Inca Queen

Incan-themed slots are popular, but not that widespread as Egyptian or Greek slots. Still, the civilization’s temples, gold, rituals and visuals have been a popular setting for action and adventure slots, liked both by studios and players. Pragmatic Play’s Inca Queen takes a specific angle on the subject, framing the game around the Coya, the highest-ranking woman in the Inca empire and the Sapa Inca’s main wife. It’s not something you’d see in regular slots, as most other games focus on the empire and temples, so this is a very nice change of pace.

This is a Hold & Win slot, which means the central figure in the game is the Hold & Win mechanism, also known as Hold & Spin. However, it’s not a singular feature, as Pragmatic Play made sure to include it in the game with Coin Respins, Frame Respins, and Coin & Frame Respins, all of which can relate back to the Money Respin feature (the main feature).

With a 5×3 setup, 20 paylines, and 96.55% RTP that pairs with high variance, it’s a solid release for Pragmatic Play. The maximum possible win in the game is capped at 5,000x, which means it’s appealing to high rollers more than low rollers, as well.

Inca Queen uses a 5×3 reel grid with 20 fixed paylines. Wins, as expected, pay when they are formed left to right from the leftmost reel.

The symbol set covers 10-A royals, birds, snakes, big cats, and an Inca character as the game’s highest-paying icon that leads the premium set. The Wild, which is the Inca Queen herself, appears on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, so it avoids only the first reel. She can replace all symbols except Coin symbols.

Coin symbols are the game’s primary currency. They carry values of 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 8x, 10x, or 15x the bet, as well as jackpot marks. All Coins land in the Coin Pot. Frames are a secondary symbol type collected into a separate Frame Pot. Neither Coins nor frames pay out through standard line wins, because their values are only awarded during the Money Respin feature. There is no traditional scatter symbol in the game, but then again, there are no Free Spins as well.

Theme & Design

The backdrop reveals a classic Incan mountain valley, with ancient stone architecture, lush vegetation, waterfalls, and everything else that usually comes with the landscape.

The Inca Queen Wild is the most detailed symbol on the reels. That does not surprise us, as she’s the main character (and the game’s Wild). She’s rendered with ceremonial dress and clear hierarchy relative to the other symbols.

On mobile devices, the layout scales without compromising the Coin and frame tracking interface. You can rest assured the game will work beautifully on all devices (including your smartphone).

Stakes in Inca Queen start as low as $0.20 per spin. However, if you decide to wager the maximum bet, the cap is at $240. But in true Pragmatic Play fashion, you can use two optional bets.

• Ante Bet: this costs 30x the stake, and it increases the probability of triggering Respins. Only, if you use it, the RTP rises to 96.57%.
• Feature Buy: It costs 250x the stake, and gives you direct access to the Money Respin feature, with a RTP 96.57%.

The game’s maximum win capacity is 5,000x.

Paytable

Take a look at Inca Queen’s paytable.

• 10, J, Q: 2.5x for 5 of a kind
• K, A: 3x for 5 of a kind
• Bird: 5x for 5 of a kind
• Snake: 8x for 5 of a kind
• Big Cat: 12x for 5 of a kind
• Inca Character: 30x for 5 of a kind
• Coin: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 8x, 10x, or 15x
•  Mini (20x–30x), Minor (50x–100x), or Major (200x–250x) jackpot
• Grand Prize (Grand jackpot) is 2,000x

The game also has a Wild (Inca Queen) which substitutes for all symbols except Coins and appears on reels 2–5, but not reel 1.

The feature structure has four interconnected mechanics, all working together toward the Money Respin round.

The first on the list is Coin Respin. Coin Respin activates randomly when Coin symbols land. During the feature, only Coins can appear on the reels, and each Coin that lands on the grid, sticks in place. The feature ends when 6 Coins are stuck on the grid, at which point it transitions into Money Respins.

Then we have Frame Respins. These works identically but with frame symbols as the target. Frames stick on landing. Again, reaching 6 frames triggers the transition to Money Respins.

If that’s not enough, Coin & Frame Respin trigger randomly when either Coins or frames appear. Both symbol types are active and can land during this feature. Symbols stick as before, targeting 6 combined positions. If both Coin and frame symbols are collected, a random multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 8x, or 10x will apply to the  Money Respin winnings.

Money Respin is the central bonus round for this game. You can enter the round in many ways. You can use any of the three previous Respin features, or use Feature Buy. But we must warn you: Feature Buy might not be available in every market.

Money Respins, as the main feature, begin with 3 respins and all accumulated Coins and frames held in their positions. New Coins and frames that land during respins stick and reset the counter to 3. Positions containing both a Coin and a frame become active positions.

Reaching 6 or more active positions retriggers the feature and can award increasing multipliers. Coins that land as Special symbols will initiate a short Respin that determines their final value, which can be boosted by multipliers or contribute toward the max win. Finally, filling all 15 reel positions during Money Respins awards the 2,000x Grand jackpot.

RTP & Volatility

The default RTP of the game is 96.55%, but it can increase to 96.57% when you activate the Ante Bet or Feature Buy. High volatility means wins in the base game are infrequent. Also, the hit frequency sits at 20.45%, which is lower than we are used to. According to Pragmatic Play, the bonus triggers on average once every 121 spins.

Statistically, wins that are 1,000x the bet or bigger occur roughly once every 64,775 spins.

All in all, the game’s maximum win of 5,000x requires more than just sheer luck. You’ll need the Money Respin feature and a combination of jackpot Coins, multipliers, and sustained retriggers.

Our Experience

The base game is solid, but a bit too simple. Royals and premium symbols line up with modest payouts between feature triggers, and without the Ante Bet, those triggers aren’t too often.

The goal is to reach the features. Thankfully, they add a bit more color to the game, as you get three different Respin features that precede the final, Money Respin. All of them are Hold & Win features, which is great for fans of the feature, but a bit repetitive of those that are not as enthusiastic.

Pros & Cons

Why we like (and dislike) about Inca Queen.

Pros:

• More Hold & Win features in one game
• Coin & Frame multiplier (up to 10x)
• Four jackpot tiers including 2,000x Grand Prize

Cons:

• Game rules are perhaps a bit too complicated at first
• Base game has repetitive gameplay

Similar Slots

Players drawn to this game might also enjoy:

• Pho Sho (Betsoft)
• After Night Falls 2 (Betsoft)
• Money Train 3 (Relax Gaming)
• Wolf Gold Power Jackpot (Pragmatic Play)
• Dragon Hot Hold & Win (Pragmatic Play)