Old King Cole Pokie
Part of Microgamings’ popular Rhyming Reels series of pokies, Old King Cole brings the children’s song more up to date by re-inventing him as a rock n’ roll star. It’s in keeping with the theme of these pokies which put a new twist on old tales, while it also comes with similar bonus features such as free spins with multipliers, wild substitutions and an optional gamble round.
Full of bright colours and presented in a fun, cartoon style, Old King Cole is a welcome addition to the range.
Merry Old Pokie
Like all the games in this series, the reels are made to look like they are on the pages of a book of nursery rhymes, while there’s a subtle background to it all, made up of musical notes drifting across the top. That sets the tone for the whole game, which has images of a three-piece band, a gold record and a very merry king of rock himself.
With 5 reels and 20 paylines, it’s a fairly conventional set up, and players have the option to try it out with just 1 coin valued at 0.01 across a single payline. Playing this way means that they won’t be able to collect most winning combinations that land on the reels, so it’s worth activating all 20 lines, which costs a minimum of 0.20 per spin, and then increasing the amount wagered on each.
The maximum bet is 10.00 per line, for a 200.00 stake in total which should be enough for the vast majority of players and prizes are won by landing 3 or more of the same symbol on sequential reels across an active line running from reel 1 on the left side.
Lower value symbols are the standard playing card emblems that are used across so many Microgaming pokies. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on personal preference, as it means fewer unique symbols related to the theme, but players will instinctively know which ones will pay the lesser prizes.
Picture symbols are based on the rhyme, so as he ‘called for his pipe, he called for his bowl and he called for his fiddlers three’ we see a bowl of multi-coloured cereal, a fancy Turkish pipe and 3 girls playing electric guitars.
The king is the highest value symbol, but on top of the standard icons there are wilds and scatters that trigger the bonus features.
Old King Cole
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Extra Features
The game logo is a wild symbol which will replace any other, with the exception of the scatter, to help make up winning lines, and if just 2 land on a line, players win 10 coins, with the reward for getting a full line of 5 being a very nice 2,500.
Another bonus symbol is the kings’ crown, which can stop anywhere on the reels to pay out wins that are multiplied by the total bet, not just the coin value. Two crowns equals a win of 2x the bet and if 5 appear, the prize is 150x, plus any time 3 or more land a free spins game plays out after the prize is awarded.
There’s a total of 12 free spins, but to make them more interesting a random multiplier of up to 7x is applied to any wins throughout them. To boost the odds of getting those wins, a gold record will act as a second wild symbol and the feature can even be re-triggered if 3 or more scatters appear again, with 12 further spins tacked on to the end of any left to play out.
Any time players get a win, other than jackpot amounts, they can opt to have a go at multiplying it by entering the Gamble game, which sees a playing card face down and black / red or card suit options. Picking the right colour doubles the win, while the right suit quadruples it, with a further option to collect the new win or go again and again until the gamble limit is reached.
Of course getting it wrong at any stage loses the gamble, so these rounds are probably best played with smaller prizes rather than risking a big win.
The Verdict
A nice design and enjoyable twist on the old tale should make Old King Cole a hit with players. The free spins are a particularly rewarding part, with extra winning chances and that multiplier in effect, and while players are not absolutely guaranteed to collect any wins in this round, they would be pretty unlucky not to scoop something.