King of Africa Review and Demo

King of Africa Slot Review

King of Africa is an African landscape-themed slot that was originally launched in 2017 by Light & Wonder. With an elegant traditional painting-style design, players spin the 5x3 reel grid in an attempt to unlock the Hot Hot Penny bonus feature.

Light & Wonder is the trading name of LNW Gaming UK Limited, a fully UKGC-licensed casino game developer that provides many popular casino slots to UK players, including Raging Rhino Double Danger and Lucky Zodiac.

Category	Detail
Game Title	King of Africa
Software Provider	Light & Wonder
RTP	96%
Volatility	Low
Max Win	Unknown
Theme	African savannah
Key Mechanic	Free spins, Hot Hot Penny, King of Africa bonus

King of Africa Gameplay

King of Africa is an online slot with mostly traditional gameplay that targets players with an urge for something a little nostalgic. The mechanics are as simple: land three or more matching symbols on any of the 20 fixed paylines to receive a payout.

Where it steps up a bit is if you manage to land at least two bonus symbols anywhere on the grid. This triggers the Hot Hot Penny bonus feature, those reels remain static while the remaining ones get a free respin for an extra chance at unlocking the free spins round.

Theme and Story of the King of Africa Slot

Set against a backdrop of beautiful plains, King of Africa transports you to the savannah with its Afro-inspired music and graphics. There isn’t really a story here, but it’s certainly a visually appealing slot that’s a far cry from many of the more overstimulating designs you can find in some games, which have interactive backgrounds and frequent flashing animations.

There are three sets of paying symbols. The lowest-paying symbols are the decorated shield, the beaded necklace and the zebra. Above that, you have the gazelle, the elephant and the leopard. The highest-paying symbols award a payout for two or more matching symbols on a payline, and these are the lion, the bonus tree and the King of Africa symbols.

The latter two are the ones to look out for, as the bonus triggers the free spins and the King of Africa logo acts as a Wild, substituting for all other symbols except the bonus.

The minimum bet per spin is £0.30, while the maximum bet is £150. For UK players, bear in mind that new regulations permit a stake of £2 for those aged 18-25 and £5 for those 25+.

For a bet of £1.20 per spin, here’s what you can expect to win for landing winning combos of the pay symbols:

Symbol	2 on a Payline	3 on a Payline	4 on a Payline	5 on a Payline
Decorated Shield	0.00	0.20	0.80	4.00
Beaded Necklace	0.00	0.20	0.80	4.00
Zebra	0.00	0.20	1.00	8.00
Gazelle	0.00	0.40	1.20	16.00
Elephant	0.00	0.40	1.20	16.00
Leopard	0.00	0.80	2.00	20.00
Lion	0.20	2.00	4.00	40.00
Bonus	1.60	4.00	16.00	100.00
King of Africa	1.60	4.00	40.00	120.00

Graphics, Sounds and Vibes

King of Africa has a retro vibe, with a minimalistic design, producing a calming atmosphere. The background is a beautifully-painted and sparse African savannah, offering a nice contrast to slots with busy backdrops like Gates of Olympus. The symbols are detailed paintings with a muted colour palette that fit well with the theme. The only bright colours are on the King of Africa Wild symbol and in the lines that appear on the grid after a payout to show the winning paylines.

On top of this, you have the rhythmic sound of African drums triggered with every spin, with the beat picking up when you land a winning combo. Things get even more exciting when you trigger the free spins bonus. The tempo increases again and the music plays continuously throughout the round.

Here’s what one of our expert writers thought about King of Africa’s design:

King of Africa Slot on Mobile

Whether you prefer playing on your phone or on your laptop, King of Africa has been optimised for the same smooth experience on all devices. The buttons adapt to the screen depending on whether you are viewing the slot in portrait or landscape mode.

While some of the symbols, especially the necklace and the shield, lose some of their intricate details on a smaller screen, they are still clearly readable and sit comfortably in all orientations.

Here’s an opinion on the mobile gameplay from one of CasinoTopsOnline’s gaming experts:

Wild Symbols

The King of Africa logo is the Wild symbol, which can substitute for all symbols except the bonus symbol. When it successfully completes a winning combination, an animation is triggered and you see a lion’s paw scratch the logo away to reveal the word Wild. Unlike in many games, such as Savannah Legend, the Wild symbol is also a pay symbol, which awards a payout for at least two symbols on one of the paylines.

Hot Hot Penny

The Hot Hot Penny feature is an innovative addition to the free spins round. If you land two or more bonus symbols on the grid, the rest of the reels will respin to give you the opportunity to unlock the free spins round, or to increase the number of free spins awarded.

King of Africa Bonus

Three bonus symbols will award you 8 free spins, plus you are taken through to the Hot Hot Penny screen for the King of Africa bonus. This gives you a chance to win further spins. You’re given one pick for every bonus symbol, and you can click on any of the tiles over the lion’s face to reveal a prize of additional spins.

Free Spins

The free spins round takes place at night, and an additional symbol is added to the grid: the Expanding Giraffe Wild. With every spin, the Expanding Giraffe Wild moves around and can show up on any of the five reels to complete winning combinations.

RTP and Volatility

King of Africa has an RTP of around 96%, which is the UK industry average. The King of Africa volatility is low, which is another important factor to consider when setting your budget as it typically means smaller, but more frequent, payouts.

Bet Sizes and Variance

King of Africa offers a betting range from £0.30 to £150. However, as the UK Gambling Commission has recently introduced new stake limits, UK players will be limited to a maximum bet size of £2 per spin if they are under 25, and £5 per spin if they are 25 and over.

Jackpots and Best Wins

King of Africa doesn’t feature any kind of jackpot and there is no information available about the maximum win. However, with low volatility, it is unlikely to be very high. The highest community win recorded on Slot Tracker is currently 58.83x the stake.

Testing the King of Africa Slot with a £50 Bankroll

I tested out the King of Africa free demo with a budget of £50 to be able to give a comprehensive review of everything that the slot offers. I set my stake at £1.20 per spin over 40 spins.

I managed to land winning combinations on my first few spins, although they were mostly paying out less than my stake. The Wild symbol was particularly helpful, as it often landed in a spot that would complete at least two wins across the paylines.

On one spin in particular, I struck lucky and the Wild completed four wins, including a line of three leopards, and I won £5.20. I was still at a loss, though, until my balance was down to £20.20 and I landed three bonus symbols.

I didn’t have any luck landing more on the respin, but I was taken through to the King of Africa bonus, where I was able to increase my amount of free spins to 13 and this is where things changed. Thanks to the Expanding Giraffe Wild, I won a total of £38.80 in the free spins round, which was then added to the payout of £4.00 for the three bonus symbols, taking my total up to £63.00. This meant I had a personal RTP rate of 126% for this session.