The ruins left behind by ancient cultures have always fascinated people, which is why slot machines set in ancient Egypt and the Indian cities of South America are so popular year after year. Relax Gaming has also set out to explore the ruins, but instead of the aforementioned, it has chosen the fascinating region of Southeast Asia. The result is the Temple Tumble Megaways slot, released in February 2019, which has plenty for players to marvel at.

Temple Tumble borrows the popular and famous Megaways mechanics from Big Time Gaming. So the number of ways to win is unimaginably high here too, but there’s not the same kind of playing field as in the likes of Bonanza or Extra Chilli slots. Temple Tumble features a square-shaped playing area with six reels consisting of six horizontal rows. The slot offers a whopping 46,656 paylines at best, as symbols do not have to appear on specific lines.

The combination of an interesting theme and an unusual structure could be enough for many players, but of course Temple Tumble also offers exciting special features. The technical side is sure to appeal too, with an excellent theoretical return rate (96.25%) and very high volatility. You may have to wait several rounds for the bigger wins in the slot, but in the end, the odds of a really big pot are better than in low volatility games.

How the game works

Temple Tumble Megaways is therefore played on six reels and six lines, with up to 46,656 different ways to win at best.

A special feature of the game is that not only do symbols appear on all reels, but there are also stone blocks.

Each winning combination destroys the blocks of stone that are in contact with the symbols, making more room for the symbols. The winning symbols are then removed from the reels, and new symbols fall in their place.

The object of the game is to destroy all the blocks of stone on the reels, which activates the game’s free spins.

Theme and graphics

Temple Tumble is Relax Gaming’s take on the popular adventurer’s plots, where an Indiana Jones-esque explorer searches for ancient treasures and unravels the mysteries of lost peoples. In the game’s opening animation, we see a brave adventurer facing a series of dangers on his journey, from snakes to tigers. In the end, a ruined temple site with priceless treasures is discovered in the middle of the jungle. But the door of the largest and best-preserved temple is blocked by heavy stone blocks, which act as symbols in the game. As the rounds change, you can see a dark corridor opening up behind them, into the unknown.

The graphics are really nice, and the game has a great Southeast Asian feel to it. You could easily imagine the temple in the jungles of Cambodia, for example, and the background music is also a great way to set the mood. The symbols are actually three-dimensional cubes, so they really do look like heavy blocks of stone.

The game’s initial animation is perhaps not quite as great as many more experienced game makers, but otherwise Relax Gaming have really invested in the look and feel of Temple Tumble, and the end result is as good as it gets.

Playing and stakes

Temple Tumble’s reel structure differs from traditional slot machines, as the playing area is a full 6×6 square. While the first impression might remind you of Play’n GO’s popular grid slots such as Viking Runecraft, the principle behind this game is very different, as the reels are powered by the entertaining Megaways technology.

Winnings are formed from left to right as usual, but there’s no need to track symbols on specific paylines. The rain of coins starts flowing when three or more of the same symbols appear on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. The number of ways to win varies slightly from spin to spin, but the maximum is a massive 46,656.

In most Megaways slots, the height of the symbols is constantly changing, but in Temple Tumbles, the symbols remain the same size from spin to spin. The reels do, however, get some variety and variation from the grey stone passages, which act as blocking symbols on the reels. The symbols also don’t spin wildly with the reels, but fall with a thud into the playing area.

Winning combinations explode, and new symbols fall in their place. If the winning combination symbols explode next to the stone blocks, the stone blocks blocking the reels are also destroyed. This opens up more space on the reels for the right symbols and more ways to win. New blocks cannot fall on the reels after wins, only at the start of a new spin.

Symbols

Temple Tumble’s symbols block the adventurer’s access to the ancient temple, and it’s up to the player to try and blow them all out of the way. This is done, of course, by forming winning combinations and destroying the grey stone blocks that appear amongst the regular symbols. They explode with them when the adjacent winning combination disappears from the playing area.

To win, you need at least three of the same symbol on adjacent reels from left to right, and there is also a wild symbol to make winning combinations easier.

Temple Tumble offers a total of nine basic symbols. The four lowest-value symbols are J, Q, K and A. The familiar symbols from the playing card face cards have been tuned to fit the theme of the game, with the letters resembling diamond shapes pulsating inside a rock. The payouts from these symbols are woefully small, even if you can get symbols on all six reels.

Mid-level wins come from diamonds, which are also embedded in stone slabs. The green, blue and red gems offer slightly better coin wins. However, the highest payouts go to symbols depicting some sort of red devil and golden Buddha head. The Buddha is the most valuable of the symbols.

The Wild symbol shows the game’s adventurer, and can be used to substitute for any of the base symbols to form a winning combination. The Wild can only be encountered on reels 2-6, so it does not appear on the first reel.Temple Tumble offers no other special symbols, such as a scatter or bonus symbol.

Bonus activities

Temple Tumble’s symbols falling on each other and winning combinations that make room for new symbols is a great special feature in itself.The Megaways payouts also make even the basic game interesting, even if the game doesn’t quite follow the traditional style of that mechanic. For the special feature itself, the free spins, which include some interesting bonus features, are good enough.

The free spins are activated when the playing area is completely cleared of stone blocks. Blocks only appear on the reels at the start of the round, so the idea is to get a lot of consecutive wins and thus qualify for the free spins. However, the feature will not trigger until the game round is complete and no new wins will appear on the reels. When the spins finally start, the symbols blocking the temple’s entrance give way and the player is allowed to enter the ancient treasures.

Six free spins are offered and the player can choose from three free spin modes. The special features of the modes vary, with either multipliers, extra spins or both. The fiery orange mode offers multipliers and the electric blue mode offers additional spins. A mode that combines both features is a hybrid of the two. The volatility of the modes varies slightly: medium with extra spins, high with a combination of both, and very high with payouts alone.

Verdict

In 2019, Relax Gaming released an exciting adventure game set somewhere in Southeast Asia called Temple Tumble Megaways. Winnings are grabbed using the Megaways gameplay developed by Big Time Gaming, with winning combinations exploding off the reels to make way for new symbols. The number of ways to win can get really high, and the stone blocks clogging up the reels also add to the excitement with every spin.

The slot’s only real special feature is the free spins, which can seem a bit boring at first. However, at least for us, we enjoyed the basic game, where any spin can result in numerous consecutive wins, and the game is really entertaining. The free spins are triggered in an interesting way, and the player gets to choose the special feature they want. The possibility of making your own choices always adds to the interest of the slot, which is why Temple Tumble’s free spins are particularly tantalising.

Players used to other Megaways games will also be surprised by the layout of the slot, as you wouldn’t necessarily guess the underlying game mechanics just by looking at the reels.

This game combines entertaining action with a great theme.
However, the high volatility of the game doesn’t make it easy to win, and sometimes the no-win or low-win rounds can even be annoying. Temple Tumble is not a game to be played for a quick win, but rather to be played at your leisure, knowing the odds and the risks.

Other slots you might enjoy:

• Starburst
• Gonzo´s Quest