Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana Slot Review

Slot Provider: Play n Go

RTP: 96.2% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 20,000x

Our Score: 8.0

Play at Casumo Casino
QUICK LINKS: Game Information | Where To Play | Full Review | Testing Notes | Compare Slots | Tips For Players | About The Developer

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 13th December 2021

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is a 5 reel, 3 row slot from Play n Go with 10 paylines and a high variance. It tells the story of Merlin’s quest to find Morgana, a wayward apprentice who has become an Ice Queen. She lands as an expanding wild with multipliers of up to 10x in the base game. This slot uses a ‘Book of …’ mechanic whereby one symbol is chosen as an expander for the free spins round to help trigger wins. It expands whenever it can complete a payline. Morgana Expander Wilds are also active during the free spins.

This game has an excellent top payout of 10,000x and spins start from 10p.

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana Game Information

  • Release Date: November 2021
  • RTP: 96.2%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 20,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 4
  • Paylines: Up to 10
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Arthurian Legend
  • Features: Wilds, Stacked Wilds, Free Spins, Expanding Symbols, Gamble Game

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 200 spins on Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana for free at Casumo Casino to test the game and this is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £1
  • Start balance: £250,000
  • End balance: £249.079
  • Biggest Win: 15x
  • Free Spins: 0
  • Session Time: 11 minutes 39 seconds

200 spins on Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana was a really mixed bag. What I didn’t expect was to see so many Morgana Wilds expanding on the reels. In total I counted 36 – that’s more than one in every 5 spins. She didn’t always trigger a win but many times the multiplier was a 2x (see the screenshot) or 3x, and once a 5x. That is the good news because on the other side of the coin this experience showed you could be a long time chasing down that 3rd scatter in this game. I never managed it and so never saw the free spins round, despite 2 scatters landing 3 or 4 times. Never mind, I got a feel for what the game can do and there were plenty of small wins to enjoy.

Morgana Wild Expanded With 2x Multiplier
An expanded Morgana Wild with a 2x multiplier

What We Liked

  • Compelling Arthurian legend theme
  • Classic 'Book of ' expander symbols
  • 10x Morgana Expander Multiplier wilds
  • High potential at 20,000x
  • Choose your own paylines number

What We Didn't like

  • 'Book of' games are not that original

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 9
  • RTP and Variance 8
  • Maximum Win 9
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 7

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"Thanks to added Morgana expander wilds, this icy fantasy-adventure with classic 'Book of ...' features and epic win potential delivers in a big way!"

Overall Score: 8.0

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

A Fantasy Slot With An Icy Atmosphere

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is your classic Fantasy story slot and the production has some epic qualities to it. The backdrop appears to be the top of a stone castle with forests and hills in the distance. The setting changes from night to day, and when Morgana arrives, shards of ice suddenly appear. There are murmuring from Merlin about ‘defeating her’ and the evil laughs thrown back from Morgana, who it turns out is his apprentice, but clearly now a wayward one.

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana by Play n Go
Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana – an epic Fantasy tale

Overall, this is Play n Go so the production is not at the level of a Relax Gaming or Nolimit City slot, but it’s not bad, and for those in search of another Arthurian-style slot it pushes the right buttons.

RTP and Variance

Our Score 8

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Like many Play n Go slots, Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana has multiple RTP settings. They are 96.2%, 94.2%, 91.2% and 87.2%. It will be down to your casino which setting they choose to run the game at. Therefore, when playing this game I recommend taking a moment to check the RTP on the game info screen before you start spinning.

Here are the settings from five popular slot sites:

As you can see, none of these sites choose the optimum RTP level. But of the five, Barz, Casumo and All British offer the best setting, close to the maximum at 94.25%.

This is also a medium-high variance slot, not as volatile as games like Book of Dead or Clash of Camelot from the same studio, but still unpredictable nonetheless. It can be a frustrating play but can also kick out some huge wins when in the mood.

Maximum Win

Our Score 9

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The top payout here is a very solid 20,000x. That is really good for a Play n Go slot, whose highest paying game currently is Kiss Reels of Rock at 50,000x. Wild Falls 2 (15,000x) and Clash of Camelot (35,000x) also have good potential. For more like those, check out our list of the Play n Go slots with the highest maximum wins.

Explore Games With Similar RTP, Variance and Maximum Win

Like the numbers? Here are some more games you might want to try.

Slot SiteSupplierRTPVarianceTop Payout
Clash of CamelotPlay n Go96.28%High35,000xPlay Here
Wild Falls 2Play n Go96.2%High15,000xPlay Here
Kiss Reels of RockPlay n Go96.2%High50,000xPlay Here
Prism of GemsPlay n Go96.24%High30,000xPlay Here
The Last SundownPlay n Go96.2%High36,000xPlay Here
Power of Merlin MegawaysPragmatic Play96.09%High40,000xPlay Here
Raging Rex 2Play n Go96.2%Medium30,000xPlay Here
BeastwoodQuickspin96.11%High29,541xPlay Here

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

Good Value At The Top End Of The Paytable With 250x Merlin Wins

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is a 5 reel slot with 3 rows and the choice of between 1 and 10 paylines to bet on. This is quite unusual for todays online slot, most of which run with a fixed payline number. For the purpose of this review we are going to assume that you are playing with 10 paylines in play.

That gives you quite low value in the paytable until you reach the top end of the premiums. But I should add that this is offset by the fact that there are plenty of multipliers up for grabs later in the game to enhance these wins. And there needs to be if you want to get anywhere near that 20,000x top win!

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana Paytable
Paytable with a 250x for 5 Merlins

There are five low pay symbols. These are the cards, 10 through to Ace, valued at from 0.2x for 3 10s up to 2.5x for 5 Aces. Premiums are the ring, cauldron, spell book and Merlin Wizard valued at from 0.2x for 3 rings up to 250x for 5 Merlins.

Morgana is the Wild, substituting in for all other symbols to complete paylines, and the Fire Scatter is required to unlock the free spins round, explained in the next section.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 7

Wild Expanders Drop Regularly But Free Spins Are Elusive!

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana follows some aspects of the classic Book of format, but I should point out that it is not completely formulaic. There are a few tweaks to keep things interesting.

Morgana Wilds Appear Stacked With Multipliers

Firstly, the Morgana Wilds may appear stacked as well as in normal form. When it appears stacked then it will come with a multiplier of 2x, 3x, 5x and 8x that will be applied to any win it is part of.

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana Scatters Landing
2 scatters landing – 3 are needed for free spins

Free Spins Round With Extra Expander Symbol

The free spins round will be familiar to anyone who has played Book of Dead. It starts by landing 3 or more scatters which bring up 10 spins. What I like here is that you also get a payout of 1x, 10x or 100x for 3, 4 or 5 scatters.

Then, before the round starts, one symbol is randomly chosen as an Expander. It only takes affect when if in expanding it would create at least one win.

And finally, the Morgana Wild can also substitute for Expanded Symbols to complete paylines to give you the maximum chance of landing wins in your bonus round.

Gamble Your Wins

The final touch to this game is a Gamble Feature. On ANY win you can click to gamble on the turn of a card. Bet on the suit of the color to win 4x or 2x your win respectively. However, keep in mind that if you guess wrong, you lose the lot!

Gamble On Your Win For A Higher Payout
Gambling on the card color to win 2x the win

The Final Verdict

Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana is a really enjoyable take on the ‘Book of …’ slot series that developer, Play n Go, are best-known for. Not only does this version take things in an alternative direction thanks to the Arthurian-Fantasy theme, which itself has an original flavour, but it also adds in an extra dose of excitement via the Morgana Expanding Wild Multiplier. This powerful symbol showed itself to be a driving force in the testing, turning dead spins into winners countless times. To add further excitement Play n Go have pumped up the maximum win to a blockbuster 20,000x level which puts Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana into the upper echelons of their high variance catalogue in my opinion.

Compare Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana With Similar Slots Picked By Us

Here are more games like Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana compared on configuration and features. Click through to read a review of each one.

Slot GameProviderThemeMin. StakeMax. RTPVariancePaylinesTop PayoutJackpot
Nolimit City£0.2096.11%240 +20,200xNo
Red TigerWild West£0.1096.05%High2015,000xNo
Nolimit City£0.1096.01%2030,338xNo
Hacksaw GamingCartoon£0.10%High2010,000xNo
Quickspin£0.2096.27%1032,760xNo
Relax Gaming£0.1096.11%1015,000xNo
Just For The WinHistory£0.2096.1%High105,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayCrystals£0.2096.46%High117,64910,000xNo

Useful Tips When Playing Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Choose Your Paylines

This is one of only a small number of UK slots to give you the chance to choose how many paylines you bet on per spin. You can spend as little as 1p to bet on one line. Use that chance if you want.

2. Look Out For Regular Morgana Expanded Wilds

The best surprise here was seeing Morgana drop with a multiplier so many times. It keeps things flowing whilst waiting for that free spins round to drop. Enjoy this feature.

3. Play For Free Before Spending Real Cash

If you want to learn more about how the game plays then I recommend that you try for free at a site like Casumo Casino first. That way you can get to understand the features before parting with real cash.

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

The slot sites on this page have been chosen because they are licensed in the UK. That means they are safe, fair and secure, with all the Responsible Gambling tools you need.

Who Made Merlin and the Ice Queen Morgana?

  • Name: Play n Go
  • Established: 1997
  • UK License: Remote 021725-R-304911-020
  • Total Games: 200 +
  • Known For: Grid slots, high variance slots, huge range of themes, styles and maths models
  • Popular Slots: Book of Dead, Reactoonz 1 and 2, Troll Hunters 2, Rise of Olympus
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