Seven Wonders

For dozens of generations, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have inspired fascination, admiration, and tourism in the ancient Greek world and beyond. Across the Adriatic, the Italian game company Capecod Gaming has used these elements as inspiration for their latest five-reel slot. Seven Wonders features a variety of bonus games and an old-Hollywood feel, though higher RTP would have gone a long way toward making this title a contender for long-term success.

Theme

A classical approach to architecture rules visual design here, with marble columns and laurels flanking the reels. Gaming symbols include the seven wonders themselves: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes (symbolized with gold in a brazier, for some reason), the Lighthouse of Alexandra, the Temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and status of Zeus at Olympia. Lower-value symbols are provided by the playing card values ace through queen. Two separate scatter symbols, explorer and map, can trigger different bonus games, while joker and expanded wild symbols substitute for other symbols to form winning combinations. A soundtrack rich with ancient instruments occasionally recalls the epic Hollywood films of old, like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Ben-Hur.”

Betting Options and Functions

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are each considered to be masterpieces of architecture. Capecod Gaming does its best to match this attention to detail in this game’s fine points, though they don’t quite succeed. There are 15 adjustable paylines, each paying in both directions, with bet per line variable from 0.01–1.00. This yields an overall per-spin bet range of 0.01–15.00 times the betting currency. Autospins are available for up to 1,000 spins at a time, though players should use caution before stepping away from the game, as there are no protections in place for loss limits. Payable information and detailed game rules are available on separate screens. The overall theoretical return to player ratio is slightly above the industry average at 95.15%.

Features

Different bonus games are triggered when five unique or mixed scatter symbols appear on the reels. Any combination of five scatters triggers the Magic Spin bonus. Here, three free spins are awarded on a new set of reels, with only more scatter, “Bet Win,” and “Mystery” symbols appearing on them. The first of these can retriever the feature; the second pays 1x the bet; and the third awards a random payout in proportion to the bet size that triggered the feature.

The appearance of five map scatters on the reels triggers the Chests Bonus Game. Players are given five attempts to choose among a series of treasure chests: for every opened chest containing gold, a cash prize is awarded. A similar feature occurs when five explorer symbols appear – in this case, it’s golden cups hidden in jars that trigger prizes.

Our Take

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one, the Great Pyramid, is still extant. One fears that this slot will go the way of the other six: despite reliably stalwart design, this title’s bonus features and RTP aren’t really up to the level of the best online slots available today. If players find themselves trying out this game and moving on shortly thereafter, it’ll be no wonder.