Temple Cats

Temple Cats Slot Machine Review

Temple Cats is another casino video slot featuring Egyptian cats. There’s more to it, though – a lot more. The flashy 5-reeler runs on the Endorphina software platform and features ten paylines. Players can choose to try Temple Cats for free online, where it is playable in both desktop and Flash formats, or give it a try at a number of traditional land-based gambling dens.

Cats appear in a lot of slot games – Cat Scratch Fever is perhaps my favorite – but Temple Cats is a welcome addition to a genre that’s admittedly nearing saturation point. The game is classic in design, featuring a 5×3 grid, although the animation is better than you might expect. The reels are home to a number of porcelain temple cats of the sort we’re used to seeing in movies about ancient Egypt.

Cat Stakes

To buy your way into the game, you need to decide how much you’re willing to bet. The coin value in Temple Cats ranges from 0.01 to 1, making this a penny slot – even players on a tight budget can get in on the action. However, you can choose to bet up to 100 coins on all ten paylines. Players who like to get down and dirty will be pleased to know that you can increase the speed at which the reels roll. They can also choose to play with the AutoPlay feature. The game has a return rate of 96%.

Entering the Temple

Temple Cats takes place – funnily enough – in a temple. The reels are placed on either side of elaborate colonnades, and hieroglyphics are etched into a tablet in the background. The game is visually appealing, although there isn’t much going on. The symbols include various cats, each of which is associated with different payouts on the payout table. The highest paying cat symbol is the one with gold around its neck. This pays 2,000 for five in a row, 400 for four or 40 for three. Another high paying symbol is a pair of black cats facing each other, which pays 2,000 for five in a row, 200 for four and 20 for three.

The highest paying symbol is the pretty princess. Get five to hit the 5,000 jackpot, four for 1,000 or three for 100. The least impressive symbols in the game are the playing cards. There are five of them, ranging from 10 to Ace. Even at their best, they only pay 150 for five in a row.

On the plus side, you can boost your winnings during the free spins round. There’s also a Wild symbol to help you complete winning combinations – it can substitute for all symbols except the Scatter – although the lack of a second screen bonus game is a missed opportunity.

The game’s wild is the aforementioned twin cats. The scatter is the ruby. To win free spins, all you need to do is get three or more scatters anywhere on the five reels. You’ll get ten free spins to begin with, although you’ll also get the chance to select another symbol that has a tendency to expand and cover any position on the reel it occupies. This is a nifty feature and certainly helps when it comes to making winning combinations. It’s a little disappointing, though, that ten free spins is the limit – especially considering that some games offer as many as 25.

Take a Risk?

If you feel like pushing the limits and seeing how far your luck can take you, you can hit the Take Risk button after any payline win. This will bring you face-to-face with a croupier standing over four face-down playing cards. All you have to do is pick a card and hope to hell that its value is higher than the dealer’s. If it is, you double your winnings. If it’s not, you lose the hand and the game comes to a short, brutal end.

A Cat’s Home is Its Temple

It has to be said that Temple Cats is a fine slot – although it’s certainly not immune to criticism. The lack of multipliers and second screen bonuses, for example, is disappointing – although partially mitigated by the presence of scatters, wilds and expanding symbols.

As for the design, it’s solid if unspectacular, with decent graphics and pleasant gameplay. As with all casino games, it’s worth testing this one out before committing any real money.