Wishing Cup

The Ancient Egypt theme is one of the most common in slot gaming, indeed it may well be THE most common theme for slot games when you look across all the different developers out there today. Of course, within that mix there's a real range of games, ranging from some out and out classics, to a few that really should have been left well buried in their tombs.

Not wishing to be left behind at this particular party, Rival Gaming have their own somewhat oddly titled Egyptian-themed slot Wishing Cup. Now, it seems an odd name for a slot about ancient Egypt at first, but a little research and you'll discover that Wishing Cup was the name given to a Lotus-shaped alabaster Chalice discovered at the uncovering of Tutankhamen's Tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter.

To be fair to Rival Gaming, they have got the design of their Wishing Cup pretty much bang on the money as a replica of the original found in the excavation and now that you know that, the name of the slot makes more sense.

So how does the rest of the game hold up and where can you go to try out this game which has proven so popular with Rival Gaming slots players since its release? Let's take a closer look and find out.

Overview

• Game: Wishing Cup
• Developer: Rival Gaming
• Reels: 5
• Pay Lines: 25 (10-25 selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.10
• Maximum Bet: 62.50
• Jackpot: 2,000
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Where can I play the Wishing Cup slot?

If you want to join a casino that offers a great selection of games from Rival Gaming and also offers new players a good value deal to start playing on the site, then look no further than Slots Capital Casino, as thousands of other slot players have done over the years.

As a new customer with Slots Capital Casino, when you make your first deposit after signing up, you will benefit from a hefty 277% Welcome Deposit Bonus on that deposit (provided it is $20 or greater in value). The maximum amount you can deposit is $1,000, which would mean you would earn the maximum possible bonus amount of $2,777, giving you a huge $3,777 to play with for just a $1,000 deposit.

Presentation

The presentation of the Wishing Cup slot is very nicely done in parts. I like the little introduction to the slot and the animations throughout the game are a particularly notable feature. The design of the symbols on the reels are also generally good, though I feel that one or two let the game down a little as they are not really of the highest quality.

The backdrop to the reels is nicely done as it is what presumably is a burial chamber inside the pyramid. The reels are superimposed over this and the main controls are all located at the foot of the reels, with the pay table displayed at the top.

What's on the reels?

Rather disappointingly, given that this is an Egyptian themed slot, the playing card low values from nine through to the ace are the smaller value symbols in the game. This would have made much more sense had they been something based on an Egyptian theme, hieroglyphics perhaps, so I think it is a little lazy just to resort to these rather ubiquitous symbols as the lower value. Wins start at 3 coins and go up to 125 coins if you land five aces, though the value of these wins is very small if you tend to play all lines on each spin.

There are four medium value symbols on the reels and these are more Egyptian themed. There is the Ankh, a staff, a scarab beetle and a couple of crossed daggers. Wins on these symbols increase rather rapidly from a minimum of 10 coins, up to a maximum of 600 coins.

The three highest value symbols are the three Egyptian characters from their legends and history. The bird god Horus, the cat god Bast and lastly the god Osiris, the god of death and resurrection. These offer wins ranging from 30 coins up to the maximum jackpot win in the game of 2,000 coins for landing five of the Osiris symbols.

Alongside these symbols there are a number of bonus features available in the game as you will see below.

Wild features

There is one Wild symbol in the game and that is the eponymous Wishing Cup. This symbol is also an Expanding Wild, which means that when it lands on the reels, if it can be used to form part of a win with the symbols around it, then it will expand to cover the reel in full. This can lead to a greater number of winning lines on a spin, especially if you manage to land two or more of these expanding Wild symbols on the reels during a single spin.

However, it is worth noting that the Expanding Wild symbol only appears on the first four reels during the base game.

Free Spins features

To trigger the Free Spins bonus game, you need to land three, four or five of the King Tutankhamun's Death Mask symbols anywhere across the reels. When you do you will trigger, 7, 10 or 15 Free Spins respectively.

During Free Spins, the Third Reel will turn into a replica of King Tutankhamen's tomb and it will remain in place for the entire Free Spins bonus game. It will act as a Wild symbol and can be the catalyst for some bigger value wins during the bonus feature.

Other bonus features

The other main bonus feature of the slot is the Secret Passage symbol, which appears across the reels. This symbol is brown in color and is identified by the eye of Horus being inscribed on it. When landed on the reels, the symbol will change to reveal one of the other in game symbols, potentially triggering a win for the player.

However, if you land multiple of these symbols, rather than showing the same symbol, they all tend to show different symbols, which does diminish the value and impact of this bonus feature down to an almost barely negligible level as most of the time when you land one of these symbols, it does not result in a win of any kind.

Best feature of the Wishing Cup slot

Without doubt the best feature of the Wishing Cup slot are those Wishing Cup Expanding Wilds. They may not offer the chance of as great a win as the Free Spins bonus, but they are far easier to trigger in the game and they often come to the rescue when you have had a run of lower value or non-winning spins in the base game to top your account back up. You can land some sizeable wins with these Expanding Wilds and they help keep you going until you do land the Free Spins bonus.

What does the Wishing Cup slot lack?

For me I think the Wishing Cup slot lacks a little finesse at times. I think some of the designs of the symbols could be a little more ornate and I also feel the Mystery Symbol bonus needs to be far better designed so that it offers the players a genuine benefit as at the moment, the benefit it has for a player is very small to the point of almost. Being pointless in the game. That's a shame as with a few small tweaks this would have been a very enjoyable slot indeed.

Conclusion

The Wishing Cup slot has some very nice features, a solid chance at a decent win in Free Spins (and when you land multiple Expanding Wilds on the first four reels) but it is also hampered by a Mystery Symbol that doesn't really benefit the player in any great way and a Free Spins game that can be very difficult to trigger at times. That's a pity as otherwise this would have been a very enjoyable and top of the tree Egyptian-themed slot.

Ratings

• Presentation: 14 / 20 - There are some nice aspects to the presentation on the Wishing Cup slot. The graphics are in the main, relatively decent, but some of them do look rather simplistic and lacking the detail you get on some other games. The animations in the game though are excellent and the sound is perfectly suited to the game. All in all the game looks and plays nicely, but it could have looked even better with just a few tweaks here and there.
• Game-play: 13 / 20 - The game play on the Wishing Cup slot is generally very good, but there are a couple of niggles which do drag the overall score down a little. First is the size of most wins, which are generally smaller than your bet. The other issue is with the Mystery Symbol which when landed reveals one of the in game symbols. However if you land several, they all reveal different symbols, which doesn't really help the player achieve a win. Indeed the amount of times this bonus actually benefits the player are few and far between.
• Bonus Features: 14 / 20 - Of course, the Free Spins round is the main bonus feature on the Wishing Cup slot and that is certainly the best aspect of the slot in terms of bonuses. Not only do you get between 7 and 15 Free Spins but you also have the third reel entirely Wild for the duration of the bonus and that leads to some great value wins. However other bonuses, notably the mystery symbol, are seldom useful to the player which is a bit disappointing. It would have been better had these symbols, when landed multiple times on a spin, showed the same symbol, rather than different ones.
• Entertainment Factor: 12 / 20 - I'll be honest, when I started to play Wishing Cup, I thought it had massive potential and even though it is on a theme that has been done to death in the slot industry, I liked how it looked and played. But as you play the niggles with the Mystery symbol and those lower value wins, together with a tough to trigger Free Spins bonus does make it hard game to love. However those Expanding Wilds do make a real difference when landed and can trigger some great value base game wins.
• Play Value: 11 / 20 - As a more medium variance game, this is never going to score massively well in terms of play value but I think those low value wins in the base game do make this more of a challenge for players to get value for money from. The Expanding Wild wins do really help (and are much needed) as you can play through many spins before you trigger Free Spins and even then you are not guaranteed a big win.
• Overall 64 / 100 - Wishing Cup is a game that has many nice touches and the chance to win some sizeable prizes, especially in the Free Spins round and when the Expanding Wilds land on the reels, but at other times it does tend to play a little tight and some of the features are not as rewarding as they should be for players. This does detract from the overall experience of playing the game and this is a pity as in many respects, this is a very solid and enjoyable slot, but for those little niggles.

Good Luck!

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