The Roman Empire played a major role in how civilization advanced, and the upper class had no shortage of wealth. Microgaming seeks to capture the theme of ancient wealth with the Roman Riches online slot. This is a classic slot game with just three reels and five paylines. Roman Riches comes with simple controls for betting and is available to play as a free demo.
Roman Riches Online Slot Basics
Although it is a classic slot game, Roman Riches features some decent graphics. You’ll see a blue sky in the background with the three reels of the game occupied by only a few symbols. The BAR symbol increases in value depending on how many times it stacks in a row. There is also a “7” symbol which is the highest paying normal symbol in the game. The paylines and paytables are clearly displayed right next to the reels, allowing you to see the different values as you play. You can toggle the game’s sound effects on the top right corner of the screen.
As far as gameplay is concerned, you have the option to change the value of each coin that you bet. You can also increase the total number of coins to activate each payline. Roman Riches allows you to skip these steps and wager as much as possible with the “BET MAX” option. You’ll be able to spin the reels manually, or use the autoplay function to let the reels spin on their own. There are no further controls, but this simple online slot does not need them.
The Special Features
While special features are the main highlight of online slots, the Roman Riches slot only has one of them. The lack of special features might be a turnoff to players, but this game is designed for nostalgia and not necessarily all the bells and whistles of advanced games.
Wild Symbol
The sole special feature of the Roman Riches online slot is its wild symbol. This particular wild symbol comes in the form of a Roman noble. All other symbols in the game can be replaced by the wild to produce a winning combination. In addition, the wild symbol is responsible for generating the highest payout possible in the game. Three wilds in a row on the fifth payline will grant you the unofficial “jackpot.”
Average Payouts
With middling graphics and features, Roman Riches could be a decent online slot with a good payout percentage. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. This game posts an average payout percentage of a little over 93%. While all online slots typically have lower payout percentages, this number is exceptionally bad. The slot really lives up to the “one-armed bandit” nickname given to classic machines.
You can win a maximum of 5,000 coins during one spin in Roman Riches.
Summary
Roman Riches came out in 1999, so the game is almost two decades old at the time of this review. Its lack of appeal could be attributed to its age, but Microgaming has numerous games from the same time period that are much better. The graphics and theme are certainly not enough to redeem the game from its lackluster features and disappointing RTP. You’re better off finding another Microgaming title that doesn’t immediately fizzle out.
