Pharaoh Khufu was greedy in life, and being a long-lost mummy has done nothing to soften him. Queen Cleo and her pillaging minions rudely woke him at Christmas, and now he wants his precious gems back.
On Thursday, Play’n Go launched Wrappin’ Christmas Gold sending sends him after them.
Egypt has had a heavy snowfall. Snow covers the rooftops and palm trees beneath the pyramids, Christmas lights run along the houses, and Khufu has pulled a Santa hat over his bandages. Even the A, K, Q and J symbols come bandaged, while a pharaoh, a crocodile and a jackal-headed figure look out from candy-cane-striped frames.
Christmas has clearly reached Egypt. Goodwill has yet to reach Khufu.
“Most Christmas characters are busy giving things away,” Magnus Wallentin, games ambassador at Play’n GO, said. “Khufu has other ideas. He’s greedy, he’s grumpy and he’s wearing a Santa hat over his bandages, and all he wants is what’s his.”
Wallentin said that’s “what makes him so much fun in Collect & Win, where the more gems he grabs, the bigger he gets, until there’s no room left for anyone else.”
“He may not have much Christmas spirit, but he makes a brilliant Christmas star,” he added.
Above the 5-reel, 3-row grid sit three feature pots in Santa hats and reindeer antlers, marked Bonus Spins, Collect & Win and Instant Bonus. They collect the red, green and purple Scatter Gems that land on the reels. Three or more Bonus Spins Scatter Gems trigger 6 Bonus Spins, which can be retriggered.
While Bonus Spins are running, the other two features are easier to trigger.
Collect & Win is where Khufu gets to work. It activates when a Mummy Symbol lands on reel 1 with at least one Collect & Win Scatter Gem and Collect & Win Scatter Gems can also activate it on their own. The feature starts with 5 spins on a 5×5-reel set, where only Coins and Scatter Gems can land, and a 2×2 Mummy collects any Coins inside his area.
When a Scatter Gem lands, he moves over to claim it. Every Collect & Win Scatter Gem moves him along an upgrade trail, including the gems that triggered the feature. With enough gems he can grow to 3×3, then 4×4 and finally fill the whole reel set, picking up extra spins along the way.
Everything collected is awarded when the feature ends.
Wilds bring their own surprise. Any Wild that lands in the base game or during Bonus Spins can trigger the Instant Bonus. This is a pick feature where 15 Mystery Symbols hide four fixed bonuses, from Mini at 5x up to Grand at 500x the total bet. The first bonus revealed three times is the one awarded.
