A Noble Sight
This pokie game is designed to bring to life the life and times of King Arthur during his years based in Avalon, which is the fairy-tale location of the forge of Excalibur, probably the world’s most famous sword, the healing place of King Arthur after his battle at Camlann and his eventual final resting place. People with a penchant for the nobility of ancient British times will enjoy the graphics on displayed by Avalon. With treasure chests of gold, broaches of grandeur, an un-missable coat of arms, lavish goblets, the infamous Lady of the Lake and the usually expected and recognised high card poker values which have been creatively interpreted to fit the theme. To accompany the visuals is a medieval soundtrack that creates a sense of nostalgia and time travel to really get the player absorbed in the game. Those who live on the speedier side of life will probably welcome the option available to adjust the speed at which the reels spin. This gives players the ability to cram in more spins and thus more potential wins in less time.
Reeling it in: Multipliers Aloft
Avalon sports five reels, three symbol rows and twenty pay lines, so naturally it is full of things to keep an eye on. The Avalon symbol acts as the wild symbol in this game, substituting any other symbols, save the Lady of the Lake, to complete a paying set. The Lady of the Lake acts as the scatter symbol. If two or more Lady of the Lake symbols appear anywhere in the game, not just on the active pay lines, they add to the pay-out through the great scatter pays. Should a player be lucky enough to land three or more of these symbols, they trigger the free spins bonus game, which is where the real treasures of Avalon are to be found. During this 12 round bonus game the Chest symbols acts as an additional wild partnering up with the Avalon symbol to really open up the doors for some great winning spins. Coin sizes are adjustable and range from $0.1 to $0.5. Players can adjust the amount of coins to bet per line and the game holds a 200 coin limit.
Maximums fit for a King: Up to 30,000 coins
If an active pay-out line were to be filled with five Avalon symbols on a maximum bet, which would be the highest $0.5 coin at 200 coins, the pay-out would be up to 30,000 coins. This must have seemed incredibly high in 2006 and can still be identified as an impressive maximum pay-out to shoot for. While there is no progressive jackpot available with this game, the maximum pay-out is still an attractive prospect. 30 000 coins goes a long way when considering the available bonus games on offer in Avalon.
A Round table of Specials: Lots of Free Spins
The main specials stem from the Lady of the Lake which is the scatter. The presence of three scatters during a spin triggers the free spin bonus game. During this bonus game winnings are subjected to a multiplier up to 7x. A spin that happens to land five scatters would bring in a 200x multiplier, a brilliant opportunity to tick over a very good balance. There are additionally 12 free spins that are further piled on every time three scatters are present. Avalon also offers the Gamble bonus game which can be accessed after every spin that produces a win. In the bonus Gamble mini game, the player views a face down card and can choose to either guess the suit of the card or the colour of the card. A correct guess of the colour results in a double of their winnings while a correct guess of the suit results in a quadruple winnings bonus. All in all the bonuses provide impressive chances for piling on the wins and growing a nice cash balance.
Our Take
The process is simple. Choose a bet value, click spin and watch the medieval world come to life while hoping for riches abound. Sure the graphics may not seem as impressive as other modern offerings and the limited scope of bonus games and features make the game seems a bit dated but considering the game is now 10 years old, it has stood the test of time. Once players wrap their heads around the sometimes complicated requirements for landing winning combinations and embrace the casino games for what it is, there is more than enough on offer to keep players hooked. Microgaming is famed for their successful games and Avalon is right up there with the best.
