10,000 Wonders Multimax: Slot Overview

Like the grand old Duke of York and his 10,000 men, developer ReelPlay has trundled out its favourite 5-digit number for the online slot 10,000 Wonders Multimax, a descendent of 10,000 Wonders 10K Ways. In a plot twist, however, this game makes a departure from the 10K Ways set-up and adopts characteristics associated with partner studio Yggdrasil Gaming's Multimax mechanic, as seen in the likes of MultiFly!. Developing the twist even further, 10,000 Wonders Multimax features a hold 'n win bonus round rather than free spins, connecting prize symbols to individual reel multipliers instead.

As we're stepping into a One Thousand and One Nights kind of situation, 10,000 Wonders Multimax splits its time between two thematically related background scenarios. The base game finds itself in a domed cityscape, a classic slot depiction of urban Arabia, while the bonus round occurs in a treasure-strewn Alladin's cave replete with a golden lamp. Cliched, sure, but the visuals should cater quite well for gamblers in the mood for a fantasy Middle Eastern-inspired game world.

10,000 Wonders Multimax shrinks the active area of the previous slot down to a 5x3 grid space where there are 243 ways to win. Winning combinations pay left to right from the leftmost reel, and the symbols involved in them are removed and replaced by a cascading wins feature. The volatility has been tuned up to 'super high', and of the several RTP models available, 96% being the default. Bet levels aren't vast, likely as a reflection of the high max multiplier, going from 20 cents up to $/€7 per spin.

In the base game, special symbols and regular pay symbols land side by side, while the bonus round is a special symbol-only event. The regular pays consist of 9-A card royal lows, awarding 0.6 to 1.5 times the bet for a 5-of-a-kind winning combination. Up from them is a bird and three character symbols, paying 2 to 4 times the bet for 5 OAK. Temple symbols have two jobs. One is to substitute for any regular paying symbol, the other is to increase the reel multipliers. Temples do not pay as standalone symbols.

10,000 Wonders Multimax: Slot Features

Anyone who's played a Multimax slot will be aware that each reel gets its own growable multiplier. 10,000 Wonders Multimax does this, but it also mixes reel multipliers with a hold 'n win bonus respins round.

Multimax

Each reel has its own Multimax Multiplier. At the start of each game round, all multipliers are set to x1. When a Temple symbol appears on the grid, the multiplier above the reel it landed on increases by +1. Before symbols drop following a winning cascade, a Temple symbol is added to a random empty position. The total multiplier for use in a winning combination is the product of all multipliers above reels containing winning symbols. The win for the combination is multiplied by the total multiplier.

Bonus Respins

The bonus respins round is triggered by landing at least 6 Lamp symbols. Once triggered, 3 respins are awarded, and Lamp symbols are held. When new Lamp symbols hit, they are held and respins are reset to 3. If a Temple symbol lands, it increases the multiplier on its reel by +1. The round completes when no more respins remain or all possible positions are filled by Lamp symbols.

When complete, each Lamp symbol awards a prize or a bonus prize. Possible bonus prizes are the 10x Red Diamond, 50x Pink Diamond, 250x Green Diamond, or the 2,000x Blue Diamond, while the non-bonus prizes range from 1 to 100 times the bet. The prize or bonus prize per Lamp is multiplied by the Multimax Multiplier of the reel it landed on. Lastly, if all reel positions are filled with Lamp symbols, players are awarded a 10,000x the bet 10K Bonus.

Feature Buy

Players may choose to buy the Bonus Respins feature, where a spin is played that results in 6 Lamp symbols. The choices are 50x the bet for Bonus Respins with 0-3 multiplier upgrades (RTP 96.7%), 75x the bet for Bonus Respins with 3-6 multiplier upgrades (RTP 96.8%), or 100x the bet for Bonus Respins with 6-10 multiplier upgrades (RTP 96.9%). Each upgrade adds 1 to the multiplier for a random reel.

10,000 Wonders Multimax: Slot Verdict

From memory, this is the first time Multimax has gotten jiggy with a hold 'n win, streak respin, style bonus round. One interesting result of this is that because ReelPlay has shrunk the grid and ways to win down, the 10,000 from the title no longer links to the number of ways to win but to the 10K bonus prize instead. To activate that Alladin's cave of loot requires filling the grid with Lamp symbols, and since the grid has shrunk to a 5x3 number, it doesn't seem like a monumental challenge - in theory. In practice, well, good luck if you decide to take up the 10,000 Wonders Multimax chase.

Why would a wide-eyed, hopeful gambler choose to do so? One reason might be to sample what a Multimax slot with a streak respin feature has to offer. In some ways, this is a relatively unique coming together of features; in some ways, it could also be argued that a game like iSoftBet's Aztec Gold Megaways provides similar, though not exactly the same, sort of action. Interestingly, bigger winning potential is possible from 10,000 Wonders Multimax, as the game info mentions a max multiplier of 34,213.5x, which is monstrous for a ReelPlay slot. Perhaps a big number was a requirement so as to not dilute the Multimax reputation.

That's a reputation built predominantly by MultiFly! since following releases haven't really wowed as the original did. 10,000 Wonders Multimax didn't hugely wow either, but there are certain creative ideas attached, and it is arguably a more desirable game than 10,000 Wonders 10K Ways was.