Queen of the Nile, by the leading Australian developer Aristocrat, is notable for starting out life as a land-based pokie, and since its adaptation into an online pokie in the early 2000s it has become one of Aristocrat’s best-known flagship games, not least because it was one of the first online pokies to introduce a free spin feature. One of a bevy of games with an ancient Egypt theme, Queen of the Nile offers straightforward gaming action along with the potential for some sizeable jackpots, and remains a hugely popular online pokie.
Queen of the Nile is a 5-reel, 20 payline online pokie with a variety of coins sizes and where wins pay left to right, except for the scatter which pays anywhere on the reels. 1x, 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x paylines can be played on each spin, and the number of coins that can be played per payline ranges between 1x—100x. With a single coin size of $0.01, this means that the maximum bet ranges in size from $0.20—$20, making this a game that’s suitable for any size of bankroll. Wins pay as multiples of the line bet, except for scatter wins which are multiples of the total bet.
The bonus feature is triggered when 3x, 4x or 5x pyramid scatter symbols are hit anywhere on the reels. During the free spins all wins are multiplied 3x, and further free spins can be triggered.
One of the earliest online pokies to be developed, Queen of the Nile still retains the look of a land-based pokie in its buttons and game surround. However, while it may be showing its age a little in comparison to the latest video pokies, it is still a visually attractive game, with bright ancient Egyptian symbols, such as a Pharaoh, an all-seeing eye, a scarab beetle, Cleopatra and a pyramid, with the latter two animating on winning spins. The sound effects are fairly basic and not especially ‘Egyptian’, with familiar ratchet sounds as the reels spin and a crashing chord whenever the scatter symbol appears. However, there is also the addition of a jaunty fairground tune after a winning spin and dramatic drumming during the free spin feature to add some variety to the soundtrack.
Queen of the Nile is a medium-volatility game, with players able to score fairly frequent albeit smallish payouts, which is aided by the fact that, unusually, the pyramid scatter, golden pot, pharaoh and 9 card symbols pay out for 2x hits rather than the standard 3x.
However, there is also a good range of sizeable jackpots on offer. During base play, the highest jackpot is up to $9000 for hitting 5x Cleopatra wild symbols (when playing the maximum number of coins and pylons), with a jackpot of up to $8000 for hitting 5x pyramid scatter symbols (when betting the max). As all wins featuring the wild are doubled, 5x Pharaoh symbols or 5x golden pot symbols can net you up to $1500 if the wild features and you’re betting the max.
During the 15x free spin feature, all wins are tripled, and so 5x Cleopatra wild symbols is potentially worth up to $27,000 and 5x pyramid symbols up to $24,000. 5x Pharaoh symbols or 5x golden pot symbols featuring the wild during the feee spin bonus is worth up to $4500 (when betting the maximum).
The game also features a gamble feature, and so there is the potential for any jackpot win to be further multiplied by 2x or 4x (any win can be gambled up to five times)
Queen of the Nile offers straightforward gaming action and a clean and uncluttered design, along with a good variety of coin sizes, a RTP percentage of approximately 94.88%, and the possibility of some very hefty jackpots.
