Spartan King: shield up, spear ready

Red cape, bronze helmet with a tall crest, a battle cry frozen mid-shout: the king on the Spartan King poster has clearly just come out of a fight, and the arrows sticking out of his round shield prove it. Behind him, ships line a grey coast under a stormy sky. The Spartan King demo lets you spin through that battlefield with 1,000 virtual credits, without signing up or downloading anything.

The setting and the symbols

Pragmatic Play leans heavily on the ancient warfare theme here: armour, weapons and the warrior king himself set the tone, with the music and animations built to feel like the moment before a charge. Expect the usual split between lower card-style symbols and premium themed ones, with the king at the top of the order.

A shorter page, on purpose

Spartan King is not among the most discussed Pragmatic Play titles, and we would rather not describe a bonus round we cannot vouch for. The good news is that the game itself tells you everything. Open the information screen before your first spin: it lists the paylines, the role of the wild and scatter symbols and how any free spins or extra feature are triggered. Five minutes there will save you a lot of guesswork.

How to test it in free play

• Read the rules screen first and note what triggers the bonus.
• Play 150 to 200 spins at a fixed stake so the feature has a fair chance to appear.
• Keep an eye on how the balance moves between bonuses: it tells you whether the game pays little and often or saves itself for big moments.

The Spartan King slot runs well on phones and tablets. Play Spartan King free here; the same game runs for real money at the casinos below.