On this page
- What Rise of Merlin is
- How a spin works, step by step
- Symbols and paytable
- The Magical Orb: wild and scatter in one
- Free spins and expanding symbols explained
- Worked examples at a 1.00 stake
- Gamble feature
- RTP, volatility and how it compares
- Testing it in the demo and reading the rules
- Rise of Merlin free demo
- Frequently asked questions
What Rise of Merlin is
Play'n GO released Rise of Merlin on 17 June 2019. The theme is Arthurian: a younger Merlin, a tower full of potions, an owl and a red dragon among the premium symbols, and a crystal Magical Orb that drives every feature. Card ranks fill the lower part of the paytable. The art is soft and pastel rather than dark, which sets it apart from the tomb-raiding look of most slots built on the same engine.
Under the theme sits a classic expanding symbol design. You get five reels, three rows and up to ten paylines that pay left to right. One symbol, the Magical Orb, acts as wild on the lines and as the scatter that opens the bonus. The bonus is a free spins round where a randomly chosen symbol can expand to fill whole reels and pay without needing to sit on adjacent reels.
The official rules sheet rates the game 10 on the provider's volatility scale and labels it very high. The maximum exposure is 500,000 at the top bet of 100, which works out to a 5,000x cap on your stake.
The default RTP is 96.58%, and operators can also pick lower builds at 94.51%, 91.51%, 87.56% and 84.55%.
How a spin works, step by step
- Choose your stake in the settings: lines (1 to 10), coins per line (1 to 5) and coin value (0.01 to 2.00). The total bet is lines times coins times coin value, from 0.01 up to 100.
- Press spin. Five reels stop on a 5x3 window.
- Each active line is checked from the leftmost reel. A win needs matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from reel one. Premium symbols pay from two of a kind, card ranks from three.
- Line wins are multiplied by the coins you bet per line. Only the highest win on each line is paid, and wins on several lines are added together.
- The Magical Orb substitutes for every other symbol, so it can complete or extend any line.
- Three or more orbs anywhere on the screen pay a scatter win and start the free spins round.
- After any base game win you can collect it or take it into the optional gamble round.
Lines are always activated in numerical order. The expanding symbol in the bonus pays only on lines you have active, so playing fewer than ten lines throws away part of the bonus value. Keep all ten on and lower the coin value instead if you want a smaller stake.
Symbols and paytable
The rules sheet lists ten regular symbol tiers plus the wild. Values below are in coins per line, so at one coin per line they equal multiples of your line bet. Merlin, the owl and the dragon are among the four premium symbols; the provider does not publish which artwork sits in which premium tier, so the table uses its own labels.
| Symbol | 5 of a kind | 4 of a kind | 3 of a kind | 2 of a kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magical Orb (wild) | 5,000 | 1,000 | 100 | 10 |
| Premium 4 (top) | 5,000 | 1,000 | 100 | 10 |
| Premium 3 | 1,600 | 300 | 30 | 5 |
| Premium 2 and 1 | 600 | 80 | 20 | 5 |
| Card ranks, top two | 120 | 30 | 5 | none |
| Card ranks, lower three | 80 | 20 | 5 | none |
Notice how steep the ladder is. Five of the top premium on one line return 5,000 times the line bet, while five of the third premium return 1,600. At a 1.00 total bet on ten lines your line bet is 0.10, so those two results are worth 500.00 and 160.00. The orb's own scatter pay for three or more is shown in the in-game paytable rather than in the rules sheet, so check it there.
The Magical Orb: wild and scatter in one
Because one symbol does both jobs, every orb you see on the reels pulls double duty. On a line it substitutes for anything. Anywhere on screen it counts toward the bonus trigger. Three orbs scattered across reels one, three and five, for example, can pay a scatter win, complete line wins as wilds and launch the feature all on the same spin.
There is a catch that applies to every slot of this design. The orb pays like the top premium, so a line of orbs is valuable, but orbs that land in the bonus do not expand. Only the special symbol picked for the round grows.
Free spins and expanding symbols explained
Three or more orbs award 8 free spins, played at the same lines and bet as the triggering spin. Before the first spin the game picks one regular symbol at random to become the special expanding symbol for the round.
- Premium symbol picked: it expands when at least two of it land.
- Card rank picked: it needs at least three to expand.
- How the expansion pays: normal line wins are paid first. Then the special symbols grow to cover their whole reels and pay again on every active line, with gaps allowed, so the reels holding the symbol do not have to be next to each other.
- Retrigger: three or more orbs during the round add another 8 spins and a second special symbol, chosen at random. A third retrigger adds a third symbol, and so on.
The retrigger rule is the heart of the game. With two or three special symbols active, the chance that at least one of them lands enough copies on a given spin rises noticeably, and several can expand on the same spin.
Worked examples at a 1.00 stake
Take a 1.00 total bet: ten lines, one coin, 0.10 coin value. Your line bet is 0.10.
- Premium 2 picked, lands on reels 1, 2 and 4. Three reels expand. Every one of the ten lines now shows three of that symbol, worth 20 times the line bet each: 20 x 0.10 x 10 = 20.00, on top of any normal line win from that spin.
- Same symbol on four reels. The pay per line jumps to 80, so the expansion returns 80 x 0.10 x 10 = 80.00.
- Card rank from the lower group picked, lands on three reels. 5 x 0.10 x 10 = 5.00. Low symbols expand often but pay little until they cover four or five reels, where they reach 20.00 and 80.00.
- Top premium on all five reels. 5,000 x 0.10 x 10 = 5,000.00, which is exactly the 5,000x cap. This full-screen result is the ceiling of the game.
The examples show why the symbol draw at the start of the round matters so much. A premium pick needs only two copies to expand and pays far more per reel. A card rank pick needs three and pays modestly unless it fills the screen. Retriggers give you a second draw, which is often worth more than the extra spins themselves.
Gamble feature
After any base game win you can gamble it on a face-down card. Guess the color and a correct answer doubles the win, with a 1 in 2 chance. Guess the suit and a correct answer quadruples it, with a 1 in 4 chance. You can gamble up to five times in a row. The rules state that the gamble does not change the game's overall RTP, and it is switched off during autoplay. It adds variance, not value, so use it only with amounts you are content to lose.
RTP, volatility and how it compares
The default RTP is 96.58%, and the live help shows that figure for regulated markets. Operators can also pick builds of 94.51%, 91.51%, 87.56% or 84.55%, and the lower three are not offered to operators licensed in Malta. The same game, same art, same rules, can therefore return 12 percentage points less depending on where you load it.
On volatility, the provider's rating of 10 is the top of its scale. The structure explains it: most of the return is locked inside a bonus that needs three orbs on a ten-line, three-row screen, and the biggest results need a premium expanding symbol across four or five reels.
| Point | Rise of Merlin | Legacy of Dead | Book of Dead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default RTP | 96.58% | 96.58% | 96.21% |
| Starting free spins | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Extra symbol on retrigger | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cap | 5,000x | 5,000x | 5,000x |
If the layout looks familiar, it is. Legacy of Dead uses the same paytable values and the same retrigger rule in an Egyptian setting, while Book of Dead offers 10 starting spins but only one expanding symbol per round.
Testing it in the demo and reading the rules
The free demo on this page runs the provider's own practice build. A useful test is to note how many spins pass between bonus triggers over a few hundred spins, and which symbol gets picked each time, so you get a feel for how uneven the results are.
Before playing for money, open the game's help screen at your casino and check three things:
- The RTP line. If it does not say 96.58%, you are on a lower build.
- The bet range the operator allows, since the top limit can differ from 100.
- The scatter pay values in the paytable, which the rules sheet does not list.
Size your stake so that 200 or more spins fit in your session budget. With volatility this high, a shorter session often ends before the first bonus appears. Play only with money you can afford to lose, and only where online casino play is legal for adults.
Where to play Rise of Merlin for real money
Frequently asked questions
What is the RTP of Rise of Merlin?
The default RTP is 96.58%. Play'n GO also supplies builds at 94.51%, 91.51%, 87.56% and 84.55%, and the operator chooses which one runs. The figure for your casino is shown in the game's help screen.
How do you trigger free spins in Rise of Merlin?
Land three or more Magical Orbs anywhere on the reels. You get 8 free spins and one randomly chosen symbol becomes the special expanding symbol for the round. Three or more orbs during the round add 8 more spins and another expanding symbol.
How does the expanding symbol work?
A premium symbol expands when at least two land, a card rank when at least three land. After normal wins are paid, the symbol fills its reels and pays again on every active line, and the reels do not need to be adjacent.
What is the maximum win in Rise of Merlin?
The win is capped at 5,000 times your stake. The provider lists a maximum exposure of 500,000 at the top bet of 100. A full screen of the top premium symbol during free spins reaches this figure.
Is Rise of Merlin high volatility?
Yes. Play'n GO's rules sheet rates it 10 on its own scale and calls it very high. Most of the return comes from the free spins round, so expect long gaps between big wins.
Does Rise of Merlin have a bonus buy?
No. The free spins can only be triggered by landing three or more Magical Orbs. The only optional extra is the gamble round after base game wins.
Can I play Rise of Merlin for free?
Yes. The demo on this page is Play'n GO's own practice version with play money. It uses the same rules and paytable as the real money game.
