Scarab Queen

Your mission is to find the Tomb of the Scarab Queen. Accept it and join John Hunter, the explorer, on an adventure like never before if you’re feeling brave. Well, if you’ve watched Indiana Jones, it might come close.

Ancient Egypt is full of untold riches and antiquities, so if you don't mind a bit of sand, you’re in for a fun time. It’s the third in the John Hunter series from Pragmatic Play. The adventurer and treasure hunter has already made a name for himself by seeking out Da Vinci’s Secrets and the Wonders of the Aztecs.

Expect Egyptian gods, pyramids, the handy satchel and pistol and, of course, the beautiful Scarab Queen herself.

Read on to find out how to uncover the tomb and make it out with the treasures.

Rules

This video slot sticks to the standard reel structure with three rows and five reels. There are 25 paylines, giving you multiple ways to win and paying from left to right. Scarab Queen is a medium volatility slot, so payouts are fairly steady and frequent.

As with most Pragmatic Play slots, the controls are straightforward. The largest button is the spinning arrows, which sets the reels in motion. The plus and minus buttons on either side will allow you to set your total bet by adjusting the coin value and the coins per line.

The ‘i’ button for information launches the paytable. It shows you the paylines and value of the symbols. You need at least three of any icon in a combination to trigger a win.

Gameplay

The low-value symbols are the playing cards J, Q, K and A. The more valuable ones fit more with the game’s theme. You’ll see the satchel, the pistol in its holster, Anubis and John Hunter with a torch in his hand.  

Special Symbols

There are a few twists that help the Scarab Queen edition in this series stand out. You’ve got several bonus symbols to look out for that trigger exciting rounds away from the base game.

Wilds

The Scarab Queen is the wild symbol. She substitutes for all other icons, except the special symbols mentioned below, including the scatter, the money and collect symbols. You’ll only see the wild on reels two, three, four and five.

Money Collect

The money symbols and money collect icon appear in the base game and the Free Spins round. The money symbol is a scarab with a predefined value written on it. You can land several at once, but only on reels one to four.

For the money symbols to pay out, they need to be combined with the collect symbol that appears on reel five. There are five versions of the symbol, each with a different colour and some text to indicate how they interact.

Collect gets you the value as shown. Extra collect contains its own value that’s added to all money symbols, and you get the total. Multiplier collect will have a number, such as x2, which will apply to the money symbols on the screen.

Expanding collect turns each reel with a money symbol into a reel full of them with random values. Respin collect fixes the money symbols in place and spins the reels again, adding any new money symbols to the total.

Free Spins

The free spin round is triggered by the scatter symbol. It’s represented by a pyramid. Three of them give you 1x your total bet and launch the bonus game with eight free spins. The pyramid can land on reels two, three and four.

A special set of reels are used for the bonus game. The scatter is still active, so it’s possible to retrigger another eight free spins. In fact, there’s no limit on the number of times you can retrigger.

The money symbols appear on the reels during the free spins. Each of the values is added to a prize pot that keeps building. At the end of the free spins, the reels one to four are filled with the total prize pot money symbol; if you land the collect symbol on the fifth reel, you win the jackpot.

Design

Like the other slots in the John Hunter series, Scarab Queen is a richly-detailed game. It has a fitting soundtrack and animations that are subtle but appealing. It’s the bonus features that are the most attractive part of the game.

We particularly like the clever use of the scarab as the collect symbol with different functions.

Final Thoughts

We’re big fans of an adventure slot, especially when the theme works across all elements of the game. John Hunter and the Scarab Queen delivers excitement through diverse features as well as the backdrop of the pyramids in the desert.