it starts, one of the pay symbols is randomly selected and will transform into an expanding symbol during the free spins. Not a kicker yet, right? Rest assured it soon will be.
Hitting sufficient chosen symbols anywhere on the reels in a free spin will see them expand to award the corresponding win for all ten paylines. This applies even when they do not land on adjacent lines or on a payline, and that goes on top of any line wins that land on the spin. A minimum of two of the high-value or three of the low-paying symbols are needed to score a win. The wild symbol will substitute but will not expand during the free spins. However, hitting at least three on a free spin will trigger an additional ten free spins on every occasion.
Simply Big Wins
The top win in the base game consists of five King Arthur symbols or the same symbols in combination with wild symbols on an active payline, awarding a huge 500x your stake. Scoring five without a wild symbol during free spins will fill the screen with expanding King Arthurs to award ten times the win, equaling 5,000x your stake. That could go even higher if they line up on a payline, seeing the maximum win in a single spin in the bonus round peak at just over 5,500x bet.
More Simplicity
The simple but highly suspenseful pay mechanic has been used in slots since 2004, when Novomatic released the first edition of their most popular slot Book Of Ra™. A few years later, that was followed up with Lord of the Ocean. Many more followed as other game providers caught on the concept. The most popular among these was Book of Dead from Play’n GO, while newer titles include Book of Ming from BF Games, Book of Aztecs from Amatic, and Ramses Book from Gamomat.
Advanced versions of the pay mechanic saw games such as Magic Mirror from Merkur Gaming entering the casino floors. And recently, shooting star Big Time Gaming took it to a whole new level with the release of Book of Gods, a 243-ways-to-win slot with multiple expanding symbols after free spins retriggers.
A Simple Conclusion
It is indeed an easy verdict to make on Excalibur’s Choice™. This game is not for the faint-hearted, but man can it produce some superb wins! Hitting home over 5,000 credits on a 1-coin bet is something any avid slot player will take home any time of the year. At the end of the day, the simplest of things give us the most joy, and that is no different with Excalibur’s Choice. We should never forget, though, that it is a highly volatile game – so make your choice wisely.
