We inherited myriad magical tales, folk stories, and superstitions from the old centuries, which still linger amongst us. One of these- “never ceases to amaze” myths, is the adventurous yet bloodshed warpath of Excalibur.
According to the famous 15 century Malory’s book, the legendary Excalibur was given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake (a fantastic creature with mystic powers) at the request of Merlin- Arthur’s magical adviser.
Most stories agree that with Excalibur, King Arthur battled and killed his nephew Mordred but also get fatally wounded during the battle. Later the sword is returned to the lake, and the conflict between the Knights of the Round Table led to crucial riots, causing the death of King Arthur.
Today the sword remains a part of medieval England’s cultural heritage to all of us, being a symbol of power, honour, and triumph. NetEnt’s developers successfully enlivened this great legend of the sword of King Arthur by releasing the classic Excalibur slot in 2011.
The game is packed with excitement, glorifying style graphics, and a notable medieval flair. You can hit the Golden Wild symbol (the shiny magical Excalibur), and you can multiply your winnings by four.
The slot comes with Low-Medium Volatility and is set with an initial RTP of 95.08%. The RTP allows obtaining a positive mathematical expectation of winning in the casino.
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Personal testers’ opinion about Excalibur slot (Review and recommendations from the testers’ team)
This is a classic slot, which some players classify as outdated (with over-itemized graphics), but yet smooth gameplay and good potential for winning. The paytable is more than decent; we might call it even generous considering that the Excalibur symbol is paying a marvellous 10 000x the line bet for getting 5OAK.
Regarding the base game:
Winning combinations fall in the usual spins with unsteady frequency. It gives out 10 spins without winnings, compensates for this with a few small wins in a row, or gives one more expensive combination (20x – 30x of total bets). The maximum our test team managed to obtain during the base game was about 4 times 55x bet winnings during a long session.
So even though the statistics show that 88% of “the prize pool” will be reserved for payments in the usual spins, this is frankly one negative slot machine, so you should not try to complete the bonus requirements here, expecting a solid balance for a long session.
Regarding the bonus round:
Our test team has mixed feelings about the Free Spins: the slot gives a bonus game quite often (we received them 3 times within a 300 spins session), but their winnings were not impressive. We got the 10 free spins with a 3x multiplier- bonus version, but none of them paid more than 25x the bet. So although the general potential of the bonus game is exceptionally high, the Excalibur slot did not give us during testing any massive win.
If you get a combination of 5 Wilds and multiplier x4 (maximum win for a full line of Wilds in the Free Spins of 1500x your stake), with an additional total multiplier x3 via re-trigger, it will be a huge win. This is the reason actually why despite the somewhat outdated design and gameplay, the slot still has many fans.
The hidden parameters and settings of the Excalibur slot (data from testing)
- The frequency of triggering the bonus free spins feature is statistically every 175th spin (0.57%).
- The probability of a hit (any winning during BNC probes) is 26,91%.
- The distribution of the winnings is 88% in the usual spins and 12% in the bonus.
- The maximum winning during the tests was 250x.
- The average winning from the bonus was 19x.
- Volatility is 4,63 out of 20 (from low to average).
- The cycle length is average.
- The rating of the slot machine for the wagering is 3,80 out of 10.
- RTP of 95.08% doesn’t allow getting a positive mathematical expectation of winning at a Canadian online casino. This number is lower than the standard 96,5%, which is general for Netent slots.
Slot’s symbols and features
- 5-reel, 3-row slot with 20 fixed pay lines.
- Low paying symbols are the cards from 10 to A, ornamented in typical Arthurian/Knight style
- Middle-valued symbols are the evil Knight Prince Mordred, the young Enchantress, and the Lady of the Lake (ready to deliver the Excalibur).
- High-paying symbols are King Arthur (on top with 750x for 5OAK), Merlin-the king’s magical advisor, and a joint image of Lancelot of Camelot and the beautiful Guinevere.
- Wild is the regular colour Excalibur sword, substituting for all other symbols except for Scatters and Golden Wilds. Wins with this Excalibur are 2x, except when the winning line consists only of Wilds.
- Golden Wild is the shiny Excalibur sword (appearing only on reel 3) and substituting for all other symbols except for Scatters and regular Wilds. Wins with this Golden Excalibur are 4x, except when the winning line consists only of regular Wilds.
- Scatter is the golden Holy Grail and pays with a 3x multiplier during the bonus round. Besides:
- 3 of them- grant 10 Free Spins;
- 4 of them- grant 20 Free Spins;
- 5 of them- grant 30 Free Spins.
- Good news – the regular Excalibur Wilds and the Scatters are paid symbols.
- More good news – the regular Excalibur Wilds, the Scatters, and King Arthur’s symbols are winning combinations even for 2OAK.
- Even better news – the Free Spins can be re-triggered
Settings
- Provider – NetEnt
- Payment lines – 20 (fixed)
- Default range of bets – 0.20 to 80 CAD
- Volatility – from Low to Average
- Hit rate – 34.72%
- Playing field – 5х3
- The maximum winning is – 1500x the total bet
- Bonuses – Wilds, Extra Wilds, Scatters, Free Spins with Multipliers
- Free Spins – Yes
- RTP – 95.08%
How to win at the Excalibur slot? (Conclusion)
As usual, our first advice is to test the game in DEMO mode before starting to play for real money. We do not recommend this slot for playing with bonus money and fulfilling the wagering requirement. We do not recommend this slot also to the players who want to win a huge amount of money. We do recommend, however, this slot to play with real money, but only:
- If you tested the machine to define if it is “hot” or “cold” (in the demo), and
- Preferably with sessions not longer than 100 – 150 spins till receiving the bonus game. If within this time you are not rewarded with a bonus round, you better move to another slot because, with the Excalibur slot, the chance that the machine will eat all your money till the Free Spins come is big.
