Imperial Riches slot review
With cascading wins and five jackpot prizes, Imperial Riches by NetEnt plays on Chinese symbolism, featuring red lanterns and koi fish centered around a tranquil-looking imperial temple.
Released in 2019, the 5×3 slot comes with medium volatility, an RTP of 96.88% and 15 paylines. However, don’t let its peaceful setting and simple format fool you, the game unfolds through various bonus stages that determine whether or not players reach the all-important Jackpot Game.
Highlights
RTP 96.88%
Volatility Medium
Max win 1500x
Number of reels 5
Number of rows 3
Number of paylines 15-
Jackpots Yes -
Slot type Slots -
Slot theme Asian -
Software provider NetEnt -
Launch date 04/09/2019
74/ 100
56% Playscore based on 5 critics
Imperial Riches review summary
Set against a peaceful Asian temple as a backdrop, Imperial Riches combines a cascading win mechanic with a multi-layered bonus system that centers around five jackpot prizes. This includes two fixed jackpot prizes and three progressive jackpots.
However, to get there, you’ll need to first trigger the Free Spins round where the aim is to obtain as many jewels as possible through winning combinations. This in turn will lead you to another bonus feature, which may or may not trigger the Jackpot Game.
While the base game can tend to drag on a little, the mechanics involved to reach the Jackpot Game make for a nice change of pace and are certainly creative. Plus, with three progressive jackpots, a solid RTP, and medium volatility, Imperial Riches remains a solid choice for players who enjoy cashing bonus rounds and big rewards.
Pros
Strong 96.88% RTP
Tumbling reels with cascading wins
5 jackpots
Cons
Free Falls round lacks value
Only 15 paylines
No multipliers
Imperial Riches comprehensive review
In this Imperial Riches slot review, I break down the key mechanics involved in triggering the Jackpot Game. In doing so, I will also analyse the game’s RTP, volatility, paylines, and payout symbols. By the end of it, you can decide for yourself whether or not this slot is worth your time.
RTP and volatility
Imperial Riches RTP sits at 96.88% and comes with medium volatility. The 5×3 slot has 15 paylines, with wins calculated from left to right on adjacent reels. You need a minimum of three matching symbols to land on fixed paylines for wins to count.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| RTP | 96.88% |
| Maximum win | 200x |
| Number of paylines | 15 |
| Volatility | Medium |
Every time the Jackpot Game is played, a portion of your wager is added to the three progressive jackpots, while another percentage is reserved for the next jackpot cycle after someone wins. The two remaining lowest-value jackpots remain fixed.
| Jackpots | % your wager contributes to current jackpots | % your wager contributes to reserves |
|---|---|---|
| MEGA (progressive) | 3.8% | 13.2% |
| MAJOR (progressive) | 1.5% | 6.7% |
| MIDI (progressive) | 1.0% | N/A |
| MINI (fixed) | Fixed at $500 | N/A |
| RAPID (fixed) | Fixed at $100 | N/A |
Once one of the progressive jackpots has been won, the MEGA jackpot resets at $4,500, while the MAJOR and MIDI jackpots reset at $1,000 and $500 respectively.
The Imperial Riches RTP sits comfortably above the industry’s average of 96%. Considering how many slots with progressive jackpots tend to have quite low RTPs, this was a big plus in my book.
For instance, Mega Moolah’s RTP sits at 88.12%. Granted, Mega Moolah’s jackpot prizes are historically very high, but remember that three out of the five jackpots at Imperial Riches technically have no upper limit.
However, the sheer lack of paylines at Imperial Riches was disappointing. It feels very restrictive and I definitely felt that during gameplay. Plus, the jackpot contributions were initially hard to understand and could be worded better. On a brighter note, the medium volatility pretty much aligned with my experience.
Alexander Teoli
Bonus features
Represented by a golden gong, Wild symbols appear randomly during the base game and Free Spins round on reels 2, 3, and 4. They substitute for all other symbols except Scatters.
The red lantern symbols are your Scatters. Landing three of these during the base game will unlock the Free Falls round, rewarding you with 10 free spins known as Free Falls.
Scatters can appear anywhere on the reels during the base game. Every additional Scatter over three will earn you an extra five spins.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Bonus features | Wilds, Scatters, Free Falls, Lucky Pond |
| Top features | Jackpot Game |
| Jackpot | MEGA, MAJOR, MIDI, MINI, RAPID |
Free Falls round
During the Free Falls round, every winning combination adds to your jewel count, which is displayed adjacent to the reels on the left-hand side.
The amount of jewels you earn with each win is directly correlated to the number of symbols that form a winning line, regardless of value. As your jewel count racks up, your cash wins are also calculated separately and will be transferred into the next bonus game, along with your jewels.
Once your free spins dry up and if there are no more winning lines, the slot shifts into the Lucky Pond Bonus Game.
Lucky Pond Bonus Game
During the Lucky Pond Bonus Game, the grid format makes way to showcase a pond with two types of koi fish. Each of them has very distinct roles.
The golden Coin Fish eats (collects) coins that fall within its path into the pond. This adds to your wins total accumulated in the previous Free Falls round.
On the other hand, the Bonus Fish will only eat (collect) jewels. If it collects three jewels, the Jackpot Game is unlocked. If it fails to collect three jewels by the time your jewel count dries up, the round ends and your final coin count across both games is added to your winnings.
Jackpot Game
Once triggered, a total of six koi fish appear on screen. This includes the Coin Fish and five Bonus Fish, with each one representing one of the five jackpots available. The Bonus Fish will only collect jewels that correspond to their color.
The red koi collects red jewels for the MEGA jackpot. The pink koi represents the MAJOR jackpot, while the green one represents MIDI. The remaining blue and turquoise Bonus Fish are tied to the fixed MINI and RAPID jackpots respectively.
The jackpot values are shown at the top of the screen. If one of the koi fish collects three of its corresponding jewel colors, the game ends and the jackpot is won. All coins accumulated during the Free Falls round, Lucky Pond Bonus Game, and Jackpot Game are also added to your winnings.
If the required number of jewels to win a jackpot has not been collected by the time your jewel count dries up, the game ends and your total coin count is added to your winnings.
While I appreciated the creativity of its multi-layered bonus system, I felt there was a lot happening without any real substance. With no multipliers, the Free Falls round felt like filler, a mandatory side quest with its only purpose being to collect as many jewels as possible.
In my opinion, free spins rounds are the heart and soul of any modern-day online slot and should carry a lot more weight to them. Plus, the fact that the Jackpot Game is locked behind the Free Falls and Lucky Pond Bonus Game was a real drag.
It’s the only time where you can potentially win a jackpot and even then there is no guarantee. Don’t get me wrong, I will say that there is decent potential to rack up decent wins even without a jackpot, but overall, I was underwhelmed.
Alexander Teoli
Symbols and paytable
Imperial Riches has seven pay symbols split between three low-paying card icons and four high-paying symbols. All seven symbols consist of three payout tiers, with wins paid out for three, four, or five matches on fixed paylines.
The paytable displays values based on line bet configuration. This means they remain static and do not increase or decrease as you adjust your bet per spin. Instead, your total stake is divided across 15 paylines and then multiplied by the resulting line bet.
With a bet range of $0.15 up to $30 per spin, low-paying card icons reward between 3x and 100x your line bet, depending on the number of matches and symbol type.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme | Asian |
| Reel layout | 5×3 |
| Highest paying symbol | Golden koi |
| Adjustable paylines | N/A |
| Visuals | Colorful |
| Sound | Excellent |
| Mobile quality | Excellent |
Next up, the bamboo shoots act as the lowest high-paying symbol, earning you 15x your line bet for three matches, 25x for four, and 200x for five-of-a-kind. Above that, the golden coins and baskets carry payout values between 20x and 1,000x your line bet.
Finally, the game’s top paying symbol (the golden koi fish) awards 1,500x your line bet for five matches. This equates to a maximum win potential of 100x your stake.
However, NetEnt’s site states that the game has a maximum payout of 200x your bet, which tells me that the tumbling reels feature can increase that maximum win potential within a single hit up until that point.
Regardless, the existence of three progressive jackpots means that the game’s true win potential is theoretically much higher and far exceeds the base-game limits.
The line bet configuration used by Imperial Riches is typical of many NetEnt slots, with other popular titles like Dead or Alive and Starburst also utilizing it. For those unfamiliar with this format, it may take some getting used to and can make payouts appear more generous than they actually are.
A good example of this is the top symbol on Imperial Riches which displays a value of 1,500 for five matches. However, this refers to the line bet and is therefore not a multiplier of your total stake.
In reality, five matches for the top symbol on Imperial Riches is equivalent to 100x your stake, with a total cap of 200x your bet when cascading wins are taken into account. This isn’t actually that bad in my opinion, but it’s important to keep these things in mind before committing yourself.
Alexander Teoli
How to play Imperial Riches
You can adjust your bet per spin by selecting the plus and minus buttons located next to Bet Level and Coin Value. The Max Bet button will raise your Bet Level to 10, but you’ll still need to increase the Coin Value to reach the slot’s true maximum potential.
Once you’re ready, press the red button with two circular arrows to start spinning those reels. Selecting the Autoplay button will open up a small side menu where you can choose from eight preset options ranging from 10 up to 1,000 autospins.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Min bet | $0.15 |
| Max bet | $30 |
| Autoplay | Available |
| Turbo mode | Available |
| Game history | N/A |
Furthermore, advanced autoplay settings allow you to set several options like a win/loss limit. You can also select an option to stop autospins once you land any winning combination or when the Free Falls round is triggered.
The ‘i’ icon located on the bottom left-hand corner of your screen gives you information on paylines, payouts, as well as in-game mechanics. Beneath it, the ‘?’ icon gives you a more in-depth breakdown of bonus mechanics and game rules.
To adjust sound, click the speaker icon and use the slider to control the volume. Finally, the small gear icon on the bottom left-hand corner allows you to enable Quick spin, remove the intro screen and set the space bar to spin the reels when you press it.
Casinos where to play Imperial Riches
NetEnt is a leading slot developer and you can find many iconic titles like Imperial Riches in the following online casinos:
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Expert verdict
Imperial Riches carries a lot of potential. It’s just a shame that most of it is locked behind uninspiring bonus features. The Free Falls round, which should deliver excitement and amp up the intensity, feels hollow and more of a stepping stone than a reward.
It’s clear that the game’s entire design is built around reaching the jackpots. This is fine in theory, but in practice, it makes the Lucky Pond Bonus Game also feel secondary and almost irrelevant.
With no multipliers and limited paylines, the base game can drag a little. To be fair though, the theme is nice and payouts can still stack up nicely in the bonus games. Ultimately, its three progressive jackpots give you three big reasons to give this game a shot and try your luck.
FAQs
What is the RTP of Imperial Riches?
Imperial Riches has an RTP of 96.88%, putting it comfortably above the industry average of 96%.
What is the maximum win potential of the Imperial Riches slot?
Excluding its progressive jackpots which theoretically have no upper limit, the maximum win potential of Imperial Riches is 200x your total stake. This can be achieved by landing five of the game’s highest-paying symbols as well as a combination of cascading wins.
How many jackpot prizes does Imperial Riches have?
Imperial Riches is home to five jackpots, including three progressive jackpots and two which are fixed. A jackpot can only be won during the Jackpot Game.
How do I trigger free spins?
Landing a minimum of three Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels during the base game will trigger the Free Falls round with 10 free spins. If you land over the required amount to trigger the game, you earn an extra 5 free spins for each additional Scatter.
What is the volatility of Imperial Riches?
The volatility of Imperial Riches is medium, meaning you can expect a good balance between smaller, more frequent wins with the occasional larger payout.
