Kingmaker slot review

Kingmaker slot at a glance

Kingmaker is a five-reel video slot built on the Megaways mechanic, the reel system that Big Time Gaming created and later licensed to other studios. Each spin changes how many symbols sit on every reel, so the number of ways to win shifts from one spin to the next, up to a ceiling of 16,807.

The royal theme is light dressing over a simple idea. Four coloured gems carry their own multipliers. Those values creep upwards while you play the base game, and when crown scatters start the bonus, the four values are added together and the reels are set to their maximum size. Everything else about the game, from the paytable to the swings in your balance, follows from that one design choice.

Casinos can sometimes offer more than one RTP setting for a game. Before you play, open the Kingmaker help screen at your casino and confirm the figure shown there.

How the Kingmaker features work

The four gem multipliers

Four gem symbols each hold a multiplier of their own, and that multiplier grows as the base game goes on. In practice this means the game has a memory of a sort that most slots do not: the gem values you see on screen were built by earlier spins in the session. It does not mean a bonus is closer, and the growing numbers say nothing about when the crowns will land. They simply record how big the bonus multiplier would be if the feature started now.

Crown scatters and the free spins round

Crown symbols are the scatters. They pay no attention to ways or reel positions, and landing enough of them starts the free spins round. Two things change once it begins. First, every spin in the round is played on maximum Megaways, so all five reels show their full seven rows and all 16,807 ways are live. Second, the four gem multipliers are combined into a single figure that applies to the round.

Put those together and the design logic becomes clear. A long base-game session that has pushed the gem values up feeds into a bigger combined multiplier, and the maximum reel size gives that multiplier the widest possible spread of winning combinations to work on. The help screen sets out exactly how the gems grow and how the combined figure is applied; check it, because we only describe what the developer has published.

What the round does not promise

A large combined multiplier is not a large win on its own. If the reels produce only small combinations during the round, a big multiplier on a small win can still return less than you staked to get there. That is the medium–high volatility at work.

Kingmaker Megaways: where 16,807 ways comes from

Megaways counts winning combinations rather than fixed lines. A win usually needs matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left, and every symbol position on a reel can be part of that chain. Multiply the number of symbols showing on each reel and you get that spin's ways. Kingmaker has five reels, each showing up to seven symbols, so the top figure is 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 = 16,807.

The example heights in the table are for illustration only; the game's help screen shows the actual range for each reel. The point is that more ways does not mean a higher return. The RTP is fixed by the game's maths at 96.65% whatever the reel heights on a given spin, because the paytable is scaled to the number of combinations. More ways mostly changes how often small wins appear and how they are spread, which you can read more about in our ways to win explainer.

For comparison, Big Time Gaming's six-reel games reach far higher counts: Bonanza Megaways tops out at 117,649 ways because it has an extra reel. Kingmaker's five-reel build keeps the count lower and leans on the gem multipliers for its larger outcomes instead.

Kingmaker RTP and volatility on a £20 budget

An RTP of 96.65% means the game is designed to pay back £96.65 for every £100 staked, averaged over an enormous number of spins. The other £3.35 is the house edge, and it is the clearest way to price the game: your expected loss is your total stake multiplied by 3.35%.

The averages look gentle, but volatility decides how your £20 behaves in the meantime. Medium–high volatility means wins arrive less often than on a low-volatility game, and a good share of the return is held back for the bonus round. At 50p a spin, a £20 budget gives only 40 spins before it runs out if luck is poor, and that may not be enough to see the crowns at all. At 10p you get five times as many spins, which gives the bonus more chances to turn up within the same budget, though the multiplied wins are smaller in pounds.

Kingmaker max win in context

The published top prize is 10,000 times your stake. At 10p that is £1,000; at £2, the most an 18 to 24-year-old can stake on a UK slot, it is £20,000; and at the £5 cap for players aged 25 and over it is £50,000.

A cap like this is the outer edge of what the maths allows, not a realistic target. Reaching it needs the base game to have built strong gem multipliers and the free spins round to produce top-paying combinations across maximum Megaways. Most sessions end nowhere near it, and our guide to what a slot's max win means explains why the cap tells you more about volatility than about likely results.

How to play Kingmaker online in the UK

1. Open the game at a UKGC-licensed casino after your age and identity have been verified.
2. Tap the information icon and read the paytable and rules, including the RTP shown for that casino.
3. Choose a stake within your budget; the UK slot cap is £5 a spin from age 25, or £2 if you are 18 to 24.
4. Press spin for each round, since autoplay is not allowed on UK online slots.
5. Watch the four gem values on screen; they show the multiplier that would apply if the bonus started.
6. When crowns trigger free spins, let the round play out on maximum Megaways with the combined gem multiplier.
7. Check the net spend and session time display, and stop when you reach the limit you set.

UK rules that shape Kingmaker

Because Kingmaker is a reel-based online game, it counts as an online slot under the Gambling Commission's slot stake limits. Since 9 April 2025 players aged 25 and over can stake no more than £5 per spin, and since 21 May 2025 those aged 18 to 24 are limited to £2. The Commission's stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) explains how the cap applies across a whole game cycle.

The Commission's RTS 14 responsible product design rules (opens in a new tab) also change how the game runs. Each spin must take at least 2.5 seconds, there is no turbo or slam-stop, there is no autoplay, and the game must not celebrate a return that is equal to or less than your stake. You can read the details in our pages on game design rules and the autoplay ban.

Some Megaways games elsewhere offer a paid route straight into the bonus. Since a Gambling Commission warning in January 2020, feature buy-ins are not offered to British players, so in the UK the gem multipliers and crowns have to come through normal play. Our page on feature buys has the background.

Kingmaker myths and facts

That last point is the gambler's fallacy, and it matters more on a game like Kingmaker because the growing gem display can feel like a countdown. It is a running total, not a timer.

Big Time Gaming and the Kingmaker design

Big Time Gaming was founded in Sydney in 2011, led by Nik Robinson, and Evolution announced a deal to buy it in April 2021. The studio is best known for the Megaways engine and games such as Bonanza, Extra Chilli and White Rabbit. Trade coverage of how BTG licenses its Megaways mechanic (opens in a new tab) to other suppliers explains why so many studios now release Megaways titles.

Kingmaker sits among BTG's own releases rather than the licensed versions, and its distinctive idea is to tie the bigger outcomes to multipliers carried over from the base game, so base-game spins shape the size of the bonus multiplier (without making the bonus any more likely).

Slots similar to Kingmaker

If you like the Megaways format or the idea of multipliers that build, these games on our site are the closest comparisons. Figures come from our checked slot data.

White Rabbit Megaways is the most similar in spirit, with reels that expand in its free spins. Danger High Voltage uses a fixed 4,096-ways grid rather than Megaways. For more choice, browse our high volatility slots list or go back to all slot reviews.

Where to play Kingmaker

Our partner offers are slot offers, but none is tied to Kingmaker, so check each casino's game lobby to see whether the game is listed. All offers are for over-18s only, and terms apply.

• PlayOJO: new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) who make a first deposit of at least £10 get 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each, with no wagering and winnings paid in cash. It can't be combined with other offers and is available only through the designated offer link.
• Coral: new players who deposit and bet £10 or more on slots between 1 October 2026 and 1 February 2027 get 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each, to be accepted within 48 hours and used within 7 days, with no wagering on winnings. Some payment methods, including PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards, don't qualify.
• Ladbrokes: new customers who deposit and spend £10 or more on slots get 50 free spins a day for 10 days (up to 500), at 10p each on selected games, claimed by 23:59 each day and valid for 7 days, with no wagering. PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill, Moneybookers and prepaid card deposits don't qualify.

Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International Limited, so you may not be able to open new accounts at both. Whatever you play, Kingmaker's 3.35% edge means losses are the likely result over time. Set a limit first, and if gambling stops being fun, the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 and GamCare (opens in a new tab) are free and open 24 hours a day.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.