The design in Black Knight is very simply done. The reels are set against a forest backdrop with a castle on the horizon. There are 8 standard symbols. The sceptre, ring and map offer awards of 1, 2 or 10 times your stake. Next come the orb and crown which pay 2, 4 or 20 times your stake. The jester and queen each deliver up to 50 times your bet.
By far the best payer is the king - land 3, 4 or 5 of him in combination and you’ll pocket 10, 50 or 500 times your stake. The Black Knight is the wild, substituting for all other symbols apart from the Bonus.
Black Knight comes with a Free Spins Bonus feature - land 3 or 4 of the Bonus symbol anywhere on the reels on the same spin and you’ll be awarded 7 or 12 free spins. If you land 5 Bonus symbols, you’ll win the jackpot of 500 times your total stake. The Black Knight wild can appear on the 3 middle reels and expand to take over the whole reel – it also remains locked in position for the duration of the feature.
Like most Barcrest slot games, you’ll also have the chance to play in Big Bet Mode. This is a series of 5 linked spins where the paytable is significantly increased. If you trigger the free spins in Big Bet mode, hope that the Black Knight makes an appearance.
Whenever the Black Knight lands, it expands and turn the whole of that reel wild. The stacked wild then remains locked in position for the remainder of the round. The Black Knight substitutes for everything including the Bonus in big bet mode.
The mediaeval yarn is a simple one. The imagery is very basic and the soundtrack generic. The features are pretty straightforward too. The free spins are decent enough, especially when you factor in the expanding/sticky wilds.
Black Knight isn’t the most exciting slot game you’ll see either in terms of design or gameplay. If you like the historical theme, then it’s worth considering. I would rather play the WMS version, called Black Knight, as it’s more volatile. Saying that, Black Knight II (from WMS) is even more volatile as it has an extra row.