Wisdom of Athena

Wisdom of Athena Slot Review

Slot Provider: Pragmatic Play

RTP: 96.07% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 5,000x

Our Score: 8.2

Play at Barz Casino
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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 Wisdom of Athena

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 10th July 2023

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.

Wisdom of Athena is a 6 reel and 5 row Scatter Pays slot from Pragmatic Play with an Ancient Greek theme and an opulent, stylish design. Landing 5 or more matching symbols is all that is needed to trigger a win.

This is a simple slot with a Tumble Wins mechanic where after each win the winning symbols drop out to be replaced with new ones. With each 3 tumbles an extra row is opened up on reel 1, then 2, then 3, right up to reel 6. This creates more space to land matching symbols on, potentially driving greater payouts. The game also drops random multipliers of up to 500x at any time and comes with a free spins round where the expanded grid does not re-set between spins.

The top win in Wisdom of Athena is 5,000x and spins start from 20p.

Wisdom of Athena Game Information

  • RTP: 96.07% | 95.09% | 94.09%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 5,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: Up to 6
  • Paylines: Scatter Pays
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: Ancient Greece
  • Features: Tumbles, Free Spins, Multipliers, Expanding Reels

What We Liked

  • Cumulative multpliers and expanding rows
  • Free spin re-triggers extend bonus round
  • Nice, opulent graphics and animations
  • Regular tumbles in base game

What We Didn't like

  • Top win is low at just 5,000x

Wisdom of Athena Review Scores

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

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A great-looking slot with classic high variance features mixed with scatter pays to good affect"

Overall Score: 8.2

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

A Stunning Slot Game With Rich Graphics and Slick Animations

If you are going to draw on Ancient Greek mythology for your slot theme you better go big in my book. There is so much rich history there with heroes, heroines and empires rising and falling that it lends itself perfectly to great game visuals if you get it right. And Pragmatic Play have done just that, invoking this period beautifully in Wisdom of Athena as you can see in this screenshot.

Wisdom of Athena by Pragmatic Play
Wisdom of Athena – Gloriously Opulent

This is an opulent game. The backdrop of ancient Greek temples, statues and buildings sits behind a reel set with gilded gold leaf frame and intricately drawn symbols. There is a model-type character of Athena stands to the right of the reels, carrying sword and staff. She bangs the staff and wields the shield as a new row is unlocked on each reel. It’s a glorious setting with plenty of exciting animations that kick in as tumble wins cause symbols to disappear in flashes of light and new rows unlock with consecutive wins.

In a nutshell, epic before you even start to spin!

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.

Wisdom of Athena has three available RTP settings: 96.07%, 95.09% and 94.09%. Which you play at will depend on your casino. In the UK many operators choose below optimium settings. We verified the RTP of the game at five top UK slot sites. This is what we found:

MrQ was the only site to run Wisdom of Athena at its optimum RTP level in this test. If RTP is important to you then we recommend that you play the game there.

This is also a highly volatile slot, rated 5/5 by Pragmatic Play themselves. As I found in my test session, it can be a frustrating play with little returns in the base game. But as with any volatile slot, at any moment it can kick off with a dizzying combination of free spins and accumulating multipliers in the bonus round.

If you enjoy this king of volatile gameplay then I recommend your read our article on the best high variance slots.

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

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 in Wisdom of Athena is just 5,000x. Pragmatic Play don’t always run with super high max wins and 5,000x is not unusual. However, if you want a slot with more potential we recommend that you try Spellbinding Mystery (10,000x) or Eye of the Storm (10,000x), or read our article on Pragmatic’s highest paying slots.

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Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

Good Value At The Top of the Paytable For 15 or More Matches

Wisdom of Athena plays out on a 6 reel grid with 5 rows on each, with the chance to unlock an extra row on each reel as the game progresses.

This is a Scatter Pays game which means there are no paylines. To trigger wins you simply need to land 8 or more identical symbols ANYWHERE on the reels.

Wisdom of Athena Paytable
Wisdom of Athena Paytable

I found some good value in the paytable when landing 15 to 30 of the same symbol across the grid. That is not going to be easy but remember that you have the expanding reels to help you along the way, creating more spaces for symbols to land with each Tumble.

Low payers are the Greek symbols on green, purple, blue, pink and red, valued at from 0.25x for 8 or 9 green symbols up to 7.5x for between 15 and 30 red symbols. Premiums are the parchment, urn, helmet and shield, worth between 1x for 8 or 9 parchments and 50x for between 15 and 30 shields.

There is no wild in Wisdom of Athena. However, there is a scatter which pays out 2x for 4, 15x for 5 and 100x for 6. It also unlocks the free spins round when 4 or more land at once.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 9

Whilst I wouldn’t give this game high marks for originality in the features, I found its simplicity quite compelling. It’s just tumbles, expanding reels and random multipliers. If you enjoy simple slots play rather than the complex features knocked out by Nolimit City and the like then you will enjoy Wisdom of Athena.

This is how it works.

Tumble Feature – Unlock An Extra Row of Symbols on Every Reel

Central to the gameplay in Wisdom of Athena is the Tumble Feature – after any winning spin, all winning symbols are removed from the reels and new ones drop in to replace them. If more wins occur, the process repeats. This continues until no more wins are triggered.

A tumble win in Wisdom of Athena
Winning symbols removed from the reels in a tumble

Tumbles have been used in countless slots from Gonzo’s Quest to Bonanza Megaways. They are best when combined with an another feature like multipliers, or in this case, reel expansions. For every 3rd tumble, an extra position is unlocked at the top of each reel as follows:

  • 1 Tumble – top row on reel 1 unlocks
  • 3 Tumbles – top row on reel 2 unlocks
  • 6 Tumbles – top row on reel 3 unlocks
  • 9 Tumbles – top row on reel 4 unlocks
  • 12 Tumbles – top row on reel 5 unlocks
  • 15 Tumbles – top row on reel 6 unlocks

Expanding the reel set in this way gives you more chance of landing wins and the rows remain unlocked until the Tumble sequence ends.

Multipliers of up to 500x Can Land At Any Time!

Another useful feature is the Multiplier. This are like diamond gems in red, pink, green and blue. When they land, they carry a value of between 2x and 500x. There values are added together and only applied to the TOTAL win at the end of your Tumble sequence.

Wisdom of Athena Random Multiplier
A random multiplier is added to the grid

Free Spins – Extra Rows Do NOT Re-Set Between Tumbles

The free spins round is where this game can really deliver. In classic high variance style, the features are the same, but enhanced! When the extra rows unlock from tumbles, they do NOT re-set between spins.

And, multipliers are now added to a Total Multiplier value displayed to the left of the reels which is applied to EVERY win that occurs during the round.

Free spins are triggered by landing 4 or more scatters. That gets you 10 spins. Landing 3 or more scatters during the round gets you 5 more free spins. So you can keep extending the round, increasing your multiplier and opening up more rows until each reel is 6 high.

The Final Verdict

Wisdom of Athena is an enjoyable addition to a unique series of Scatter Pays slots from Pragmatic Play whose prolific output does nothing to diminish the quality of their games.

Let’s start by saying the overall production here is excellent – superb artwork and animations supporting some simple but effective game mechanics that keep things rolling along nicely in the base game even when you are not hitting any significant wins, as we found in testing. And in terms of chasing those big payouts? Whilst you may open up an extra row here and there, or land a nice multiplier every now and then, Wisdom of Athena is really just a waiting game to unlock the bonus round where things can kick off in real style. And the game showed us a little of what it can do there in our test. More tumbles, more rows, more multipliers (of up to 500x!), and more free spins triggering – its simple stuff, but can deliver some thrilling win sequences on the right day.

The only caveats here are those variable RTPs which you should keep an eye on and the relatively low cap of 5,000x on the top win. But if you can live with that, Wisdom of Athena makes for an excellent high variance adventure in Ancient Greece.

Compare Wisdom of Athena With Similar Slots Picked By Us

Here are more games like Wisdom of Athena compared on configuration and features. Click through to read a review of each one.

Slot GameProviderThemeMin. StakeMax. RTPVariancePaylinesTop PayoutJackpot
Pragmatic PlayMusic£0.2096.01%High2435,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayPirates£0.2096.5%High2010,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayNorse£0.2096.46%High1010,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayCrystals£0.2096.46%High117,64910,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayAnimals£0.2096.06%High209,000xNo
Pragmatic PlaySteam Punk£0.2096.64%High1020,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayLuxury£0.2096.5%High206,442xNo
Pragmatic PlayOriental£0.2596.51%High255,000xNo

Useful Tips When Playing Wisdom of Athena

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. Keep Your Eye Out For Multipliers

The random multipliers are powerful additions to the game grid in Wisdom of Athena. Look out for them as they have great value at up to 500x and combine before they are applied to your wins.

2. Enjoy The Production

Take some time to enjoy the high production values in this game. The animations of Athena wielding a shield to fend off lightning bolts looks great as does the slick movement of symbols dropping on each spin.

3. Start With A Low Stake

With a high variance slot like this one is always a good idea to start with a low stake as it can be harsh on your balance. The minimum here is 20p so you don’t need to go big.

4. Play At Licensed Slot Sites

We have chosen the casinos on this page because they are licensed in the UK and offer safe and secure gambling with access to responsible gambling tools to manage your spend.

Who Made Wisdom of Athena?

  • Name: Pragmatic Play
  • Established: 2015
  • UK License: Remote 046683-R-325951-014
  • Total Games: 500 +
  • Known For: Wide range of themes and styles, live casino including gameshow formats, and bingo
  • Popular Slots: Fruit Party, Dog House Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Release the Kraken
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