Magic of Sahara

With the word ‘Sahara’ in the title, it isn’t hard to guess what sort of visual experience you’d be in for. Vast desert sands, characters swaddled in Arabian dress, and many coins and gem stones are strewn across the grid and backdrop. The symbols dominating the reels are more intriguing than most, representing the nomadic traveling lifestyle of desert people. You can expect a Tuareg man and woman, camel caravans, bowls brimming with precious gems, and a set of Royals designed in a sandy hue.

The grid is overlaid on a traditional nomad rug, complete with a trim waiting to be decorated by tokens, which you collect as you spin (more on this later). There isn’t much animation throughout, so you might get tired of staring at the same old static images. The soundtrack is soothing and enchanting, not something I say about slot music very often. Unfortunately it only plays during a spin, so go for auto spin if you want to enjoy a constant stream of hypnotic Arabian tunes. Overall the theme is slightly underwhelming, with sub par graphics and the general feeling that they neglected to commit to the storyline at a hundred percent.

I think Microgaming were trying to do something a little different with this slot, incorporating the anticipation of collecting a set of tokens combined with instant wins to keep players riveted. To a certain extent it works, but here’s the full breakdown of what you can expect.

The low paying symbols are no surprise in Magic of Sahara, made up by the generic A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9 symbols. These pay out between 4.44 x and 8.88 x for 5 of a kind — definitely not the lowest payout we’ve seen. Strangely, the man in blue who awards those enticing tokens has been pegged as a low paying symbol in this slot, so you have no further need for him beyond token collection.

Next in line is the camel caravan, followed by the man and woman in arabic dress. These pay out between 27.77 x and 55.55 x your bet for 5 of a kind. But if you really want to hit big in the base game then you need to look out for the Wild (the ‘Magic of Sahara’ symbol), which comes stacked on reels 3 and 4.

Hitting 3, 4 or 5 on a winning payline will reward you with 6.67, 44.44 or 133.33 x your bet respectively. The slot’s max win of 2,222 x your bet can be achieved during the free spins feature at the top bet, thanks to the 2 x multiplier.