Rise of Merlin: Selected Expanding Symbols, Free Spins and Alternatives

Rise of Merlin awards eight free spins when three or more Magical Orbs appear. The Orb is both wild and scatter; a separately selected symbol can expand during the bonus. This guide follows the two types of award, explains retriggers and compares the original Merlin game with Book of Dead, Legacy of Dead and wizard-themed alternatives.

Rise of Merlin casinos

Play Rise of Merlin slot game at these top casinos.

Reviewed by Paul Stone
Published: January 2019

How the expanding symbol works

Rise of Merlin chooses one symbol for expansion during free spins. Watch which symbol is selected before reading the result: the bonus is about collecting enough of that chosen symbol, rather than every wild automatically filling a reel. The Magical Orb has its own separate role as both wild and scatter.

When comparing the wizard-themed games below, look for this selection step in their rules. Similar artwork alone does not establish the same bonus. A game that expands a wild on every spin can feel quite different from one that picks a regular symbol for a free-spins round.

Feature source: Play’n GO’s Rise of Merlin guide.

The Orb and selected symbol have different jobs

The Magical Orb substitutes as a wild and also counts as a scatter. Three or more Orbs award their scatter prize and eight free spins. The bonus then selects a symbol type for expansion. It can choose an ordinary symbol; the choice is not an instruction that every Orb or every wild must fill a reel.

On a qualifying free-spin result, the ordinary awards are paid first. The selected symbol then expands and its additional award is paid. That order matters when interpreting the animation: the first highlighted line is not necessarily the complete return from that spin.

Selected type versus a held position

Expansion depends on enough of the selected type appearing for its own award. Higher- and lower-paying types have different qualifying requirements in the supplier description, so read the selected symbol’s threshold in the loaded paytable. A single picture of Merlin is not a universal expansion trigger.

Imagine a bonus has selected the dragon. A later result showing only an owl cannot use the dragon’s expansion simply because both are picture symbols. Conversely, qualifying dragon positions need not be where a dragon appeared on the previous spin. The feature concerns a symbol type, not a saved set of wild squares.

Retriggers add games to the remaining count

The supplier describes another eight games whenever free spins retrigger. If an illustrative feature has three spins left and then retriggers, the remaining count becomes eleven. The extra eight is added to the current balance of games, rather than replacing that balance.

The initial trigger, the remaining-spin count and the selected-symbol award should therefore be read separately. More games give more results within that feature, but do not guarantee that the chosen type will qualify or that a particular cash amount will be returned.

Line prizes and total stake

Rise of Merlin’s original layout has ten lines across five reels and three rows. With an illustrative £1 total stake evenly spread across those lines, each line carries 10p. A hypothetical fifty-times-line-bet award would pay £5, which is five times the total stake. The paytable unit decides which multiplication applies.

A single-line entry and a complete bonus cap are different figures. The historical return and £0.10–£100 menu in the archive should not be read as a universal current operator configuration. Check the offered edition’s information screen alongside its total-stake display.

Book of Dead and Legacy of Dead are closer feature comparisons

Book of Dead also selects an expanding symbol, but starts with ten free spins rather than Merlin’s eight. Legacy of Dead starts with eight and adds another selected type on a retrigger. That accumulating set gives it a different bonus progression from merely adding games to Merlin’s counter.

The Book/Legacy relationship concerns the selected-symbol mechanic, while White Wizard and the Wizard of Oz games below broaden the magical setting. Play’n GO’s Rise of Merlin overview distinguishes the Orb, trigger, expansion and extra games.

Games like Rise of Merlin

Rise of Merlin most similar slot games include White Wizard Deluxe, White Wizard, Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers and Wizard Of Oz Wicked Riches.

White Wizard Deluxe is an Eyecon fantasy alternative. Its archive describes a larger line-based format and symbol improvements, but the older three-row and four-row catalogue entries conflict. Identify the actual Deluxe screen before comparing it with Merlin’s ten-line original. The useful mechanical question is whether a symbol changes value or becomes a substitute, rather than whether one selected type expands during free spins. A wizard picture and an improved symbol do not establish the same trigger or the same bonus duration.

White Wizard is the earlier Eyecon title in this pair, with twenty-five lines in the archived format. It offers a separate way to explore a wizard setting without treating Deluxe as an identical edition. The archive’s improving-symbol category should be distinguished from Merlin selecting one type for expansion: changing a symbol’s role or tier is different from increasing the number of positions occupied by a qualifying selected symbol. Read White Wizard’s own rule screen for how its substitutions occur.

Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers is a licensed WMS game with a familiar film setting. Its Ruby Slippers presentation and random reel modifications make it a theme-and-feature alternative, rather than another Book-style Merlin game. More positions or changed symbols can alter a displayed result without using Merlin’s one selected type. The original archive also groups older Ruby Slippers and Emerald City editions closely, so keep the exact subtitle visible when comparing a feature or jackpot claim.

Wizard Of Oz Wicked Riches is a different WMS release from Ruby Slippers. Its archived free-spin and symbol-modification categories provide a broader fantasy comparison, but do not establish a shared Magical Orb or eight-spin trigger. The distinction from Merlin is the licence and bonus system, not a claim that a thirty-line screen pays more regularly than ten lines. Use the title’s own information screen for the exact wild and feature rules rather than transferring them from another Wizard of Oz subtitle.

White Wizard Deluxe should be distinguished from the original White Wizard before comparing its visible grid or line count. The archived Deluxe descriptions conflict on row count, so that number is not used here to claim an identical feature. Merlin’s chosen expansion type remains the clearer feature comparison.

White Wizard is a separate Eyecon release with a twenty-five-line archive format. Its improving-symbol grouping is broader than Merlin’s selected-type expansion. Compare what changes about the symbol, its paying value or its occupied positions, before assuming that the two wizard games have the same bonus.

Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers uses the licensed film setting, rather than Merlin’s Arthurian story. Its named features and edition should be checked separately from Wicked Riches and Emerald City. Shared character art is not evidence that the Orb or selected-symbol trigger is reproduced.

Wizard Of Oz Wicked Riches is a different title from Ruby Slippers. The archive’s thirty-line format gives it more defined routes than Merlin, but the bonus rules determine what special symbols do. A line count alone does not identify a selected expanding symbol or predict win frequency.

More games like Rise of Merlin

Rise of Merlin places its young wizard beside a dragon, owl and Magical Orb. These are different symbol types even when they share the Arthurian story. The Orb has its dual wild/scatter role; the selected bonus type determines which ordinary symbol can later expand.

Blue and purple frame the original reels. Follow the chosen bonus symbol separately from the Orb: an owl result cannot use a dragon selection, and a scatter prize is different from the expanding-symbol award. This distinction makes the picture useful for recognising the pieces before reading a bonus result.

Wizard’s Castle, Book Of Oz Lock ‘N’ Spin, Merlin’s Magic Mirror and Great Book Of Magic Deluxe broaden the magical setting. Their subtitles distinguish different features. Book/Legacy selected-symbol rules are the more specific comparison explained above, while a wizard theme alone does not establish a common trigger.

The original depicts a younger Merlin with the dragon, owl and Magical Orb from its Arthurian setting. The Orb’s dual role is the specific connection between story and rules. The theme links below broaden the wizard selection; Book of Dead and Legacy of Dead are closer references for selected-symbol play.

Wizard slots you might enjoy

Rise of Merlin is a Wizard themed online slot game. Other Wizard themed online slots include Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers, Wizard Shop, Wizard of Oz Emerald City and Dungeons And Dragons Fortress Of Fortunes.

Rise of Merlin was created by Play’n GO

Rise of Merlin comes from Play’n GO. Book of Dead, Reactoonz and Moon Princess are among its best-known games. It holds UKGC and MGA licences, among others. Play’n GO was founded in 2005 in Växjö, Sweden, by Johan Törnqvist. Mobile-first design has been part of its approach from the start.

Play’n GO is the game supplier. Its Merlin overview identifies the Orb, ordinary-before-expanded award and eight-game retrigger. A shared supplier is a catalogue relationship, rather than a promise that every illustrated game will use Merlin’s selected-symbol feature. Microgaming is a separate supplier catalogue and does not identify Merlin’s creator.

Within this collection, distinguish the paytable’s ordinary line prize from an extra feature award. Merlin’s selected type can occupy more reel positions after the initial result has paid, while other games can modify positions before evaluation. That timing changes how the displayed components are added.

Ace Of Spades, Aztec Warrior Princess, Bell Of Fortune and Book Of Dead offer further supplier routes. Book of Dead’s ten starting free spins give the concrete contrast with Merlin’s eight. For the others, use their own feature explanation before importing the Magical Orb’s dual role or a selected symbol’s threshold.

We’ve listed The top PlayNGo slots to enjoy today, these online slots are all created by the same game provider as Rise of Merlin, the slot games are Energoonz, The Jolly Roger, Wild Rails and Sails of Gold.

Key information on Rise of Merlin

Here is all the key info for Rise of Merlin in this table below.

Rise of Merlin: the original five-reel, three-row screen with ten lines shown in its controls. This is an ordinary result, rather than an image proving a selected-symbol bonus award.

Online slots with the same features as Rise of Merlin

The feature routes below group free spins and expanding symbols. Merlin’s chosen type is not necessarily a wild, so its expansion should be distinguished from games that expand a wild automatically.

Other slots with Free Spins

Our Recommended slots with Free Spins are Mr Greens Grand Tour, Euphoria, Helena and Ninja Monkey.

Games with Expanding Wilds

The top matching slots with Expanding Wilds are Miss White and Neptunes Quest.

Rise of Merlin slot sites FAQs

Rise of Merlin Pros and Cons

Merlin offers a dual-purpose Orb and a selected-type bonus. The eight-spin retrigger rule and ordinary-before-expanded payout are the useful distinctions, rather than a promise about its largest result.

Pros

• Ordinary and expanded awards are distinguished
• Includes a free spins feature
• Retriggers add eight games to the remaining count
• A selected bonus symbol can expand across its reel

Cons

• A selected type still needs its qualifying symbol count
• Return and stake settings must be read for the loaded version
• Ten paylines remain defined routes, not all possible matches
• The magical and merlin theme won’t be for everyone