Reign of Rome

Reign of Rome: Slot Overview

The reign of the Western Roman Empire may have ended in the year 476, but its legacy continues to cast a long, illustrious shadow down to the present day. From architecture, art, literature, law, and online slots, wide swathes of our lives feel the Roman touch. To have a little pretend dabble in the militaristic side of Ancient Rome, how about we take a tour of Hacksaw Gaming's Reign of Rome, a slot that brings back the studio's LootLines concept and connects it to a trio of bonus rounds of ascending levels of potency.

Ancient Rome didn't exactly ease its way to the top of the pile through peace, love, and harmonious diplomacy. There was a lot of warfare involved, and Reign of Rome revels in this side of the ancient civilisation, where two armed legionnaires face each other across the active play area in a game world heavy on reds, blacks, and greys. The gritty artwork had a feel reminiscent of Gladiator Legends, Rise of Ymir, and Wanted Dead or a Wild - heavy, dense, no-nonsense stuff that feels like you're not just taking on an online slot but going to war.

Reign of Rome is a 5-reel, 5-row slot awarding winning combinations of 3 OAK or more matching symbols along 19 paylines. Rated 4 out of 5, Reign of Rome is a medium-high volatile slot, with a maximum RTP of 96.27% when betting 10 c to $/€100 in the base game; the value alternates when buying bonus features.

On the table of symbols, we find J-A card ranks, cups, swords, helmets, lions, and eagles. Hitting 5 OAK card royal wins pays 2.5 times the bet, while a line of 5 picture symbols pays 5 to 10 times the bet. However, one thing you won't see on the reels is wild symbols. Reign of Rome has a cascade win mechanic, though, removing winning symbols from the reels and dropping symbols in to replace them, repeating as long as wins continue to form.

Reign of Rome: Slot Features

Reign of Rome's features are Tribute symbols, the return or LootLines, a Path To Power bonus, a This Is Rome bonus, a Fight For Glory bonus, and bonus buys.

Tribute Symbols and LootLines

Tribute symbols land in 4 variations. Adding Tribute symbols have values of 1x to 10x, Revealing Adding Tribute symbols reveal values of 15x to 500x, Multiplying Tribute symbols have values of x2 to x5, and Revealing Multiplying symbols have values of x6 to x25. They award a cash prize based on the combined value of the Tribute in a LootLine.

A LootLine is formed when there is a winning payline of Tribute symbols on the grid. The Tribute Multipliers are combined one by one from right to left. Adding Tributes are added while Multiplying Tributes multiply the value. Multiplying values in the leftmost position of LootLine are treated as Adding values.

Bonus Game - Path To Power

Landing 3 FS scatters in the base game awards this feature with 10 free spins. The mechanics are the same as the base game, but there is an increased chance of hitting Tribute symbols with higher values. Landing 2 or 3 FS scatter awards a further +2 or +4 free spins.

Bonus Game - This Is Rome

This feature and 10 free spins are awarded when landing 4 FS scatters in the base game, which has the same features as the base game and Path To Power. In addition, all non-winning Tribute symbols that land on a spin with at least 1 Tribute symbol win are progressively stored on one of the 5 positions of a LootBar beneath the reels - depending on the reel they land on. When all 5 LootBar positions are filled with Tributes, the stored Tribute values are awarded. Awarded Tribute values are removed from the LootBar, and LootBar positions start at 0x. Landing 2 or 3 FS scatter awards a further +2 or +4 free spins.

Hidden Epic Bonus - Fight For Glory

Landing 5 FS scatters in the base game triggers this bonus round with 10 free spins, which has the mechanics of the This Is Rome bonus. It also starts each position on the LootBar with 20x multipliers. Non-winning Tribute symbols are added to the starting values on the LootBar. At the end of the bonus, the values on the LootBar are paid in a prize. The round can be retriggered in the same way as the previously mentioned features.

Bonus Buys

Reign of Rome has 5 bonus buys. They are BonusHunt FeatureSpins at 3x the bet, which make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game, Shield Wall FeatureSpins at 50x the bet, which guarantee to land at least 3 winning Tribute symbols per spin, or Spears Out FeatureSpins also at 50x to guarantee at least 3 Tribute symbols including at least 1 Revealing Tribute symbol. Two bonus rounds can be bought - Path To Power for 100x or This Is Rome for 200x.

Reign of Rome: Slot Verdict

Nice to have LootLines back, and even better to see them doing things they didn't do in the previous Hacksaw Gaming releases which featured them. Donny Dough debuted the mechanic in 2024, imbuing its Multi-Dough symbols with a sticky quality during its bonus rounds, while Marlin Masters bolted LootLines onto a Big Bass Bonanza meets 4 Fantastic Fish piscine extravaganza. Reign of Rome introduces a mild Le Bandit factor, with its three bonus rounds ascending in potency, where the most preferable, the Fight For Glory round, is unpurchasable from the bonus buy menu.

Scarcity amplifies desirability, and while Fight For Glory isn't completely 'hidden' as such, a 5 scatter requirement can be a tough task in a lot of slots, so good luck to anyone choosing to track that feature down. On the encouraging side, Reign of Rome's 15,000x win cap is possible across all game modes, and the other 'lower' bonus rounds have merit to them, as well. Adding non-winning Tribute multipliers to the LootBar is harder in This Is Rome since they must share the reels with at least one Tribute symbol win. In addition, you need all five positions to fill before winning something from it. At least that round has a LootBar, however, as Path To Power does not. But, it has enhanced Tribute symbols compared to the base game, and LootLines are technically able to titillate no matter the phase.

It's tough to decide whether the LootBar idea trumps the sticky/respin elements of Donny Dough, so let's just say both methods have their pros and cons. At the very least, Reign of Rome provides an exciting new way to enjoy the LootLines mechanic, making it another entertaining Hacksaw Gaming release.