Ark of Ra

Are you fascinated by the pyramids, the pharaohs, and the gods of ancient Egypt? Have you played every book-style slot out there and are looking for something with a slightly different twist? Well then, Ark of Ra must be right up your alley. Developed by Circular Arrow and released through Microgaming in the summer of 2022, this game takes the well-worn Egyptian theme and adds a coin collecting mechanic to it that turns whole reels wild, which is something you don’t see in the usual Book of this or Book of that. 

The game has a standard online slot setup with a grid comprising 5 reels, 3 rows, and 20 fixed pay lines. Being a medium-volatility slot, the wins may possibly come at a reasonable pace, and when the wild reels lock in, they hold the potential to be of a decent size. The special features include stacked high-paying symbols, a coin collect meter above every reel that rewards you with a full reel of wilds, and a free spins bonus where you get to pick between three different modes depending on how much risk you are comfortable with. The maximum win is capped at 1,000x your stake. 

What are you waiting for? Launch Ark of Ra at Monster Casino and find out if the gods are on your side. This article describes in detail the special features, symbols, and instructions of the game. Go through it to have a better understanding of the game: 

How To Play Ark of Ra 

Ark of Ra uses the modern Microgaming interface, which is clean and simple, making it navigable for players of all levels, from seasoned pros to budding amateurs. When you launch the game, you will see the grid placed in the centre of the screen with a stone temple behind it, and just above each of the five reels sits a small meter with two empty slots. These are the coin collect meters, and we will come to them in a moment. 

The buttons you need are placed along the bottom of the grid. On the left side, you will find the hamburger icon, and clicking on it opens the menu where you may go through the paytable, the rules of the game, the payline patterns, and the settings. Beside it is the sound icon, which you may use to mute or unmute the music and the sound effects in case you are playing somewhere quiet. There is also a small clock and a session timer, as is required in the UK, so you always know how long you have been playing. 

Next comes the bet window. Since the 20 pay lines are fixed, there is only one thing to set here, which is the total bet per spin. Click on the bet amount and a list of stake options will open up, and you may pick the one that suits your budget. The minimum bet starts from £0.20 per spin, while the maximum bet is capped at £5 per spin, as per the UK stake limits for online slots (£2 per spin in case you are aged between 18 and 24). Are you a high roller? Do you love playing at higher bet values? Well then, you may set the stake at the cap, but do remember that the balance goes down faster at the higher stakes, so keep an eye on it. 

Once the bet is set, all that is left is to hit the large spin button located on the right side of the grid. The reels will spin and stop on their own, and any winning combination will be highlighted, along with the amount you won. Do note that the UK version of Ark of Ra does not offer an autoplay option, as autoplay is not permitted on online slots in the UK anymore, hence you will have to hit the spin button yourself for each spin. Some players find this a bit of a nuisance, but honestly it also helps you keep track of how much you are spending. 

A thin band running along the bottom of the screen shows your balance, the total bet for the current spin, and the amount won on the last spin. And above the reels, as mentioned above, are the five coin collect meters, which fill up as gold coins land on the reels below them. To know more about what happens when a meter fills up, go through the ‘Special Features’ section of this article. 

Let’s quickly go through the details once more: 

1. Launch Ark of Ra at Monster Casino. 

2. Click on the hamburger icon to go through the paytable, the rules, and the payline patterns. 

3. Use the bet window to set the total stake per spin, anywhere between £0.20 and the UK cap of £5. 

4. Make sure you have a fixed budget in mind and stick to it. Real gambling comes with real risk, and hence, you must play responsibly. At Monster Casino, we take the matter of responsible gambling very seriously and have an entire section dedicated to it, offering players tools for their assistance. 

5. Hit the spin button. There is no autoplay in the UK version, so each spin is on you. 

6. Watch the coin collect meters above the reels. Two coins on the same reel turn the whole reel wild for two spins, increasing the chances of the players landing more winning combinations. 

7. Keep an eye out for the gold scatter symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5, they are the ones that open the free spins. 

8. Enjoy the game! 

Game Theme, Design, and Sounds 

Egyptian slots are ten a penny, and hence, a new one has to look the part to stand out. Ark of Ra does a fair job of it. The backdrop is the inside of a sandstone temple, with carved pillars on either side of the reels, hieroglyphs running up the walls, and a warm golden light coming from somewhere behind the grid, adding a sense of richness to the setting. There is no fancy animation in the background, the temple just sits there quietly, and the focus stays on the reels where it should be. 

The grid features a dark stone frame with gold edging, and the dark colour of the slot spaces allows the colourful symbols to stay highlighted when they land on them. The high-paying symbols are the god Ra with his falcon head, Anubis with his jackal head, a golden falcon statue, a golden jackal statue, the Eye of Ra, and the Ankh, all of them well-rendered with a bit of shine on the gold. The premium symbols also come in stacked sizes, so you may see Ra covering one, two, or all three positions on a reel at once. The low-paying ones are the usual playing card symbols A, K, Q, and J, drawn in a chunky gold font with a little Egyptian flourish. The unmistakable title of the game is displayed at the top of the grid in a bold gold font, with the five coin meters placed underneath it. 

The sound design is decent, better than average for a Microgaming release of this kind. You will hear a low, slow desert-style tune with some drums and a flute in the background, and the tempo picks up nicely when a wild reel locks in or when the free spins start. The coins make a satisfying clink when they land and the meter fills. It adheres to the theme and it doesn’t get on your nerves even after a long session, which is not something you can say for alot of slots. 

Gameplay 

The gist of the game is the same as most online slot games – one must land winning combinations of identical symbols to earn exciting prizes. As mentioned earlier, the game is played on a grid comprising 5 reels, 3 rows, and 20 fixed pay lines, and the winning combinations must start from the leftmost reel and run along a pay line from left to right. You need at least 3 matching symbols on a line for a win, and the more symbols in the combination, the larger the prize. 

The thing that seperates Ark of Ra from the usual Egyptian slot is the coin collect layer that runs alongside the base game. Gold coins land on the reels like any other symbol, and each one that lands is added to the meter above that particular reel. The meter has two slots, and once both are filled, the entire reel turns wild for the next two spins, increasing the chances of the players landing more winning combinations. There are five reels and five meters, so in theory more than one reel may be wild at the same time, and the bigger wins tend to come from exactly those spins. To know more about the wild reels and the free spins, go through the ‘Special Features’ section of this article. 

Before you start spinning, make sure you have a fixed budget in mind and stick to it. Real gambling comes with real risk, and hence, you must play responsibly. Hit the spin button, watch the meters fill up, and then sit back, relax, and let the wild reels do thier work. Are you ready to try? Register and create an account at Monster Casino to get your hands on impressive slot games, such as Ark of Ra. 

Special Features 

The special features involved in the game add fun twists to the simple gameplay, offering you chances to land larger wins. Brief descriptions of these special features are given below: 

Stacked Symbols and the Wild Scroll 

The high-paying symbols in Ark of Ra can land stacked, meaning a single symbol may cover one, two, or three positions on a reel. This is what makes it possible to fill the whole grid with, say, Ra, and land a five of a kind on all 20 pay lines at once. The golden wild scroll is the regular wild symbol of the game. It substitutes for all the paying symbols, except the scatter and the coin, increasing the chances of the players landing more winning combinations. Moreover, the wild is also the highest-paying symbol in the game, offering 50x the stake for 5 on a pay line, which is more than three times what Ra himself pays. 

Coin Collect Meter and Wild Reels 

This is the feature that gives the game its character. Gold coin symbols may land on any reel during the base game. Every time one lands, it is collected into the meter above that reel. Collect two coins on the same reel and the meter is full, and the whole reel becomes wild for the following two spins. During those two spins, the wild reel counts as a wild in all three positions, so any combination passing through it is completed automatically, increasing the chances of the players landing more winning combinations. Once the two spins are over, the reel goes back to normal and the meter starts again from empty. 

Now here is the interesting part. The five meters are independent of each other, so there is nothing stopping you from having two, three, or even more wild reels running at the same time in case the coins land in the right places. A spin with reels 2, 3, and 4 wild is definately something to see. As mentioned earlier, the coins are collected in the base game only, they do not fill the meters during the free spins. 

Free Spins with a Choice of Three Modes 

The gold scatter symbol appears on reels 1, 3, and 5 only. Land one on each of these three reels on the same spin and you will trigger the free spins bonus, along with a scatter prize of 2x your total bet. Now, unlike most slots where the number of free spins is fixed, Ark of Ra asks you to choose. You are presented with three options, and each one gives you a different number of spins and a different number of guaranteed wild reels: 

2 free spins with 3 wild reels (high volatility) 

8 free spins with 2 wild reels (medium volatility) 

25 free spins with 1 wild reel (low volatility) 

The wild reels in the bonus are guaranteed on every single spin, but thier position may change from spin to spin, so you never quite know which reels will be covered. Are you the type who likes to swing for the fences? Then the 2 spins with 3 wild reels is the pick for you, since three wild reels on a 5 reel grid means every line is very close to completing. Do you prefer a longer session with more chances? Well then, the 25 spins with a single wild reel may suit you better. The 8 spin option sits in the middle. There is no right answer here, and honestly, it is nice that the game lets you decide. 

The free spins can also be retriggered by landing the three scatters again during the bonus, which awards another set of spins in the same mode you picked. It is essential to note that the coin collect meters do not fill during the free spins, the wild reels in the bonus come from your chosen mode only. 

Symbols 

The symbols can be categorized into two based on their worth: high-paying and low-paying. The high-paying ones include symbols, such as Ra, Anubis, the golden falcon statue, the golden jackal statue, the Eye of Ra, and the Ankh. These symbols are unique and adhere to the game’s theme. The low-paying ones are the classic poker symbols, such as A, K, Q, and J. There is no 10 or 9 in this game, which keeps the reels a little less cluttered. 

Leaving the wild aside, Ra is the highest-paying regular symbol of the game. The winning amount depends on the number of symbols that form the winning combination. The higher the number, the larger the prize. For example, a winning combination comprising 5 Ra symbols will offer an award of 15x the stake size. While a winning combination comprising 4 Ra symbols will offer a lesser award of 5x the stake size only, and 3 of them will offer 1x the stake. The Q and the J are the lowest-paying symbols, offering 1.5x the stake for a combination of 5. 

Look out for the special symbols, such as the wild, the scatter, and the gold coin, they have the power to trigger further bonuses. 

Pay Table 

As mentioned above, Ark of Ra is played on a grid of 5 reels and 3 rows with 20 fixed pay lines. The symbols are split into high-paying Egyptian symbols and low-paying card symbols. The prizes given below are expressed as multiples of your total stake for the spin, so at a £1 stake, a 5 of a kind of Ra would pay £15. Remember that these are line prizes, and with stacked symbols and wild reels it is quite possible to land the same combination on many lines at once, which is how the game reaches its 1,000x maximum. 

The gold scatter pays seperately from the pay lines: 2x your total bet for landing all three on reels 1, 3, and 5, in addition to triggering the free spins. 

RTP and Volatility 

Ark of Ra offers an RTP of 96.14%, which is slightly higher than the industry standard of 96%. This means that for every £100 wagered, the game offers a theoretical return of about £96.14. If you don’t know what RTP is, it is the amount of wager a player may receive as a return from the game over a long period of time. It is essential to note that this is a theoretical value obtained after assessing millions of spins, hence, the return is not guaranteed. Do also note that Microgaming releases this game with more than one RTP setting, so the figure applicable on our platform is the one shown in the paytable inside the game, and it is worth checking it before you play. 

The volatility of the game is medium. This means that the frequency of wins and the payout size may be higher than games with high volatility rates but lower than games with a low variance. You may not hit huge jackpots, but the wins will be of a decent size, and the wild reels help the game tick over nicely. That said, the free spins mode you pick changes the feel of the bonus a lot, the 2 spin option plays like a high-volatility game and the 25 spin option plays like a low one. 

Ark of Ra is Available on Mobile 

Do you want to continue playing your favorite game but can’t because you have to go to work? Don’t worry; Ark of Ra is fully optimised to be playable on both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. You can now enjoy your game while commuting to work or on your way to the grocery store. The mobile version is identical to the desktop version, with the same 20 pay lines, the same coin meters, and the same free spins choices, and the buttons rearrange themselves to sit under the reels on a portrait screen. All you have to do is open the Monster Casino website on your mobile browser, launch the game, and enjoy it anytime, anywhere. No separate app download is required. 

More Games by Microgaming 

Microgaming is one of the oldest names in online gambling, having been around since the mid-1990s, and it is the company behind some of the most famous slots ever made, such as Mega Moolah, Immortal Romance, and Thunderstruck. In recent years, its games have been developed by a family of smaller studios, Circular Arrow being the one behind Ark of Ra, and distributed through the Games Global network, but the Microgaming name is still the one most players recognise. Their games are known for solid maths, clean interfaces, and a wide range of themes. 

Other Microgaming games avaialble at Monster Casino include: 

• Immortal Romance 

• 9 Masks of Fire 

• Book of Oz 

• Mega Moolah 

• Jurassic Park: Gold 

• Agent Jane Blonde Returns

Get Started with Ark of Ra at Monster Casino 

Do you want to play Ark of Ra for real money? Then you must first register with us as a player. Follow the steps given below: 

• Visit the Monster Casino website and click on the sign-up button on the homepage. 

• Fill in the registration form with the required details, such as name, date of birth, address, email, and more. 

• Once you are done with the registration process. , click on the ‘submit’ button to complete the process. 

• Make a deposit using any of the payment methods we offer. 

That’s it! Now, browse through the list of games we provide, find Ark of Ra, launch it, and enjoy! Isn’t that simple?