Microgaming’s Arena of Gold Slot Review

Bonus Features in Arena of Gold

This trip back to the ancient world comes with a couple of bang up to date bonus features. Extras on offer in the Arena of Gold slot include free spins with colossal symbols and a streak re-spin bonus which can also deliver a big jackpot bonus.

Free Spins feature

The Free Spins feature is triggered in the usual manner by landing the scatter symbol on reels 1, 3 and 5 on the same spin. Your reward is 5 free spins. These take place on an amended set of reels which are dominated by colossal symbols. The symbols on reels 2, 3 and 4 will merge to form single 3×3 blocks.

These blocks can land in part or in full. Look out if you land one in full then find matching symbols on reel 1 and 5. Landing 3 scatters on the same spin delivers a re-trigger. You’ll see 3 more free spins added to your tally.

Golden Re-Spin feature

This is a classic streak re-spin round. To activate it, you’ll need to land 6 or more gold coin symbols anywhere on the same spin. This can be in either the base game or the free spins feature. The coins are held and 3 re-spins follow. On these spins the reels are made up entirely of blank or coin symbols.

If you land a coin, it too is held. The re-spins reset to 3. The round continues until you have 3 re-spins in a row where no new coin lands or you fill the whole of the screen with coins.

The gold coin symbols all come with a cash value attached. Each one awards a stake prize of between 1 and 100 times your total stake. The 30x and 100x awards appear as Mini and Mega coins during the re-spins. When your spins are complete, the values from all the coins are added together to give you your final payout.

In the happy circumstance that you fill all 15 reel positions with coins, you can look forward to an even bigger prize. In addition to the combined value of the coins, you’ll also land the Maxi Jackpot prize – this is worth 1,000 x your stake.

Arena of Gold Slot RTP, Details & Wager Limits

The Roman Coliseum was a death or glory venue. The Arena of Gold isn’t quite as dangerous for your bankroll. It can still pack a very decent payout punch with top awards of some 2,500 x your stake – you can also win 2,400 x stake on each spin or free spin. It’s not massively volatile though. In fact, the variance is in the medium range.

The RTP of 96.2% is also in the medium range. Not the best you’ll find but definitely not the worst. Stakes start at 10p per spin which makes it a good, cheap option for casual players. High rollers can ramp that up to a maximum of £50 per spin.

Arena of Gold Theme – Audio & Design Features – ancient Roman inspired

Visually, Arena of Gold is very nicely done. Behind the reels you’ll see the sandy floor of the Coliseum battlefield as well as the baying crowds in the stands. The reels feature stylized A to J symbols. More rewarding are the 4 gladiators. They’re each in a colourful costume and brandishing a fine collection of weaponry.

The best of this quartet is the red gladiator with the golden trident. Land 5 of him on 1 of the game’s 25 paylines and you’ll win an award of 20x your total stake. That same top payout amount is matched by the Roman emperor symbol. This is the wild. It substitutes for all standard symbols and can hit on all 5 reels.

The design is bright and colourful but the symbols are detailed and sharp. The game interface is very straightforward too. To the side of the reels you’ll find a bar when you can open up the paytable, change your bet levels or set up autoplay mode.

The interface is okay but not great. The 3 lines settings tab will take you to the paytable. It’s not the easiest to navigate. You have to click, hold and scroll to read all of it, rather than just click.

Everything we said about the classy visuals above applies to the mobile version too. The colourful design works very nicely even if you’re using a handheld device. The relatively simple features are well suited to mobile play too.

Arena of Gold Review Summary – cracking journey to ancient Rome

We’ve played countless slots set in ancient Rome. Arena of Gold compares very favourably with most of them. The clean and crisp visuals are impressively done. The gameplay isn’t the most complex that you’ll see but the 2 feature rounds can deliver plenty of action.

You don’t always need huge amounts of innovation to create a playable slot. Microgaming has done the basics really well and deliver a cracking all-rounder. If you enjoy slots with a classical era theme, then a trip to the Arena of Gold comes highly recommended. If it’s ancient Rome you’re after, Shields of Rome by Playtech would be my suggestion.

Arena of Gold FAQs

⭐ What is the Arena of Gold RTP?

The Return to Player rate is 96.2% which is about average. Not the best but by no means the worst.

❓ What bonus features does Arena of Gold offer?

This Roman epic comes with a couple of simple but potentially exciting extras. The colossal symbols certainly spice up the free spins. The Golden Re-spins can really get things moving too.

?How volatile is Arena of Gold?

You might expect a slot with this theme to be a super volatile affair. That’s not quite the case though. The volatility in the Arena of Gold slot is in the medium range. It offers 2,500 x stake payouts.

?Why play the Arena of Gold online slot?

The design here is very easy on the eye. The gameplay is straightforward but can still deliver plenty of action. Put those elements together and you have a very playable slot.