Treasures Of The Pyramids Slot review: Worth The Journey Back In Time?

Egyptian slots are almost ubiquitous nowadays at online casinos, and the interest in these types of slot shows no signs of abating. IGT’s Treasures of the Pyramids slot offers you the chance to win big, especially during free spins.

Let’s take a closer look at how this slot shapes up, shall we?

Overview: Treasures of the Pyramids

My first question here: Who researched the artifacts and animals of ancient Egypt for this slot?

On the one hand, they have captured the mystery and mystique of the area beautifully with many of their symbols, but then thrown in a black panther to completely destroy the illusion. If you can get past this glaring mistake, then you’ll find a slot that offers 5×4 reels of enjoyable fun, especially at lower stake levels.

However, the base game does tend to nibble away at your bankroll and you do tend to find that you spin in the hope of hitting free spins to replenish your cash.

There is a significant prize during free spins with up to 600 free spins possible if you can land five scatters across the reels and then retrigger free spins during the round.

The slot looks and sounds great and plays relatively quickly, although the lack of an autoplay feature does mean you have to keep clicking the button to play. Symbols are stacked across the reels and this can result in some of the bigger base game wins.

Where to play Treasures of the Pyramids online slot in NJ

Treasure of the Pyramids is available at a number of legal New Jersey online casinos. If you haven’t been to VirginCasino.com, we recommend playing this game there.

Otherwise, it is also on the menu at both Golden Nugget NJ and Caesars NJ online casino.

Who will the Treasures of the Pyramids slot appeal to?

Egyptian-themed slots are always very popular. Lovers of free spins will also be tempted to try this game, especially with 100 free spins available if you can land five scatters across the reels, and you could potentially increase that number up to 600 free spins.

While this slot can be played for a wide range of wagers, I feel it is best suited to the medium to lower stakes players as you can take a big hit if you spin without hitting the free spins round relatively early into your session.

As such, lower stakes gamers will likely find this game to have better long-term value.

Gameplay: Treasures of the Pyramids

You can play Treasures of the Pyramids across desktop and mobile devices and you can play from $0.40 up to $800 per spin. However, given the way the game plays in the base game and the frequency of the free spins rounds, I’d strongly suggest playing at the lower end of these wager scales.

The slot is bright and cheerful with the usual playing card lows across the reels and Egyptian artifacts as the in-game high symbols. The pyramid, which is perfectly in keeping with the Egyptian theme, acts as the in-game scatter symbol.

For some inexplicable reason, the game designers have opted to use a black panther, a creature native to Central and South America, as the in-game wild symbol. It sticks out like a sore thumb against the rest of the game.

The game plays nicely and at a decent pace, but the wins in the base game are generally small and often not enough to cover your bet. This can be expensive at higher levels, but there is a chance you’ll trigger the free spins game and earn that money back, and perhaps a bit more, especially if you can land the huge 100 free spins on offer for five scatters across the reels.

The free spins round is far more generous than the bonus game. One thing that is noticeable is that scatter symbols do tend to appear more readily, giving you the impression you can retrigger more spins relatively frequently from within free spins.

Special features: Treasures of the Pyramids

Double wild

The black panther symbol acts as the in-game wild but covers two spaces on the reels, meaning you have double the chance of landing either one or two wilds compared to a single-space wild.

Free games bonus

Earn eight, 15, or 100 free spins if you can land three, four or five of the pyramid scatter symbols across the reels. All wins during free spins are subject to a 2x multiplier and free spins can be retriggered from within the base game.

Up to 600 free spins can be won through this feature.

What works?

Free games bonus

The potential to win up to 600 free spins, or even just 100 if you can land five pyramid scatters across the reels, is a huge incentive to play.

Most of the time you’ll win the smaller amounts, but the fact that scatters do land regularly during free spins does mean you can top up your free spins balance readily during the round. Furthermore, this is the round where the bigger wins are found on the slot so it does appeal to players a great deal.

Panther wild

The double wild symbol is a nice touch and you feel occasionally like you get a few bonus wins because of it. However, what a black panther, a creature usually found in Central and South America, has to do with Egyptian culture is beyond me.

5×4 grid

If you are getting a little tired of the standard 5×3 grid for slots, the fact that Treasures of the Pyramid offers a 5×4 grid does give the game a little added appeal. Add to that regular smaller wins and you have a game that isn’t that expensive to play and offers regular smaller payouts, plus the chance of a big win too.

What doesn’t?

Black panther

There are plenty of beasts indigenous to Egypt that could have been used as the focus for the wild symbol. A black panther certainly is not native to Egypt and its inclusion is somewhat incongruous.

An Amazonian-based creature prowling around the pyramids? Somebody needs to check their geography book.

Smaller wins

Yes, you can play for small amounts, but generally you’ll only win small amounts back. The base game wins are small and the value of the game does seem to be entirely dependent upon hitting the free spins round regularly frequently.

$800 per spin

Given that the value in this game comes from the free spins round and the base game payouts are generally on the lower side, this isn’t a game that will appeal to higher rollers, since you can only win 5,000 times your line bet.

It can be very expensive to play at higher cash amounts unless you hit free spins and get lucky.

The scores

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Graphics and soundtrack: 2.5/5

There’s nothing intrinsically bad about this game, but there is no “wow” factor either. The game is bright and cheerful and evokes the pyramids well, but oddly enough the black panther is the white elephant in the room.

Originality and creativity: 2/5

The slot round where you can win up to 600 free spins is a great feature, but it is difficult to hit and most of the time you hit the usual amount of free spins. Still, the fact it is available and can be won deserves credit.

Play value: 2/5

Without a huge jackpot and with generally small wins in the base game, this game is expensive for higher rollers. But it does offer a bit of long term value for smaller stakes players, if they can play for long enough without running out of cash.

Jackpot potential: 1/5

The jackpot potential is small, but you can still enjoy the occasional nice win, especially during the free spins round. But this isn’t one of those New Jersey online slots from which you are going to win a life-changing amount of cash.

Repeat play: 3/5

At lower stakes, the slot has appeal. Egyptian-themed slots are generally popular with players and the big free spins offering in this game will certainly tempt people back into trying a few additional spins.

Total score: 10/25

Treasures of the Pyramids is a solid rather than spectacular slot. The free spins bonus game is a positive as is the layout and bright graphics. But there are some oddities in there that might well irk people.

Oh, and black panthers don’t live in Egypt and never have. A little research goes a long way. By the way, if you’re into games focused on the ancient world – have a look at a roundup of the best Greek and Roman-themed NJ online slots.