Alchymedes Slot
Alchymedes is a 5-reel, 4-row, fixed 30 pay line 'both ways pay' online slot from Yggdrasil Gaming. We're pretty sure that the term 'Alchymedes' has been constructed as a portmanteau of 'Alchemy' and 'Archimedes'. Alchemy was what passed for science and chemistry in Europe and Asia prior to the advent of common sense. It was believed that 'base metals' such as lead could be turned into 'noble ones' such as gold. The eternal hunt was for the 'Philosopher's Stone' – the substance that could trigger such transformations. Modern-day Alchemists are still looking. As for Archimedes, he was an ancient Greek significantly blessed with smarts. He was so intelligent that he held no truck with alchemy. He is famed for discovering the Archimedes Principle, which ascertained that if you enter a bath while the water is still too hot you end up running naked down the streets yelling "Eureka! Eureka!"
The symbols used in this slot are composed of different coloured potions, plus playing card suit symbols. These are the only symbols used, aside from a cauldron symbol that's used as a wild. There are thirty lines in this slot (which has four rows as opposed to the habitual three) and they are automatically in play during every spin, plus they pay both left-to-right and right-to-left. You can choose your coin value – from 0.01 to 2.00 – for each spin, and your final wager is thirty times your coin size. When you're ready to yell 'hocus pocus' hit that spin button.
Payout & bonus rounds
The lowest payout in this game is five coins, which you attain should you land three clubs on one of the pay lines. The jackpot in normal play is for five purple-coloured potion vials, which wins five hundred coins.
Every time you landing a winning combination, the background of each row position turns gold. When you complete the full grid, you ascend to the slot's next level. A random wild pattern is triggered on the left hand side of the screen. When a wild symbol lands, the cauldron it contains tips over and the liquid from the cauldron expands into other symbols to match at least part of the pattern. Each symbol that the liquid touches turns into a wild symbol. A vial of 'wild potion' sits beside the reels and fills with every wild win, turning from green to gold. The more gold you have, the more chance the wild will spread with greater effect.
On each spin the multiplier vial on the right hand side of the reels fills up with red fluid. This can trigger a multiplier increase from 1x to 5x. This overall multiplier, which begins as 1x, can increase in value all the way up to 100x. The multiplier is applied to the FINAL win you obtain when you 'level up'.
When you level up you are presented with the 'Alchemist's Scale'. You can choose between adding to the wild potion or the multiplier potion. Adding wild potion increases the potential of your wild pattern. Adding to the multiplier potion increases the potential of your multiplier.
One thing we've learned about Yggdrasil Gaming is that they are never afraid to release a slot that attempts to be something that's a little different. Alchymedes is certainly something different, and receives a firm thumbs up from us. Concepts such a multiplier meters are nothing new, but when they're so splendidly presented as they are here they certainly add extra shine. We also adore the concept of 'levelling up' as that gives committed players something to strive for other than just having to slap the spin button time and time again.
We throughly recommend that you give Alchymedes serious consideration if you're looking for a new slot to qualify as one of your favourites.