When one thinks of Medieval England, evocative images of enchanted castles, knights on white horses, damsels in distress and dragons breathing fire come to mind. These and many such images are captured by online gaming software developers in slot games with medieval themes. There is scarcely a software developer who has not created a medieval themed slot game and some of these have reached the pinnacle of popularity. The article describes some of these online slots.

Nothing signifies the medieval imagery more than the legend of King Arthur and the Microgaming slot game Avalon is based on this legend. Avalon is the island where King Arthur’s sword Excalibur was forged and later where he was taken to heal his wounds after the Battle of Camlann. Avalon is the wild symbol and the Lady of the Lake is the scatter symbol. Both get animated when in paying combinations. Other symbols include the Crown, the Goblet and the Coat of Arms, with the high value card symbols being regally crafted. Avalon has a free spins round and the trademark Microgaming gamble game.

Grail Maiden is popular as the first Vegas Technology slot game that was All Pays, or did away with paylines. That it has the popular medieval theme makes it more exciting. The wild symbol is the Golden Goblet and the scatter symbol is the Grail Maiden Logo. The other thematic symbols include the Knight, the Maiden, the Horse and the Castle. The high value card symbols are appropriately crafted. The entire effect of stained glass windows is very appealing and when symbols appear in a winning combination the light shines through them. There is stirring background music that enhances the theme.

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role playing game whose copyright is currently owned by Wizards of the Coast. WagerWorks has developed a couple of branded online slots using the characters from the games. These slots are subtitled Fortress of Fortune and Crystal Caverns. These are styled in a more mystic manner than the other medieval themed slots. The main characters are the Dungeons & Dragons heroes. Crystal Caverns has the Tumbling Reels feature in which symbols in winning combinations disappear from the reels and other symbols take their place. Hence the player can win again without additional wagers.

The software developer Realtime Gaming offers a slot game called Mystic Dragon. The Dragon is the wild symbol and the Volcano is the scatter symbol. Both spew fire with hissing sounds when they appear in paying combinations. The other symbols from the medieval theme are the Knight, the Lady, the Castle, the Treasure Chest and the Scroll. Each Dragon symbol doubles payouts and since three of them can appear in a payline the payouts can be multiplied eight times. Mystic Dragon is from the Real Series and offers a progressive jackpot that is randomly hit.

The Cryptologic medieval themed slot game is called Quest of Kings. The Princess is the wild symbol, the Rose is the scatter symbol and the Knight is a special symbol. When a Knight appears on reels 2, 3 and 4 simultaneously, first all payouts are awarded and then each Knight changes to a wild Princess and awards further payouts. Quest of Kings offers a bonus game on the second screen. Players have to select three out of the five towers to find the Princess and get bonus credits for doing so. If they fail to find the Princess they have to settle for a compensatory payout.