Introduction to Sand and Ashes
Sand and Ashes is a casino slot from Hacksaw Gaming, where you'll be reintroduced to the most prominent deities of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, who will hopefully lead you to tombs filled with treasures among the endless desert sands. Along the way, you'll need to avoid the undead protector who watches over the legendary riches amassed by the pharaohs by utilising Sandstorms and Firestorms to your advantage. While eluding his vengeful gaze, follow the shimmering scarabs that will show you the right path with their respins and lucrative multipliers. Once you reach any of the two bonus games, you'll witness their powers grow even stronger, with more frequent appearances and holding to their positions for the entirety of the feature.
Outsmart the mummified warrior and snatch the max win of 10,000x the bet from under his nose, or plan your approach safely in the demo mode available at the top of the page.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Sand and Ashes is a video slot from Hacksaw Gaming with 5 reels, 5 rows, and 19 paylines. You can choose your stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.1, which makes the spins particularly affordable, up to a Max.bet of 100. The math profile runs on a default RTP of 96.27%, which is in line with the industry standards, although several alternative variants of 94.21%, 92.30%, and 86.19% are also released, so make sure to check the version you're playing. You can expect a relatively even average balance between the value and the frequency of wins due to medium volatility, while the max win available on any single round is 12,000x the bet. The base hit frequency sits at the rate of 32.9%.
In Sand and Ashes, you enter a grim Ancient Egyptian scene set among the endless desert sands. The view is enveloped in a sandstorm that will only build up during the bonus rounds, ensuing ultimate mythological chaos. On the right, a pyramid with a gold-covered tip looms in the distance, teasing with the legendary treasures hidden within, while the undead warrior watches you from the left, tracking your every move with his reddish gaze. A curved blade resting in his hand and an ominous attire prove that he's not a creature to be toyed with. The playing grid sits in the middle, housed by an ornate frame, displaying a selection of detailed, polished symbols on the dark lining of the reels. You can enjoy this intense mythological atmosphere on any modern device, as the game's responsive design allows it to be played on all desktops, smartphones, and tablets.
Winning combinations must contain between 3 and 5 matching symbols running through adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost one on any of the 19 active paylines. The paytable hierarchy contains two groups of paying icons, with the low-paying ones represented by playing card ranks, J, Q, K, and A, all awarding 1x the bet for a combination of 5 on a payline. High-paying symbols comprise images of Sobek, Anubis, Ra, and a pharaoh. They bring payouts of between 5x and 10x the bet when scoring 5 of a kind. Wilds are represented by a gold scarab, which substitutes for all paying symbols mentioned above and awards up to 10x the bet for independent combinations. FS Scatters are depicted by a golden emblem in the shape of the Eye of Ra with 'FS' letters.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Sand and Ashes?
You can win up to 10,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Sand and Ashes?
The features are Wild Scarab Multipliers & Respins, Firestorms & Sandstorms, Desert Fury Bonus, Storming Sphinx Bonus, and Feature Buy.
Wild Scarab Multipliers & Respins
All Wilds land with a multiplier value of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or x200. When a Wild is a part of a winning combination, it multiplies the payout by its displayed value. If more than one Wild contributes to the same payline win, their values are added together before being applied to the prize.
Once all initial wins have been evaluated, a respin is triggered with all Wilds remaining in their position. If at least one new Wild lands during the respin, the sequence will continue. Wins are evaluated after every respin.
Firestorms & Sandstorms
Randomly, during a respin, a Firestorm or Sandstorm feature may kick in. Firestorm randomly increases the multiplier values on Wild Scarabs by x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x25, x50, or x100. Sandstorm shifts all Wild Scarabs one position to the left if there's space to do so. The maximum multiplier on any single Wild Scarab may reach x999.
Desert Fury Bonus
Landing 3 FS Scatters anywhere in view during the same spin activates 8 free spins, during which the frequency of Wild Scarabs landing will be increased.
Storming Sphinx Bonus
With 4 FS Scatters ending up in any position on the grid at the end of a base game spin, you receive 10 free spins. In this mode, Wild Scarabs don't trigger respins, but they remain in their spots until the end of the feature after landing. Firestorms and Sandstorms can still trigger on every free spin. In either bonus mode, landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters simultaneously awards +2 or +4 extra spins, respectively.
Feature Buy
If you don't wish to chase after specific symbol combinations in the base game, you can make use of the Buy Bonus menu, where certain functions of the game can be triggered instantly for a fixed price that scales with your current bet.
3x = Bonushunt Featurespins with a 5 times better chance to activate a bonus game.
50x = Pharaoh Phrenzy Featurespins, guaranteeing at least 2 Wild Scarabs to land.
100x = Desert Fury Bonus with 8 free spins.
200x = Storming Sphinx Bonus with 10 free spins.
Final Thoughts on Sand and Ashes
Hacksaw Gaming is one of those studios that knows how to deliver even the most overdone theme in an intense, exciting way, and Sands and Ashes is here to serve as further proof. Mythology in general is one of the most popular narratives in online slots, constantly reappearing in various interpretations, but most of them rather plain and uninspiring. Games like Eternal Duel, Army of Ares, and Spear of Athena, however, can instantly drag you in with their unforgettable, sublime atmosphere and stellar graphics despite revolving around the commonplace subject matter. This grim Ancient Egyptian setting follows the same formula, turning the usual glorious treasure hunt among desert sands into a dangerous quest with a mummified warrior constantly on your heels. As usual, everything is wrapped in remarkable artwork, which makes even the most ubiquitous content on the reels, like royals and god characters, look fresh and interesting.
Underneath all that raging sand, Hacksaw's most beloved combination leads the action, meaning Wilds and multipliers. It's not the most sophisticated setup we've seen from the studio, and perhaps it doesn't carry as much anticipation as the fan-favourite DuelReels, but we can't deny its power when Sandstorms and Firestorms additionally grace the reels. During the base game, you'll be relying on respins whenever at least one Wild hits the grid, with each new one scored extending the sequence. The first bonus doesn't introduce any changes, except for the theoretically higher frequency of Wilds, but the second one transforms the gameplay quite significantly by discarding the respins and making Wilds sticky throughout. With Firestorms and Sandstorms possible to hit on any spin, this round carries plenty of potential, and if you line up a few of those Wilds on the front reels relatively early, you could be looking at a streak of guaranteed wins, which can only be further enhanced by the assisting features.
Sand and Ashes embraces the raw power of Wilds and high multipliers while serving a dark, intense, Ancient Egyptian backstory.
