Ice King is an unusual game in more ways than one. It’s a title which uses a classic layout with only 3 reels, but holds a higher than average number of paylines, 9 of them being part of the slot. As for the theme which you will find in this game it is inspired by both ice and by medieval kings. A penguin wears the crown of a king here, with symbols featuring many objects made out of ice which are typical for medieval slots. The game was created by NextGen, but not it is offered by IGT as well.
This unusual 3 reel game gets 9 paylines in base game mode, with free spins, an icicle feature and wilds improving its gameplay whenever possible. The big prize only goes up to $2,000 in the base game, so it’s not exactly the stuff of dreams.
Features of Ice King
Ice King relies on wild symbols for its features, along with free spins and an Icicle feature which triggers them.
The Ice Castle would be the one with the role of the wild in this case. This symbol may appear anywhere in the game, and if the necessary symbols are in place, it will assist you with the formation of a new combination. Wilds are more than capable of creating their own combinations and paying you a handsome reward if that happens. You can’t use the wild as a substitute for the Icicle feature unfortunately.
Free Games Feature
The way to trigger the free spins of this game is through an unusual feature. Many of the slot’s symbols will have icicle frames all around them, which happens only for the 1st and the 3rd reels. To trigger the free spins, all the symbols from those two reels need to have the icicle border around them in the same spin.
Two extra reels appear during the free spins, on the left and the right side of the existing ones. You play on 5 reels during the free spins, but you keep the same 9 lines. The paytable is a new one as well, with another set of symbols and payouts being offered.
Each free game comes with its own guaranteed prize, worth the same as the bet you made that round. Payouts offered by combinations will reach top values of 10,000x, while the base game gives you 2,500x at most.
Betting options and jackpots
You have to cover all the lines of the game, but you only need one coin in each case. The 9 coins you use in your bets will have individual values of up to $0.80, with the total reaching $7.20.
As for the rewards of the game, the base game is not too impressive, offering only 2,500 coins, or $2,000 cash. The free spins give you more, up to 10,000 coins, or $8,000. The downside with the free spins and their 5 reels is that the odds of getting the combo are much smaller (you need five symbols instead of three).
Design and symbols
It’s an interesting design you’re getting here, for a number of reasons. One of them is the small number of reels with the high number of paylines. Another would be the theme and its mix of topics that normally don’t go together, using both the Polar regions and the Medieval inspiration. You have all sorts of Medieval objects among the symbols, but they come in ice versions here, and even the food is colored in the blue of the ice.
Symbols Base Game: Ice Castle (wild, 2,500 coins), King Penguin (500 coins), Queen Penguin (250 coins), Polar Bear (100 coins), Seal Pup (30 coins), Crown (15 coins), Shield (10 coins), Goblet (10 coins), Feast (5 coins), Key (5 coins) and Flag (5 coins).
Symbols Free Spins: Ice Castle (10,000 coins, wild), King Penguin (5,000 coins), Queen Penguin (2,000 coins), Polar Bear (500 coins), Seal Pup (500 coins), Crown (250 coins), Shield (250 coins), Goblet (200 coins), Feast (200 coins), Key (100 coins) and Flag (100 coins).
Is It Worth Playing?
The theme is different, the features and the use of 3 and 5 reels in the different game modes are also interesting, but I’m not that big of a fan of the prizes it offers.
This Ice King slot is offered by all online casinos with IGT software, playable either in practice or in real money mode.
