Desert Cats Slot

Desert Cats is a very novel take on the classic Egyptian-themed slot game. Created by WMS, it’s played using an unusual 7 reel, 50 payline game engine and comes with 2 adjacent wild reels on each base game spin. There’s also a bonus round that awards up to 55 free spins as well as jackpot prizes of up to 2,000 times your total stake. Play on all devices from between 50p and £100 per spin. 



Dominating the action in Desert Cats are the wild golden cats. On every spin in the base game, 2 adjacent reels will be filled with 2x2 wilds. They’re joined by A to 10 royal values plus an ankh cross, stone tablets and death masks which pay between 2x and 20 times your stake. Next comes the feline goddess Bastet which pays between 3x and 50 times your stake.

The best paying standard symbol is the scantily clad Egyptian woman who pays 5, 10, 20, 50 or 200 times your stake if you land 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 on a line. Those same figures are on offer from the aforementioned golden cat wild. The wild can land as a standard 1x1 as well as a 2x2 symbol. These can hit in addition to the 2 wild reels that are guaranteed on every spin. Desert Cats comes with 2 extras.

Jackpot feature - you’ll notice that some of the 2x2 wilds in the base game come with gemstones attached. These are key to triggering the jackpot. The more red stones, the bigger the jackpot:

  • 6 stones = Minor Jackpot of 10 times your total stake
  • 7 stones = Medium Jackpot of 40 times your total stake
  • 8 stones = Major Jackpot of 80 times your total stake
  • 9 stones = Super Jackpot of 600 times your total stake
  • 10 stones = Mega Jackpot of 2,000 times your total stake

Free Spins Bonus feature - this round is triggered by landing 3 or more of the lion scatter on the same spin. Land 3 and you’ll receive 5 free spins. With 4 you’ll get a payout of 10 times your total stake plus 15 free spins. A full house of 5 scatters awards a 15 times stake payout plus 50 free spins. Instead of adjacent wilds, you’ll see wild reels during the feature. Re-triggers are possible too as an extra 5 free spins are added to your total if you land 3 scatters.

There’s nothing too flash about the visuals here. They’re bright and colourful certainly but they’re not of the greatest quality. The gameplay delivers plenty of action thanks largely to the twin wild reels. We managed to turn a 50p base game bet into a £100 payout after filling the reels with the woman and wild symbols.

Add the jackpots into the mix and this fresh take on an old favourite theme becomes a very tempting play. I wish the symbols were more valuable as the Free Spins Bonus feature would have been very interesting indeed! If you like the theme and want bigger payouts, Ark of Mystery from Quickspin delivers just this.