Cleopatra Slot Game Review

Cleopatra VII Philopator was Egypt’s last Pharoah although not the last monarch of the Ptolemaic line. Best known for her romances with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, Cleopatra was a bold,strategic ruler who gained thorough control over Egypt’s wealth. A highly intelligent woman who spoke 9 languages, Cleopatra’s machinations were ultimately her undoing, leading to a war withOctavian, nephew and heir of Caesar. Cleopatra took her own life but she was survived by her four children, of whom only one eventually went on to achieve any success in life. Her daughter byMarc Antony, Cleopatra II Selene, married Juba II who became king of Numidia. Unfortunately, their son and heir Ptolemy of Mauretania was slain by the mad Roman emperor Caligula.

One of Cleopatra’s secrets to success was her lavish lifestyle. By displaying great wealth she attracted the attention of two of Rome’s greatest generals. She reportedly sailed to meet MarcAntony on a golden barge that was propelled by silver oars. When she and Antony were living together in the years after Caesar’s death, Cleopatra shared her wealth with him. They hostedextravagant parties and lived life to the fullest.

When her fortunes turned against her Cleopatra took her own life, thus bringing to an end the last dynasty to rule an independent Egypt and the last of the empires created by Macedonian generalswho had served under Alexander the Great.

International Gaming Technology released the Cleopatra slot machine to land-based casinos in 2005. It was moderately successful, due in part to the theoretical 95.02% return to player, which is alittle higher than some other games of the era. IGT published an online version of the game in 2012. The game caps its maximum payout on any single transaction at $9,999,999,999 although it ismathematically impossible for any winning combination to pay that much. About the most you could win in a highly unlikely theoretical combination involving maximum free spins of full screens ofthe highest paying symbol is about $108,000,000.

Cleopatra is a 5-reel, 3-row video slot game with 20 pay lines. All winning prize combinations pay from left to right and they must appear on one of the 20 valid pay lines. Prizes are denoted incredits and calculated as credits per combination times Bet Per Line. Scatter wins, which consist of 2 or more of the Scatter symbols, may appear in any positions on the screen and theypay prizes in multiples of Total Bet rather than Bet Per Lin. The game has two special symbols: Cleopatra (the Wild) and the Sphinx (the Scatter).

There are five other high value symbols in the game.

IGT uses a standard game control system that is easy to learn. The simplicity of the interface makes it easy to move from game to game without having to look up the pay tables every time.However, to see the pay table on these games check the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You’ll see the “Pays” button there on Cleopatra and similar games. The pay tables interface uses aleft/right arrow widget at the bottom of the screen to move from page to page.

The 20 colored knobs lining the game reels area of the screen are there for decoration and to help you see which pay line is awarding a prize. The pay line knobs light up or pulsate and the lineconnects the tiles, outlining the winning combination so you can see where the prizes are coming from.

The information bar below the reels displays how much you win per pay line on the left (using the same color as the pay line) and the total amount you win for the game (spin) on the right inwhite text. It reads “Good Luck” while the reels are spinning and may say “Play Again” if you don’t win a prize.

The basic “in-game” controls are mounted on a panel or widget bar at the bottom of the screen. This design simulates the way controls are set up on a physical slot machine, although there aresome differences.

The first widget on the left controls the number of active pay lines. Use the minus button to decrease the number of active pay lines and the plus button to increase them. Your choices are 1, 5,9, 15, and 20 active pay lines.

The next widget is the Line Bet control. Like the Pay Lines widget you use the minus and plus buttons to scroll through your options:

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 5
• 10
• 20
• 25
• 30

The Total Bet widget merely displays the product of the currently active number of pay lines times Bet Per Line. Check this information before you click on Spin because the maximum bet is $600per spin. The minimum Total Bet for all 20 pay lines is $20. The minimum Total Bet (with only 1 active pay line) is $1. You will be playing the game forever if you go down to 1 active pay line.

The Spin button only initiates a single game but it is stylized like a royal diadem. In fact, Stargate fans might even say it looks something like a small stargate (which used Egyptian mythologyand symbols).

The “Win” display is just to the right of the Spin button and it reports how much was paid on your last spin (recapping the information shown on the information bar above).

The all-important “balance” window is to the right. This shows you how much money you have left to play with. The game deducts the Total Bet from this Balance as you click on Spin.

The Auto Spin button brings up a micro menu with options 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50. Click on the number of spins you want the game to play for you. It continues until it runs out of pre-selectedspins, or you click the “To Stop” button (which replaces the Auto Spin), or you exit the game, or you run out of money. Using Auto Spin does not alter the outcome of any games versus yourclicking the Spin button manually, although it might change the timing on when the game pulls new random numbers from the generator.

Use the round Wrench icon on the far right to adjust the graphics quality setting.

Back when land-based casinos hid their 25 cent machines on far walls you were likely to find Cleopatra out in the middle of the slots area. The dollar machines are usually the most popular. Highrollers would like this game because it’s going to take your money before it pays you back. Those payoffs, however, will be substantial. A high roller version of the game might require a minimumbet per line of about $5 but this basic game is heart-breaking enough if you crank it up to $600 per total bet.

The online game plays very much like the land based casino version.

The free version of the game plays a bit choppy on the Internet. It may be that IGT throttles the free gaming to encourage people to play for real money. However, even the physical slot machine’svideo reels have a choppy effect. That appears to be by design, so don’t worry if the reels move in a jerky fashion. This is normal for the game even if the timing is a bit slower on theInternet.

When the bonus game begins the screen resets with different playing reels. The bonus reels spin up and down at the same time. That is, some reels spin up and some reels spin down. The bonus gameincludes a soundtrack and it may pick up the tempo as the spins wind down.

The artwork and the styling on the playing tiles is interesting, especially on the low-value symbols. There are little flourishes everywhere. The reels are laid in-between multicolored borders aswell. The color scheme touches on all the classic Egyptian tropes, if you look at full-color images of Egyptian wall paintings (the colors have faded over the past few thousand years but we knowwhat they were thanks to residue analysis).

If it can be said there is any type of strategy that works with slot games then this is a game that requires a conservative, patient strategy. You really do not want to play those high bets untilyou are ahead on your stake. Doubling your bankroll is probably the best way to cover the risk of increasing your wagers.

There is not really much point in decreasing the number of pay lines. You won’t get any sort of multiplier for winning a prize on fewer active pay lines. You only risk less money per spin but thewinning combinations show up randomly so covering as many pay lines as possible makes more sense. If you lose so much money you start to feel anxious about what is left it will be better if youmove on to a less expensive game.

Everyone wants the bonus game but you cannot count on that happening for you. And to be honest you can get some surprisingly decent wins without the bonus, whereas the free spins don’t guaranteethat you’ll win any prizes. In fact, you can go through several free spins without winning anything. They’re just free spins. The fact they triple the prize amounts is a pretty good sign thatthis game is not programmed to hit more often on the free spins bonus.

Cleopatra is popular with players for one reason and one reason only:

This game is designed to keep you on the edge of your seat, which is probably how the real Cleopatra managed the men in her life.