Queen of Hearts: a slot dealt from the card table

Royal cards and red roses

Most slots use card values as filler. Queen of Hearts makes them the theme. Hearts, crowns, roses and royal figures fill the reels, all in deep red and gold, with the queen herself presiding over the game. It runs on five reels and three rows, in the classic Novomatic mould that players of Book of Ra or Lucky Lady's Charm will recognise immediately.

Wild queen, free games and the rest

The Queen of Hearts symbol is wild, filling in for other symbols to complete paylines, and she is the one you want to see on the middle reels. A scatter symbol launches a round of free games when enough land anywhere on screen.

The paytable and rules screen gives the exact scatter count, the number of free games and any multiplier attached to them. Take a minute to read it in the demo: knowing what the round offers makes it easier to judge whether a session is going well or badly.

How to approach the Queen of Hearts demo

The demo comes with 1,000 virtual credits and no sign-up or download. Free games are the feature most players play this kind of slot for, and they rarely arrive on schedule, so allow around 250 spins at a stake equal to £0.20. Track two numbers: the spin on which each bonus arrived and what it paid. After a session you will have a much better idea of the game's pace than any review can give you.

The gamble, and when to leave it alone

As with most classic titles from Novomatic, wins can be gambled on the colour of a face-down card. It is a straight double-or-nothing. Some players use it only on very small wins, others never touch it. The free demo is the place to find your own rule. When you want to play for real, the same game is available at the casinos listed below.