Dragon’s Treasure

Dragon’s Treasure (Merkur): Overview

What seems to be the case with this Merkur slot, is that a dragon has been running rough shod on a nearby medieval town. In the process, it has had the intuition to steal all of the town’s treasure and hoard it as its own. At least, that’s what we imagine in our minds. Dragon’s Treasure is definitely one of those games that is open to interpretation though, shall we say? Whatever the case may be, Merkur has done a good job with coming up with a classic, as well as inject it with all that is needed to keep hardcore punters entertained. Originally a land-based slot machine, the game was eventually ported for play at online casinos and launched back in 2011. Some might be put off by the lower quality graphics of these classic Merkur slots, but the developer has made a conscious decision to stay true to the original which is also something that has made the games so popular with veteran gamers.

Like many classic video slots, Dragon’s Treasure makes use of a standard layout of 5 reels and 3 rows. Limited to only 5 paylines, that's something you otherwise see mostly in 3 reel fruit slots rather than in 5x3 format slots. We’ll be honest, this is quite a minimal number of paylines in comparison to many other online slots but it hasn't stopped it from becoming a hit with players. Highly volatile, Dragon's Treasure can be played across all devices from 0.10 to €/$10 per spin.

When it comes to the visual side of the game, we won’t say that the slot has the greatest of imagery running through it. Truth is, Dragon’s Treasure looks like a train wreck. The background is quite limited, only displaying some off-green grassland and tree trunks. With that said, Dragon's Treasure goes to prove that players are willing to see past weak cosmetics as long as the engine provides enough thrust. Either way, when it comes to symbols these begin with five playing card additions running from 10 through to A. Then come two symbols which are a lot more thematic, those being the sword hilt and the treasure chest. You’ll also see a symbol of a dark-haired knight who is ready to go off on a mission and slay the dragon. Finally, a blonde-haired prince is seen as the game’s highest paying overall symbol, offering rewards of up to 1,000 times your stake for a 5 of a kind combination.

Dragon’s Treasure (Merkur): Features

While you spin the reels, you may see the symbol of a dragon come into view. It will provide you with some great assistance in the game. Why? Because it operates as a Scattered Wild Symbol. This means that it can show up anywhere and it will substitute for all other standard icons within Dragon’s Treasure. What’s even better about it, is that if five of them show up across the reels, you’ll be on the receiving end of a payout of up to 200 times your stake.

In terms of its Scatter Symbol status, the dragon rewards you with a payout from any position. So, it doesn’t even need to be on one of the five paylines to add money to your balance. It does have the potential to activate the slot’s Free Spins round, too. Whenever 3 or more of the dragon symbol come into view, you’ll receive 10 Free Spins in total as a reward.

During the free spins round, you will also see a special symbol come into play. This is chosen by you prior to the feature beginning. Essentially, whichever symbol you select for this will become an Expanding Symbol for the duration of the round. This sees it cover all three positions on the reel it shows up on.

Last of all, Dragon’s Treasure features its own set of Gamble Rounds. There are two of these to select from during gameplay. The ability to do this starts when you form a winning combination during base gameplay, and this must not be one that includes a Wild Symbol. You have the option of choosing from the card gamble round or the ladder gamble round. If you go for the former, then your only task is to guess the colour of the next playing card to be turned over. Should you get it right, then your win from the triggering round will be doubled as a result. The other option will present you with a ladder that features different values on its steps. Stop the flashing light on the higher option(s) and your win will increase to that level.

Dragon’s Treasure (Merkur): Verdict

The overall theme of this game and its execution may be quite questionable in some areas. It somehow looks like Merkur has thrown together a selection of images and added them to a reel set that is placed against a bizarre background. While it might fail to attract recreational players, many purists regard Dragon's Treasure as a true classic. It's massive success with hardcore gamers can mainly be attributed to its high volatility, which at the time of its release was quite unusual for a slot machine, along with the hefty payouts of up to 5,000 times your stake in a single spin during the free spins round.

Dragon's Treasure is an all or nothing, no-nonsense slot machine. There really isn't anything in between. It's unforgiving and its free spins feature is notoriously hard to trigger. If you do trigger it, however, there's a good chance that you will walk away with a great reward. As long as you are aware of what you're up against and accept its relentless volatility, you'll eventually start to see why it has become so popular with slots enthusiasts.