Pharaoh's Fortune

Expert’s Verdict

4.0 Great

Jay Henderson

It's tricky to write a really critical Pharaoh's Fortune slot review, because the game doesn't do much wrong. It's got a bonus round that can be extremely lucrative, decent top payouts, and offers players a knowing wink with its treatment of the Egyptian theme.

The only problem is that IGT doesn't necessarily do enough to elevate it above similar titles. It doesn't, for example, have a massive jackpot that makes it impossible to ignore. Plus, cold streaks really do seem to be pretty common in the game.

Looking at Pharaoh's Fortune as a whole, we'd say that this game is very good. However, because of its average-to-low RTP and absence of truly exceptional features, it fails to reach the status of a «must-play» slot.

For Pharaoh's Fortune slot, we give this game a rating of 8/10. To learn more about our assessment and grading of casinos and games, check out our How We Rate page. We work closely with the independent regulatory bodies below to ensure every player on our site has a secure and reliable experience.

Key information

RTP

96.53%

Volatility

-

Max win

450000

Bets (min/max)

$0.15 - $450

Bonus features

-

Paylines

15

Software

IGT

Layouts

Unknown

How to Play Pharaoh's Fortune Slot Machine Online

Right off the bat, with its vaporwave Pharaoh donning a pair of sunglasses and «Walk Like An Egyptian» playing in the background, IGT's Pharaoh's Fortune slot game is not your typical Egyptian title.

That's echoed in the game's reel icons, all of which are completely original, i.e. no A, K, Q, J, 10, 9. Many of them have amusing or silly little animations when you win, which immediately makes the game feel fun and fresh.

In terms of gameplay, however, things are pretty standard – 5 reels, 3 rows, 15 paylines, and a bonus round that we'll talk about in more detail below.

Despite a few gameplay quirks in its bonus round it's quite straightforward to play Pharaoh's Fortune online, free or real money. Paylines are fixed at 15, rising to 20 during the bonus feature, so the only way to adjust your stake is to change your bet per line.

You can wager anywhere between $1.50 and $90 per spin, which effectively prices out penny slot fans, leaving a game that's very accessible for all but the highest of rollers. Until you've witnessed first-hand how hungry a Pharaoh's Fortune machine can be, we'd recommend keeping your bets on the low side.

How to Win on Pharaoh's Fortune Slot Machine

In addition to being the game's Wild, the Pharaoh's Fortune icon is also the jackpot symbol during the base game. Line up 5 of them and you can win 10,000x your line bet, for a maximum win of $60,000. Despite the promise of a possible 6x multiplier during the bonus feature, 10,000x your line bet remains the jackpot there as well.

Bizarrely, the version of the game that we were playing tells players in the paytable that «the maximum win on any transaction including the results of the Free Spins Bonus…is capped at $25,000,000.» Given the game's jackpots, we can't even begin to imagine how you'd rack up that much cash. We assume it should read $250,000.

Despite the lack of a multiplier boosted jackpot in the Pharaoh's Fortune bonus round, free spins remain the best spot in the game to win big. We'd recommend that you cash out after triggering the feature, as you're unlikely to see it again for a while.

RTP & Volatility in Pharaoh's Fortune Slot

A game's RTP, or Return To Player, percentage reflects the frequency of payouts. It can be thought of as how much the average player will get, over an extended period of time, per $100 spent on a game.

For Pharaoh's Fortune slot machine, free or paid, the game's RTP is widely acknowledged as 94.78%. With many modern slots offering an RTP of 96-97%, this definitely feels a little lower than we'd like to see. Then again, it does have that big jackpot to play for.

Volatility can be summed up pretty easily as follows: games with low volatility issue small payouts regularly, while high volatility games pay out larger sums of cash much less frequently. Pharaoh's Fortune offers a medium volatility that leans toward the higher side.

That can be explained, in part, by the fact that the slot is guaranteed to pay out on every spin during the bonus round. Even if the value of those payouts is quite low, the game simply can't afford to pay out as regularly during the base game as a result.

We'll be the first to admit that we've experienced plenty of cold streaks when playing Pharaoh's Fortune – be prepared for the eventuality of going a number of spins without any wins when you're setting your bet level.

How Does Pharaoh's Fortune's Winnings Compare to Other Slot Games?

During the base game, Pharaoh's Fortune players can win 10,000x their line bet for lining up 5 pyramid symbols. Using the maximum of $6 per line, that comes out at $60,000. Bad news for anyone hoping that the 6x multiplier during the bonus feature will bump that up to $360,000; jackpot wins during free spins are not multiplied by the bonus multiplier. For its RTP, this game's jackpot feels a hair on the low side.

Pharaoh's Fortune Mobile Slots

Something about playing Pharaoh's Fortune slots online can feel a little cluttered on desktops and laptops. Maybe it's just the payline indicators and colourful columns set behind the reels, but that feeling carries over to smartphones and tablets. Plus, while the reel icons look nice, it's not so easy to tell them apart on small screens.

With that said, the game still looks and performs very well on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and the like. We just think it's important to highlight what could be potential issues for some players.

The slot's jackpot and lucrative bonus feature remain great to chase on mobile devices, but you might want to stick with a smaller stake per spin if you're not able to commit to playing through until you reach a bonus round.

Pharaoh's Fortune Slot Bonuses

Land 3 bonus symbols, indicated by the Pharaoh himself set against a garish lime background, and you'll trigger a bonus round comprised of free spins. But this isn't just any round of 10-15 free spins with a 2 or 3x multiplier.

Instead, at the beginning of the feature, players pick stone blocks to earn additional spins or greater multipliers. It's possible to win up to 25 free spins with a multiplier of up to 6x, which is really impressive.

There are no losing spins during the Pharaoh's Fortune bonus feature, with even spins that have zero winning lines paying out no less than 3x your line bet. This bonus round was something quite special back in 2006, even adding an extra 5 paylines to the game, and remains very good in 2020.

Free Online Pharaoh's Fortune Slot Game

If you've never played a video slot before, free slots are a great place to start. Using practice mode offers an easy, risk-free way to learn how to play. It's also an excellent opportunity for experienced players who aren't familiar with guaranteed wins, like this bonus round has, to explore them without spending any money.

Also, as we've mentioned above, this slot can be quite volatile. Although no two playing experiences will ever look exactly the same, using Pharaoh's Fortune free slots game first might give you a rough idea of how much you can afford to wager per spin. Good to know for if you switch over to playing for real money.

Similar Slots to Play Online

It's difficult to think of online slots with an Egyptian theme without thinking about Cleopatra, also from IGT. It's easy to forget, however, that Pharaoh's Fortune was released just one year after Cleopatra. Despite that, it looks a bit more modern than Cleo does and has a few fun quirks.

Although Cleopatra II was released in 2012, building on the success of the first game, Pharaoh's Fortune never spawned a sequel. As a result, it has nowhere near the name brand recognition that IGT's other Egyptian themed game does.

If there's something about Pharaoh's Fortune that you don't enjoy, but are a fan of its theme, chances are good that you'll enjoy these similar slots below.