Empire Fortune (Yggdrasil Gaming): Overview

Empire Fortune is an extravagant slot from Yggdrasil Gaming released back in 2016 with jackpots to match its over the top presentation. Empire Fortune is all about opulence and drips with gold, jewels, and treasure. It’s like stepping into some bewildering Venetian ball, or at least, a Vegas imitation of one. It does, however, back up the style with substance. Empire Fortune is full of features, and most are quite uniquely done. However, its main draw is its global progressive jackpot which is capable of payouts in the millions. That element will pull in punters no matter what else is going on. Besides that, Empire Fortune also possess some interesting twists, let’s take a look at them.

Yggdrasil has really gone for the gaudy angle with this one. The 5 reel, 3 row action takes place in a court, or ballroom, full of rich stuff. The reels are ornately decorated, as is the menu bar where players choose their bets. These range from 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin where 5.5% goes to feeding the jackpots. Symbols are also in theme and look expensive. The low pays are card suit icons, diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades that look like precious stones. The four premiums are also precious stones but much shinier and encased in gold. There is a blue, green purple and red one which is the most valuable at 125 times the stake for five of a kind.

Return to player rating is similar to its sibling slot Joker Millions on 94.3%. Again, not amazing, but not an unusual figure with a progressive slot attached. The game comes with a medium/high volatility setting and a hit frequency of 23.3%. Theoretically, the game will trigger the Jackpot Wheel feature once every 81 spins. This is more than twice as often as the free spins are expected to land, which is 1/199. That is a good thing too because it is from the Jackpot Wheel that players get the chance to score the biggest wins.

Empire Fortune (Yggdrasil Gaming): Features

Empire Fortune has plenty of features. Some happen during the base game, some need to be triggered. One that comes during the base game is the Hold feature. If 2 free spins or 2 bonus symbols land, players can pay 3 times the stake to hold those tiles in place for another spin. It gives players a second chance of triggering features, at a price of course. If this feature is utilised during free spins, then the player gets one additional free spin to play the Hold feature. The Hold feature can only be used once in a row – with one exception. If 2 free spins or bonus symbols land while already holding 2 of them, then all 4 can be held.

A minimum of 3 scatter symbols are needed to launch the Free Spins round. The more in view, the better the setup - 3 get you 10 free spins with a x2 multiplier, 4 unlocks 20 free spins with a 4x multiplier, while 5 scatters are worth 30 free spins with a 10x multiplier.

When it comes to the bonus symbol, 3 or more trigger the Jackpot Wheel feature. This wedding cake looking extravaganza has three levels. Each is covered in prize icons and topped with a big shiny red gem on top. Players start by spinning the lower level of the wheel. If it lands on a prize icon, then the prize is theirs. If it lands on an arrow, they move up to the next level where prizes get better. There a lot of rewards up for grabs here, including:

• The global progressive Empire Jackpot.
• The local Diamond Jackpot.
• The local Gold Jackpot.
• Coin win of 40 to 2,500 coins.
• Coin win of 20 to 500 coins, plus a respin of the wheel.
• 10 – 30 free spins with a x2 – x10 multiplier.
• Fireworks feature where 3, 6, or 12 rockets are fired off. They land on other prizes, including the jackpots, and the player collects all of them.
• A mystery win of between 250 and 5,000 coins.

Yggdrasil Gaming claims that users won’t have seen a bonus wheel with so many interesting features. And they aren’t exaggerating. The cake/wheel contraption is covered in prizes including the jackpots.

Empire Fortune (Yggdrasil Gaming): Verdict

Empire Fortune is a slot with a lot going on but it's the progressive jackpot that is the main attraction and which can reach life-altering proportions. Empire Fortune is a proven millionaire maker. Case in point; at the end of 2018, a lucky Swedish punter cracked the jackpot after it had reached epic proportions. The win might not have been as large as the one picked up 13 days earlier by a fellow countryman. Still, the €2.25 million payout would have been a sweet early Christmas gift for anyone.

The other lucky slot in the story was Joker Millions –another Yggdrasil tittle. Even more than Joker Millions, the non-jackpot potential of Empire Fortune is on the low side. The game can payout up to €400,000 or 1,300 times the stake. It is a little surprising given how much is going on during the features. The x10 multiplier during the 30 free spins should be capable of far better returns.

Still, the base game potential isn’t something that will put jackpot hunters off the chase. And with payouts that can top €2 million on the cards, Empire Fortune is a strong contender. It might not be a big household name, but it's capable of producing those fantasy wins that gamblers dream about.