Jewels and ancient Egypt, two of the most popular themes in the online slot world, combine in Gem Queen, a 5 reel, 25 payline video slot from Playtech. This trip to Arabia comes with Collapsing Reels re-spins as well as a bonus feature that awards 15 free spins with multipliers that can reach 5x. Head to the pyramids from between 25p and £2,500 per spin.
Overlooked by sunlit pyramids, the reels in Gem Queen have a strong flavour of Egypt – joining the lower value gemstones are 4 Egyptian hieroglyphs – the ankh, eye of Horus, scarab beetle and cat god Anubis. Land 5 of the cat on a payline for a payout of 200 times your stake.
Appearing on reels 2, 3 and 4 only, the Gem Queen is the game’s wild – her majesty replaces all other symbols with the exception of the free games scatter.
Gem Queen uses Collapsing Reels technology – after every winning spin, the successful symbols disappear and replaced by the ones above, offering a second bite at the payout cherry. The collapses, and potential wins, keep on coming as long as there’s a new winning combination created.
Fans of free spins won’t be disappointed either – to trigger the Free Games feature, you’ll need to land the free spins scatter symbol on the odd numbered reels on the same spin (1, 3 and 5). 15 free spins are then awarded.
The Collapsing Reels are again active in the free spins, this time with a dynamic multiplier which increases following each consecutive collapse. This starts at 1x and can reach a maximum of 5x if you get on a roll. The only negative to report is that the free spins cannot be re-triggered.
There are already plenty of Egyptian themed video slots available – does Gem Queen add anything fresh? You won’t find anything really innovative here. What it does it does well though. The free spins and Collapsing Reels make a nice combination. Build that multiplier up to 5x and hit a few winning spins and the coins can quickly build. We’d put the variance here in the medium to high range.
The design in Gem Queen is as impressive as you’d expect from a developer as well known as Playtech. The haunting Arabian style backing track certainly helps build the atmosphere.
What you make of Gem Queen will largely come down to what you think of Collapsing Reels slots. If you’re a fan of the feature, then Gem Queen will be an ancient adventure you’ll want to explore. If you like the theme, Novomatic’s Pharaoh’s Tomb is worth trying.
