Slot games have a wide variety of themes. From pirates to aliens and fruits to animals, you can be sure to find a slot machine for every theme you can imagine. Still, among all these themes, it is possible to say that Ancient Egypt is more popular than others. Moreover, this is not a new situation - since the early years of slot machines, Ancient Egypt has always been the most popular theme. Well, what is the reason for this? What attracts players to Ancient Egypt? Below, we will try to answer this question and give some examples of the best slots using this theme.


The Mysterious Attraction of Ancient Egypt

First of all, let us state that Ancient Egypt is found attractive and interesting only in Western cultures. This theme is not that popular in Eastern countries. It is even possible to say that Eastern cultures mostly prefer Western themes, such as pirates and space. In other words, every culture is interested in the “opposite.”

The attractiveness of ancient Egypt in Western culture is related to the way it is perceived. Western people met Egypt for the first time during the Roman Empire, and this country was always cited by the conquerors as an exotic and magical place filled with treasures. Classical texts portrayed Egypt as the center of wisdom, philosophy, and science. The pyramids impressed the early conquerors, and the treasures within them encouraged the adventurers.

Towards the end of the 18th century, interest in Ancient Egypt raised again. This may seem strange today, but archaeologists at that time were extremely important people, and each had a title of nobility. People were following these archaeologists and their adventures, just as we are currently following social media influencers. They also reflected Ancient Egypt as a fascinating country full of mysterious wonders. “Romanticism” in this period also caused the stories to be exaggerated. In 1922, when Tutankhamun's tomb was opened and was found to be full of treasures, the Western culture associated Ancient Egypt with forgotten treasures, and this impression has never changed afterward.

This was such a powerful effect that it still continues today. Even in the 21st century, we continue to believe that Ancient Egypt is a land of mysteries and treasures. This is, of course, the perfect theme for every game and slot machines use it too. Not only casino games, but even computer games set in Ancient Egypt (for example, Assassins Creed Origins) reach high sales figures. In short, the Ancient Egypt theme is popular because people still see this country full of “long lost treasures.” This is unlikely to change in the near future, as films and TV shows made in the 20th century continue to feed this belief.


Ancient Egypt Themed Slots

There are many companies that develop slot machines using this theme, but some of them do much better than others. One of them is Novomatic - we can say that this developer is the “king” of Ancient Egypt themed slots. Novomatic, which has been developing games using this theme since almost the '90s, has more than a dozen options, all of which are very popular. Germany-based Merkur Gaming is another remarkable name. Developing games for land-based and online casinos, Merkur uses the Ancient Egyptian theme in many slots. Of course, there are other successful developers such as Microgaming, Netent, IGT, and Play’N Go. Below, you can see some of the most popular Ancient Egyptian themed slots from these providers.

Eye of Horus

If you are new at slots, this will be a very good option. You can play the Eye of Horus demo completely for free and learn the ropes. This is a classic video slot with simple and easy to learn features. However, the payout frequency is still satisfying, and the cost of play can be as low as 0.01 EUR per line.

There is a wild symbol that expands on the reel it appears, and it can substitute all other symbols, with the exception of scatter. Speaking of scatter, it can pay up to 500 coins and trigger the bonus round. When you land three scatter symbols anywhere on the reels, you will qualify for a payout and activate the free spins bonus. You will win 12 free spins and use them immediately. During the free game, the wild symbol upgrades normal symbols and increases their payouts. If you want to make a nice start to Ancient Egyptian themed slots, the Eye of Horus will be your best option.


Cleopatra

This is one of the most famous Ancient Egyptian themed slots. It is so popular, IGT developed a sequel for it. However, we still recommend playing the first one due to higher RTP. Cleopatra is also a classic video slot that is played on a 5x3 grid. (This means there are 5 reels, and each one can hold 3 symbols.) The maximum payout is 10.000 coins, and the cost of play changes between 0.2 to 100 coins per spin.

Cleopatra slot machine was released in 2012, so it does not have the fancy features of modern slots, but it is still a good game to play due to amazing payout frequency. The Sphinx picture is the scatter symbol, and you can win 15 free spins by landing at least three of it anywhere on the reels. All of your winning during the free game will be multiplied by 3. And that’s why Cleopatra is a famous slot. You can win a considerable amount during the bonus round. This is a classic game, and every player should try it once.

Egyptian Heroes

Egyptian Heroes is an interesting take on the classic genre. This time, the gods of Egypt are mythical heroes inspired by different animals. The game was released in 2013 but still looks pretty good. The art style of the game is timeless. The best feature of the game is the Golden Bet line. This means a random line is selected before each spin, and the winnings that appeared on that line are multiplied by 2 – 5. (The multiplier is also random.) Unlike many other slots, you don’t need to “purchase” this feature or activate it by increasing the bet amount as it is always active. There is also a free spin round with this feature, which means you can keep winning even during the bonus game.

Secret of Egypt We mentioned that Novomatic is the king of Ancient Egypt themed slots, and this game shows the reason for this. This classic video slot has amazing payouts. You can win as high as 500.000 coins with a single spin. (You need to play with the maximum bet value to do that.) Unlike many video slots, landing only two symbols side by side on a payline is enough to qualify for a payment. (The majority of video slots require landing at least three.) Three scatter symbols award 10 free spins, and you can activate a gambling round after every spin. This is completely optional and if you decide to take the offer, you play a mini-game. Your goal is to guess the colour of a closed playing card. You have two options, red or black. If you are successful, you can double the payout. You can, of course, skip this game and take the win too, but we recommend trying this feature at least once.

Mega Moolah ISIS

We are pretty sure that you have heard about Mega Moolah. It is the most famous progressive jackpot machine in the world. In fact, it holds the current world record with a payout of more than 17 million Euros with one spin. This one is the Ancient Egypt version of it. The payouts are as big as the original game, and RTP is nearly the same. Some other features include:

• Mega Moolah ISIS contains four different progressive jackpot pools, and each one can pay millions of Euros if you are lucky enough.
• There is also a fixed jackpot award of 1.200.000 coins.
• By landing 3, 4, and 5 scatter symbols, you can win 20, 25, and 30 free spins, respectively. Moreover, all winnings during this round will be multiplied by different figures, up to 6 times.
• The wild symbol substitutes all others and doubles any win. If it is a part of a winning combination, the payout for that combination will be doubled.
• Lastly, there is a gambling feature that can be activated after every winning spin, just like the Secret of Egypt. However, this time you can try to guess the suit of the closed playing card too and quadruple the payout, instead of doubling it.

Mega Moolah ISIS is the best progressive jackpot game that uses the Ancient Egypt theme, and you should definitely try it.