Katmandu Gold is an ELK Studios slot, a Swedish game provider known for designing innovative games based on attractive mathematical models. This 4,096 payline slot doesn't disappoint in those regards, which is why you'll witness exciting features like Multiplier Free Drops with both free spins and multipliers and additional rows that increase the number of paylines to 531,441.
The designers opted for a unique Nepalese theme, so Katmandu Gold takes us high up the Himalayas into the mystical city of temples. Interestingly, the game's main character takes us on this mission — adventurer Kane, who appeared in other ELK Studios games.
Katmandu Gold is a relatively new slot, released in December 2020. It's the fifth instalment in the popular Gold series ELK Studios, where the first game was Ecuador Gold, released in early 2019.
Where Can I Play Katmandu Gold?
You can play Katmandu Gold in most online casinos in the UK, all thanks to the popularity of ELK Studios games and the company's UK Gambling Commission licence.
In most cases, you can play the game for free or with real money, and it's entirely up to you to choose which.
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Katmandu Gold Gameplay
Katmandu Gold doesn't have a typical reel setup but a gridline with four rows and six columns.
Depending on the game's premise, the number of columns can increase to nine.
The game has 4,096 paylines at its basic level, but due to the grid increase, you can get as many as 531,441 ways to win, which is double the amount from the first game in the Gold series.
The minimum bet is £0.20, while the maximum is £100, and you only get a couple of options in between as you can't choose the number of paylines nor the worth of each coin.
Katmandu Gold is filled to the brim with symbols, as it has four letter symbols, four medium-sized symbols with colours, and four picture symbols. You can also get a few special symbols, including a wild that substitutes all other symbols except the Ice Climber and the bonus symbols.
The highest-paying symbol is Kane, the adventurer, but it's worth noting that each of the regular symbols can increase in size, with four sizes available:
- Standard 1×1
- Super 2×2
- Mega 3×3
- Epic 4×4
The great part about this is that they pay more depending on the size. For example, the mega 3×3 symbol pays as three standard symbols.
Katmandu Gold Free Spins and Other Bonus Features
One of the best parts about Katmandu Gold is its quality and the sheer number of special features. The game surpasses many others with as many as six unique bonus features.
- Multiplier free drops – This is effectively the game's bonus round that starts when three or more scatter (bonus) symbols land anywhere on the grid. The number of bonus symbols that appear determines the number of multipliers and free spins. You can get as few as 10 and as many as 25 free spins.
- Big symbol – All regular symbols can appear randomly in any of the four different sizes we've already mentioned.
- Expanding win – If the wild is part of the winning combo, this feature activates, and the expanding win symbol expands in the directions pointed by the arrows. In simpler terms, you get more of the same symbol, increasing your chances for a bigger win.
- Avalanche – This feature activates whenever you get a winning combination in the main game. The winning symbols disappear from the grid, and the new ones that appear can lead to further winning combinations. What's more, a new row appears on the top. This continues for as long as you are winning.
- Ice Climber – The feature activates with the landing of two Ice Climber symbols. When that happens, the Ice Climber symbols and all others above are replaced with wilds and high-value symbols, while the empty spaces beneath become wilds.
- Buy bonus – This option lets you purchase the multiplier free drops feature, but unfortunately, due to the rules set by the UKGC, it's not available in the UK.
What Is the Return to Player Level in Katmandu Gold?
The RTP percentage in Katmandu Gold is 96.2%, which puts it right smack in the middle of the average RTP value range for modern slots. For those unaware, the higher the RTP, the higher the amount of money you get back from the game over time.
What Do We Think of Katmandu Gold?
We truly love the diversity of bonus features in the game, and we especially like the bonus round for how rewarding and long-lasting it can be. We also like the massive number of ways to win when the size of the grid increases. The potential max wins are also the highest in the ELK Gold series.
However, we can't say we like how rare winning combinations in the game are. This directly affects how often you get most of the bonus features. Better said, most of them happen pretty rarely.
Another minor downside is that reel expansion always resets when you lose, even in the bonus round.