Introduction to Inca Queen
Inca Queen is a casino slot from Pragmatic Play among temples and brave warriors. Here’s a quick fact before we head into the gameplay. Did you know that the Inca Empire had its capital, Cusco, high up in the mountains in Peru? However, here we spin the 5x3 game grid in the dense jungle for an alternative take on the familiar Hold & Win mechanics. The gameplay revolves around Coin Symbols and frames, and landing 6 or more of either of them will trigger the Money Respin Feature. Collecting them together will grant a random multiplier up to 10X, which adds a boost to the Bonus Game but doesn’t change the familiar collection mechanics. While testing the game, we liked the visuals, but the gameplay gives an unclear impression with rules that are sometimes hard to follow. We get the feeling that Pragmatic Play wants to shake up a familiar mechanic, but in the end, it delivers basic gameplay, resulting in a below-average rating. Continue reading for more information.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
Inca Queen is a video slot by Pragmatic Play that features 5 reels, 3 rows, and 20 paylines. While singing your heart out, you can select bet sizes ranging from 0.2 to 240, with a default RTP of 96.55%, which is considered above industry average. However, operators can choose to use one of the lower ones, such as 95.55% or 94.55%. This game has high volatility and a hit frequency of 20.45%, offering potential wins of up to an average 5,000X your bet. On average, it takes 120.64 spins to activate the bonus game and 1,396,648 spins to land the maximum win. Lastly, getting wins over 1000X the bet averages 1 in 64,775 spins.
The game’s design is based on an Inca theme, inviting us into the dense jungles of Peru. The 5x3 game grid is centered on the screen, with a backdrop of Inca temples and waterfalls. If you want to boost the gaming experience for a cost, activate the Feature Buy or Ante Bet button on the left side. All other buttons, including the Spin and Bet Size, can be found below the reels. You can play Inca Queen on all mobile devices, desktops, and tablets. You create a winning combination by landing 3 or more of the same symbol types on adjacent reels starting at the leftmost reel.
The lower-paying symbols are 10, J, Q, K, and A. Landing 5 of the same symbol type pays between 2.5X and 3X. The higher-paying symbols are a bird, a snake, a leopard, and an Inca warrior. Landing 5 of the same symbol type pays between 5X and 30X.
The game’s Wild Symbol has the design of the Inca Queen and can only land on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. The Coin Symbol is a golden coin carrying values ranging from 1X to 15X the bet, or one of the game’s Jackpots up to 250X the bet. This game has no traditional Scatter Symbol; instead, landing 6 or more Coin Symbols will trigger the Money Respin Feature. Let’s find out what kind of features this game has to offer.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot of Inca Queen?
The max win is 5,000X the bet.
What features are available in the slot of Inca Queen?
The features of this slot game are Wild Symbol, Coin Symbol, Frames, Coin and Frame Respin Feature, Money Respin Feature, Ante Bet, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbol
The Wild Symbol substitutes all symbols except the Coin Symbol and helps you create winning combinations. It can only appear on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Coin Symbol
The Coin Symbol can land with values of 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 8X, 10X, 15X the bet. It can also land as the Mini, Minor, or Major Jackpot, awarding 20X, 30X, 50X, 100X, 200X, or 250X the bet, respectively. However, its values can only be awarded during the Money Respin Feature.
All Coin Symbols are collected in the Coin Pot, and landing 6 or more can trigger the Money Respin Feature.
Frames
Randomly, a frame can appear on 1 or more symbols on the grid. Each frame that appears is collected into the Frame Pot. Collecting 6 frames will trigger the Money Respins feature.
Coin and Frame Respin Feature
The Coin and Frame Respin Feature can be randomly triggered whenever a Coin Symbol or frame appears in view. During the feature, only Coin Symbols and frames can appear on the reels. Coin and frames are locked in position until 6 Coin Symbols or/and frames are present on the reels, triggering the Money Respin Feature.
If both Coin Symbols and frames are collected, a random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X, 8X, or 10X is awarded. It applies to the values of all Coin Symbols during the round and the following Money Respin Feature.
Money Respin Feature
This feature can be triggered by landing 6 Coin Symbols or 6 frames during the Base Game, awarding 3 respins. Only blanks and Coin Symbols can land during the feature, and frames can appear in random positions. Whenever a Coin Symbol lands on the reels, it is locked in place until the feature ends, and the respins reset to 3.
During the feature, any reel position that contains both a Coin Symbol and a frame gets active. If there are more than 6 active positions at the ends of the feature, the Money Respin Feature is retriggered. When it retriggered, all frames are cleared, but the Coin Symbols stay locked.
If the Money Respin Feature is triggered from the Coin and Frame Respin Feature, after each retrigger, a multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X, 8X, or 10X is applied to all Coin Symbols for the retriggered round.
Coin Symbols can appear as Special Symbols, triggering a Special Respin feature, which works with the same mechanics as the Money Respin Feature. At the ends of the feature, the values of all Coin Symbols on the reels are added together, and the total becomes the value of that Special Symbol. If all 6 positions are filled, a multiplier of 2X, 3X, 5X, 8X, 10X, 15X, 20X, 50X, or 100X is applied to the total value or the max win of 5,000X the bet is randomly awarded.
The Money Respin Feature ends when no more respins are left, awarding the total value of all Coin Symbols in view. If all 15 reel positions are filled, award the Grand Jackpot of 2,000X the bet.
Ante Bet
Activate the Ante Bet for 30X the bet and increase your chances of triggering the respin features with an RTP of 96.57%
Feature Buy
If you want to advance directly to the Bonus Game, use the Feature Buy option:
250X = Activate the Money Respin Feature with an RTP of 96.57%.
Final Thoughts on Inca Queen
This game offers a chance to cut through the dense jungle and experience the once-mighty Inca Empire through good visuals. We’ve seen a similar theme in games like Legacy of Inca and Incan Wonders. As always, Pragmatic Play delivers a good design with strong colors and a user-friendly vibe, showing why they are one of the leading studios.
In terms of gameplay, this is an alternative take on a Hold & Win mechanic, offering various ways of triggering the Bonus Game, but without a collection feature during the Base Game. So what makes this different from other Hold & Win releases? Here, we get both Coin Symbols and frames, and collecting 6+ of either will trigger the Money Respin Feature. But collecting both a Coin and a frame together can grant a multiplier value of up to 10X. As you may have noticed, there isn’t much that makes it different, except for alternative ways to trigger the Bonus Game. During the Bonus Game, we are met with a familiar Hold & Win mechanic. Thankfully, the provider has thrown in some Special Symbols with a chance to boost the win potential, but it doesn’t change the fact that the gameplay fails to create a long-term interest due to familiar mechanics and modest win potential.
In conclusion, we liked the visuals of this release, but the gameplay feels overly complicated when it’s actually just an alternative take on a Hold & Win mechanic. It might suit if you like hunting for Jackpots and the Inca theme, but for us, it is too repetitive and familiar to score a good rating.
Inca Queen is visually pleasing, but its gameplay can’t match the design, with repetitive mechanics and overly complicated rules.
