Rubies of Egypt

Rubies of Egypt: Slot Overview

Someway somehow, gambling and Ancient Egypt have formed an almost symbiotic relationship, in certain circles at least, and it got us thinking - did they actually gamble back then? If the internet is any guide, and in this day and age, it's practically the modern version of the Oracle of Delphi, then the answer is yes. Depending on the website, Ancient Egyptians were engaging in games of chance over 5,000 years ago. Incredibly, this trend is raging as strong as ever, and here's another game of chance with an Egyptian flavour to add to the list. It's called Rubies of Egypt and comes from Games Global partner studio Just For The Win.

Often, you open up an Egyptian-themed slot to be greeted with exotic images of pyramids, palms, warm sands etc., as if stepping back to a golden era. Not so in Rubies of Egypt, which is more like a quasi-land-based gambling machine with some Egyptian-inspired iconography chucked in with a sultry soundtrack. The burgundy background is inlaid with a pattern that looks sort of Celtic as much as anything else, and the rest of the view, while tasteful, doesn't exactly drench players in a long-gone epoch. Let's just say Rubies of Egypt felt more closely related to the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas than the actual Luxor in Egypt with its magnificent old-world architectural treasures.

On with the business then, and when playing Rubies of Egypt, gamblers have the chance of picking stakes from a range beginning at 20 p/c per spin and rising to $/€50 max. A highly volatile game, Rubies of Egypt comes in a quartet of RTP models, where 96.06% is the highest. With a hit rate slightly under 1 in 4 spins, the game is played on a 5-reel, 4-row panel with 30 fixed paylines.

The majority of Rubies of Egypt's pay symbols pay from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel, but the Pharaoh symbol also pays from right to left, beginning from the rightmost reel. This is, according to the game sheet, due to the perfect symmetry of his face. Only the highest win on a both ways line is paid. Joining the Pharaoh in the high pay group are 4 other classic Egyptian symbols, as well as J to A royals as the low pays. Hitting a 5-of-a-kind win pays 2.5 to 3 times the bet for the low pays, or 5 to 10 times the bet for the highs. Appearing on reels 2, 3, or 4 is the game's wild ruby, which substitutes for all symbols except the free spins symbol.

Rubies of Egypt: Slot Features

In terms of extras, Rubies of Egypt offers a Ruby Respin feature as well as a free spins round where players may experience Pharoah Power and the Ruby Upgrade.

Ruby Respin

Whenever a wild symbol lands, there is a chance the game triggers the Ruby Respin feature. However, this feature cannot trigger on the same spin that activates free spins. Wild symbols in view when a Ruby Respin triggers become sticky, and from 2 to 9 extra wild symbols are randomly added. Free spins cannot trigger during a Ruby Respin

Free Spins

Should 3, 4, or 5 free spins symbols land anywhere on the grid, then 8, 12, or 16 free spins are respectively awarded. Following each free spin, all Pharoah and wild symbols are collected. When 10 Pharaoh symbols have been collected, the Pharaoh Power extra is awarded. If more than 10 Pharaoh symbols are collected, the overflow counts towards the next collection. When 10 wild symbols have been collected, the Ruby Upgrade aspect is awarded. As before, if more than 10 wilds are collected, the extras are put towards the next Ruby Upgrade.

Pharoah Power

The Pharaoh Power feature upgrades a symbol to the next one up on the paytable. Each time this happens, an extra free spin is awarded. If all upgradeable symbols are upgraded to the Pharaoh, no more Pharaohs are collected.

Ruby Upgrade

The Ruby Upgrade increases the multiplier on the wild symbol by 1. Whenever this happens, an additional free spin is awarded. The wild multiplier has a ceiling limit of x5, and once reached, no more wilds are collected.

Rubies of Egypt: Slot Verdict

You probably wouldn't elect to play Rubies of Egypt if the goal was a virtual trip back into the past to get a taste of one of the world's most mysterious and enduring cultures while spinning a set of reels in the hopes of winning some cash. There are opportunities to win, of course, and with potential of 5,000 times the bet up for grabs, not bad opportunities either. It's just that Rubies of Egypt does not have a major cultural side when compared with a lot of the competition out there. Not saying it has to or anything; just pointing out the 'Egyptian' side of the Rubies of Egypt deal.

The other side of the deal is the rubies part, and while it might not be wildly experimental, the Ruby Respin feature might have its moments. Respins spice up the base game with their stickiness and added wild ability, after all. It's worth repeating the fact that landing a wild is no guarantee a Ruby Respin will actually trigger, though. Instead, players can be teased by a will it or won't it scenario. Often a wild symbol, or more, would roll on in, and no feature would go on to trigger. To put it into numbers, the Ruby Respin extra has a theoretical frequency of 1 in 60 for those who prefer to know the odds. This brings us to free spins, which up the ante due to the possible inclusion of wild multipliers and symbol upgrades. Two workable features which have strutted their stuff in the past and again get the chance to do so in Rubies of Egypt.

All in all, Rubies of Egypt is an unusual Egyptian slot in that it isn't particularly concerned with transporting players to another time and place like many of its contemporaries tend to do. While the game docs mention something about a mesmerising Ruby Temple, after a playthrough, Rubies of Egypt didn't exactly make a tremendous impact. Yet, if you'd like an Egyptian-flavoured gambling experience with a faint physical feel to it, Rubies of Egypt could be a match.