Pharaoh’s Fortune Slot Machine

Playing Pharaoh’s Fortune

One of the ways Pharaoh’s Fortune initially draws players in at casinos is the soundtrack. The game plays an instrumental version of the 1987 Bangle’s hit song “Walk Like an Egyptian” during game play.

This 5 reel game is available in both 10 and 15 pay line versions and is one of the more popular casino games both in the United States and internationally.

Pharaoh’s Fortune is based on another wildly popular game called Cleopatra slots. Pharaoh’s Fortune has better graphics and more chances at bonuses than its predecessor.

How the Symbols Pay Out

Pharaoh’s Fortune has 13 symbols in the base game play.

These symbols are:

• The Pharaoh’s Fortune glowing pyramid
• The golden beetle scatter
• The phoenix
• 2 Egyptians
• Egyptian riding a horse drawn chariot
• Egyptian with a wolf mask
• Egyptian holding two poles
• The eye
• The snake
• The wolf
• The owl
• The green pharaoh

Much like any slot machine game, you must match certain symbols to win. In this game the best symbol to get is the Pharaoh’s Fortune glowing pyramid. This acts as the “wild” symbol for the game. It can be used in place of any symbol except the bonus and the scatter symbols.

If you get multiple Pharaoh’s Fortune symbols on the same line, large pay outs are awarded.

The pay outs for multiple Pharaoh’s Fortune symbols on the same line are:

• 5 symbols = 10000 credits
• 4 symbols = 1000 credits
• 3 symbols = 200 credits
• 2 symbols = 50 credits

The scatter symbol is adorned with a golden beetle. The scatter is a symbol that can appear anywhere on the reels. You must have the minimum scatters on the screen to win, but they do not have to be on the same pay line.

The scatter symbols pay back in multiples of your bet as seen here:

• 5 symbols = 50x bet
• 4 symbols = 10x bet
• 3 symbols = 5x bet
• 2 symbols = 2x bet

The best symbol that you can get that does not fall into a wild category is the phoenix.

The phoenix pays out the following jackpots:

• 5 symbols = 1000 credits
• 4 symbols = 250 credits
• 3 symbols = 100 credits
• 2 symbols = 5 credits

Next in order is the 2 Egyptians symbol.

This symbol pays the following:

• 5 symbols = 500 credits
• 4 symbols = 100 credits
• 3 symbols = 25 credits
• 2 symbols = 2 credits

For the remaining symbols, you must match a minimum of 3 to win.

The pay outs for the symbols of the Egyptian in the horse drawn chariot and the Egyptian in the wolf mask are:

• 5 symbols = 400 credits
• 4 symbols = 100 credits
• 3 symbols = 15 credits

The pay outs for the symbol of the Egyptian with 2 poles are:

• 5 symbols = 200 credits
• 4 symbols = 75 credits
• 3 symbols = 10 credits

The symbols of the eye and the snake pay out the same.

The pay outs are:

• 5 symbols = 100 credits
• 4 symbols = 50 credits
• 3 symbols = 10 credits

Finally, the symbols of the wolf and the owl also pay out the same.

The pay outs for these symbols are:

• 5 symbols = 100 credits
• 4 symbols = 30 credits
• 3 symbols = 5 credits

The final symbol is the green pharaoh. 3 of these symbols anywhere on the screen trigger the bonus round.

All of the winnings listed are multiplied by the line bet. The maximum line is 50 credits. So a spin where a maximum bet is placed that gets 5 glowing pyramids on the same pay line will yield you 500,000 credits.

The Bonus Round

The bonus round is triggered in the game when 3 pharaohs with a green background appear on the screen. Once activated you are then transported to a screen where you must pick blocks.

Each block will have one of 3 results:

• 1 free spin
• Multiplier increased by 1x
• Start free spins

You will keep selecting blocks until the start free spins block is selected. In total the blocks can provide up to 25 free spins and a 6x multiplier.

When the spins start, the process is automated. The spins occur without any need for interaction from you. Each free spin is a guaranteed winner. It will pay a minimum of 3x the bonus multiplier x the triggering bet line.

In the bonus round there are new icons that have different pay outs similar to the base play of the game.

The game has 13 different bonus symbols. The most important of which is the wild symbol. The wild symbol in the bonus round is much like the wild symbol in the base play as it will substitute for any symbol except the scatter and the bonus symbol.

The pay out for the wild symbol are:

• 5 symbols = 10000 credits
• 4 symbols = 300 credits
• 3 symbols = 100 credits
• 2 symbols = 25 credits

A win with 5 wild symbols is multiplied by the line bet but isn’t affected by the multiplier.

The scatter symbol in the bonus round works the same as it does in base play. Scatter wins are multiplied by the bonus spin value. The bonus spin value is line bet x 20. The scatters do not have to be on the same pay line, the can be anywhere on the screen.

The pay outs for the scatters are:

• 5 symbols = 20x bet
• 4 symbols = 5x bet
• 3 symbols = 3x bet
• 2 symbols = 1x bet

Within the bonus game there is also a bonus symbol. The bonus symbol in this case is a pharaoh on a gold background. Three of these symbols in any position on bonus reels 1, 2, and 3 award additional free spins. These spins are equal to the total number of spins initially triggered in the free spins bonus.

The other symbols in the bonus spins pay out between 3 and 300 credits.

Expected Payback

All slot machines have an expected payback. This figure is how much money you can likely win back. The payback is expressed as a percentage and takes into account the amount of times you spin.

The expected payback for Pharaoh’s Fortune slot machines varies between 93.5% and 96% on the 15 line version.

With a long term game play strategy, for every $100 you wager, you can expect to receive $96.

The less spins you make, the lower the expected payback. This is why you see a range in the expected payback above instead of a set percentage.

Ancient Egypt: A Brief History

The history of Egypt goes back to roughly 3150 B. C. The legend of the Pharaoh is born when Pharaoh Meni unified upper and lower Egypt and establish the capital in the ancient city of Memphis.

For the next 1,000 years Egypt flourished and would develop great advancements in art, architecture, technology and agriculture. This would be the period that the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx were created.

Towards the end of the first millennium of the kingdom, the government system had grown beyond its means. A great famine had hit the area and the kingdom collapsed.

With the fall of the pharaohs, local leaders began to take control. Without having to pay tributes and taxes to the centralized government, the local leaders were able to focus on establishing stability and prosperity in their regions.

The local leaders then started jockeying for control and territory. This all came to a head around 2055 B. C. when in battle, both northern and southern Egypt were reunited under Pharaoh Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II ushering in the period known as the Middle Kingdom.

The kingdom flourished again under the Pharaohs for the next 500 years. More advances in agriculture coupled with new military tactics and technology allowed expansion into Nubia which provided mineral rich lands that contained large deposits of gold.

After several decades of decline, Egypt was conquered about 1550 B. C. by the first Pharaoh of the 18^th dynasty, Pharaoh Ahmose I. Prosperity returned under Ahmose I. Borders were secured and new trading partnerships with neighboring kingdoms were established.

Great building projects and infrastructure were created during the New Kingdom period. Architecture that rivaled ancient Greece would be found in the temples and buildings of the time.

The New Kingdom also saw the reign of Ramesses the Great. Ramesses sired over 100 children. This is more than any other pharaoh. His reign would also see the first peace treaty in recorded history after fighting the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh in 1258 B. C. The long battle was one in which neither side could get the upper hand, which led to the withdrawal of both forces from the area.

As happened previously, however, over the next 5 centuries, the government would grow beyond its means and become corrupt. By 1069 B. C. the kingdom had split up in 2. During this time, Egypt would be conquered by both the Nubians and then the Assyrians, who would assert control over them for the next 500 years.

Egypt would eventually go on to be conquered by the Persians, and then later by Alexander the Great. Alexander set up the administration of the region and he was succeeded by his fellow Macedonian Ptolemy who declared himself the rightful successor to the Pharaohs and took the title.

The Ptolemy line would extend to its most famous and final Pharaoh, Cleopatra. The story of the Pharaohs would come to an end after the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus declared war on and defeated Cleopatra and her consort Mark Antony’s forces in 30 B. C. Shortly after the defeat, Cleopatra committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by a cobra. Rome would then annex Egypt, ending 3,000 years of the Pharaohs.

Conclusion

Widely available in both brick and mortar casinos and online, Pharaoh’s Fortune provides a fun way to play slots. It contains amusing graphics, a hit soundtrack and great bonuses. The payback percentage of up to 96% also provides an attractive incentive to play. With a chance to win 10,000 coins on a single spin, you could win treasures that the ancient Pharaohs would envy.