Lost City of the Djinn

Lost City of the Djinn Overview

With a Disney’s Aladdin vibe, this new game from Thunderkick introduces us to the magical world of Arabic mythology. In fact, the similarities are so close to Aladdin that this could be easily considered a rip-off of the original film. However, Thunderkick is certainly not the first provider to do this, and we are sure it won’t be the last. In terms of the mechanics of this slot, Lost City of the Djinn is a five-reel, three-row game with 25 pay lines. The top payout here is an exciting 25,000x the stake, and the RTP is 96.07%.

The features of this game begin with the massive mystery feature. This bonus is triggered randomly and comes into play when a gigantic 3x3 symbol appears on the reels. It will magically transform into a randomly selected symbol and help to form more wins. Next is this game’s free spins bonus, triggered by landing three or more free spin scatters on the reels. The more scatters, the more free spins. The most complex feature here, however, is the Djinn spins feature, activated when players land three or more cash scatters on different reels. It has many modifiers. Finally, there is also a pattern collection feature. All bonus content will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

Djinn or jinn, anglicised to genie, are important figures that appear mainly in Arabic mythology. They are, in essence, spirits that humans cannot see but wield incredible powers, originally thought to be able to influence the actions of people. Benevolent genies were thought to inspire poets, help lost people in the desert or soothe someone’s grief. However, malevolent genies were blamed for the many evils in the world. The Disney version of this myth has a genie being able to be controlled by humans. The whole aesthetic of this game is based on the mysterious genie and their amazing powers.

The background for this game is the ruined temple grounds where the gang of explorers find this genie. The image seems to be set in the early morning, as the sun is just starting to warm the sky and the shadows begin to retreat from the tall, dilapidated towers of this forgotten sacred place. The background, however, is brought to life when bonus features are triggered. When this happens, the temples and the surrounding minarets are rebuilt, and a magical purple haze envelops the screen.
The playing board for this game is a golden frame that looks like an ornate Arabic mirror.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the card suits of club, spade, diamond and heart. The heart is the most valuable of these, worth 3.5x stake. On the other hand, the higher value symbols are the pilot, the scholar, the explorer and the mystical Djinn character. The Djinn is the most valuable icon, worth 30x the stake for the top combination. The specials finally are the mystery symbol, the free spins scatter, the cash scatters, the stake multiplier, the copy and the upgrade icons.

Game Play

Lost City of the Djinn is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 25 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The betting range for Lost City of the Djinn is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the very high range. The return to player percentage of Lost City of the Djinn is 96.07%, which is about average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 25,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature included in this game is the massive mystery symbol feature. This bonus is triggered at random. When it is, a huge 3x3 mystery symbol will appear on the reels. This massive symbol then transforms into a regular symbol to help score more wins. This bonus triggers on every spin in the free spin bonus.

The next feature is the free spins bonus, triggered when players land three or more free spin scatters on reels 3, 4 and 5. The more scatters you land; the more spins are awarded to you. The middle of the board will always be occupied by the special 3x3 symbol.
The next feature is called the Djinn Spins feature and is activated by landing three or more cash scatters on three different reels. The triggering scatters then remain in place for the duration of the feature. When the Djinn Spins start, players are taken to a new set of reels that has special sections containing symbols with stake multipliers in the range of 1x and 50x the stake. You are then given three free spins. Landing new symbols in free positions refresh your free spin tally. These new symbols also remain until the end of the feature.

The feature comes to an end when you run out of free spins. When this happens, the value of all the icons on the board is boosted by the displayed multipliers. This sum is then paid out to you. This feature also has modifiers. The first one is the upgrade symbol, which, if it lands, will upgrade all the symbols currently on the board. The other modifier is the copy icon that copies all the collected symbol's worth and holds that value to be paid out at the end.
The final feature is called the pattern collect feature. During the Djinn Spins feature, five positions on the reels will be randomly highlighted. When the positions are filled with symbols, the feature springs to life, enhancing the value of those symbols highlighted in the spaces. A new five positions are then illuminated.

Conclusion

Fun, colourful and with a stimulating set of features, Lost City of the Djinn is a rollercoaster of entertainment. It is perhaps a little tired in terms of the idea for the theme, but the execution is excellent, and the aesthetics are different enough, making you feel like you are playing something new. Winning potential-wise things are high risk, high reward with good top-end payouts yet a pretty volatile math model.