Ancient Disco

Ancient Disco: Slot Overview

Some might think the words 'ancient' and 'disco' are in many ways synonymous, but Ancient Disco from developer Red Tiger isn't a cynical dig at a musical form that reached its apex several decades ago. Instead, Red Tiger rewinds the clock back a few thousand years beyond the 1970s in a what-if scenario, blending a boogie-on-down vibe with Ancient Egypt. Not the most obvious mix of elements, perhaps, but kind of original, so why don't we find out if it works?

Ancient Disco certainly looks the biz when it loads. It's Ancient Egypt, but not as we usually know it. Amongst the hieroglyphs, palms, and pyramid are the waving lights and rhythmical music one usually associates with a rave or dance party. It works pretty well, too; the Pharaoh Symbols, in particular, look pretty darn on fleek with their bold colours and what looks like shutter shades. A couple of speaker stacks flank the game grid, which has a tilt to it as if players are down at crowd level gazing up at a DJ booth up top. Except, instead of a DJ, the game grid is topped with a glittering disco ball and the Prize Ladder's list of values.

The grid itself is made up of 5 reels, each reel holding 3 symbols and crossed with 20 paylines. Pay symbols pay from left to right over adjacent reels, starting on the left-hand side of the grid. Highly volatile, the top return values vary from 95.74% when betting regularly at 10 p/c to £/€4 per spin, or ever so slightly higher at 95.75% when buying one of the features.

Futuristic yet ancient as well looking J-A card ranks kick the table off, paying 1.25 to 2 times the bet for five-of-a-kind, then there are four psychedelic-esque designed symbols of Ancient Egypt, awarding 4 to 25 times the bet for a winning line of five premiums. Last but not least, Ancient Disco does not have a wild symbol, which leaves two symbols to cover next – Ancient Disco scatters and Pyramid Spins symbols.

Ancient Disco: Slot Features

The Prize Ladder on top of the reel gives away one of Ancient Disco's main features, while the other is Pyramid Spins.

Prize Ladder

The Prize Ladder is linked to the Ancient Disco scatter symbols. Landing 6 or more Ancient Disco symbols anywhere on the grid awards one of the Instant Win prizes. Should 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 Ancient Disco symbols be in view, then the prize awarded is worth 5x, 15x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x, 750x, 1,250x, 2,500x the bet, respectively. However, there is a twist. Whenever a reel or a row is filled with Ancient Disco scatters, all values on the Prize Ladder are increased. It is possible to increase the ladder 8 times, where the maximum win becomes 22,500x the bet for having 15 Ancient Disco scatters on the board. Prizes reset to their original value between spins.

Pyramid Spins

Pyramid Spins symbols are 1x2 sized scatters. Landing  3, 4 or 5 of them awards 3, 4, or 5 respins. Each triggering Pyramid Spins scatter is converted into 2 Ancient Disco scatter symbols, and these get locked in place on the reels. During this feature, only Ancient Disco scatters or blank spaces may appear. Hitting new Ancient Disco symbols resets the spin count, and they are also locked in position until the round ends. When the feature ends, the total prize is awarded in accordance with how many Ancient Disco symbols landed and their respective value from the Prize Ladder.

Buy Feature

If available, Ancient Disco allows players to buy two features. For 15x the bet, it is possible to buy a spin which guarantees at least 6 Ancient Disco symbols will land; the other is Pyramid Spins for 90x the bet.

Ancient Disco: Slot Verdict

Ancient Egypt slots are so numerous that squeezing more miles out of the theme is helped by getting creative in the way Red Tiger has done for Ancient Disco. The connection between ancient and modern(ish) concepts presented here hasn't been made a whole lot in the past, a song called Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles being one example, perhaps, at a stretch. However, in practice, Red Tiger blends the two ideas together quite nicely, making Ancient Disco a game which might appeal to certain sectors of the gambling population in regard to both form and function.

On the form side of things, Ancient Disco has a fun, not taking things too seriously vibe going on that suits the partying theme. It's a lighter, less raw, for want of a better word, party than the one going on in Nolimit City's slot The Rave, as a comparison, though not as imaginative mechanically. Ancient Disco builds off games like Cake & Ice Cream and, of course, 9 Masks of Fire - this one is hard to avoid when reviewing slots using these scatter prize ladder devices. Ancient Disco takes things to a higher playing field than those two games in some ways, though. It's got the filled rows and/or reels rule which can simply yet effectively increase the prize values to impressive levels at the upper end of the scale. Much higher than it usually gets in these sorts of games, providing a big, ripe cherry on top of everything else.

And so, for players looking for an instant prize game that dials back the masks while significantly dialling up the winning potential, Ancient Disco is a contender. With its spirited amalgamation of old and new elements and fine-tuning of a popular mechanic, placing Ancient Disco on an enthusiast's to-try list makes sense.