Shambala is a 5-reel, 25-payline online video slot developed by WMS (Williams Interactive), released in 2013. The game’s theme revolves around Tibetan and Indian cultures, as it transports players to the Himalayan Mountains and the mystical temples that dot this vast landscape.
Gameplay Mechanics
The first thing one notices about Shambala is its simplistic yet elegant design. With a backdrop of lush green mountains, the reels are positioned at the center with ornate symbols and golden filigree details on either side. The bet here game loads quickly and allows seamless transitions between spins, making it an enjoyable experience even for casual gamers.
Symbols
The paytable consists of standard card values from 9 through Ace, supplemented by themed icons such as Tigers, Elephants, Bells (or bells?), Conch Shells, Murtis (small statues), Peacocks, and Snow Lions. The lowest-paying symbols are the numbered cards with varying rewards up to $150 for five-of-a-kind combinations on a max bet of 50 coins.
The game features four unique high-paying icons: Tiger’s Paw ($400), Ganesha Statue ($600), Himalayan Eagle ($800), and the Snow Lion, the top-payer at $1,000. These symbols are often rewarded by grouping them with lower-value cards or completing specific bonus rounds.
Payouts
The paytable itself is not overly complicated; it follows a standard 8x multiplier for wins from left-to-right starting on reel 1. However, landing high-paying combinations can multiply the winnings significantly due to its generous max payout structure.
Shambala’s overall RTP (Return To Player) rate is stated to be approximately 95%, which isn’t unusually high but provides an average level of volatility that keeps gameplay engaging and rewarding without overwhelming losses for experienced players.
Wilds & Scatters
The Wild symbol, depicted as a stylized Snow Lion icon with a golden aura around it, substitutes all paytable icons (excluding the Scatter). The wild appears on reels 2 through 5 only. This is unusual because in most modern slot machines, Wilds are often available to land on any reel for complete flexibility.
On the other hand, there’s no traditional Scatter symbol but rather a bonus ‘feature scatter’ of five or six snow lion heads landing anywhere will initiate different game-changing features such as free spins and interactive elements.
The snow lions have two different versions that appear during gameplay – the main Wild Snow Lion and the Bonus Snow Lions, with both acting as wilds within certain combinations in some cases.
Bonus Features & Free Spins
One of Shambala’s best-selling points is its ‘Shambala Free Spins Feature’ activated by any 5+ snow lion scatters (with each one adding an additional free game award) and also triggers when six or more Snow Lions appear on reels. The number of awarded spins ranges between 15 to 120, although five or six snow lions award the maximum spin count in the feature.
The Bonus Free Spins Feature offers up a wide variety of games which include expanding Wilds that change their positions after every free spin cycle for an added risk-reward dynamic; wild-free games offering bonus reels containing multiple combinations such as 2 to 4 high-paying icons combined together creating several more winning opportunities per each reel set within them – along with special ‘Snow Lion’ extra symbols during regular slots play modes when at least four lions appear in a straight line starting on the first three or two spins following initial landing.
Gameplay & Strategy
To truly appreciate Shambala, it’s essential to adopt some strategy. This involves monitoring and managing bankroll effectively due to its relatively high volatility that will occasionally yield explosive results followed by periods where no real action occurs at all.
In conclusion, for a slot machine so simple in design as to be almost elegant but bursting with potential when wilds land correctly on the right reels with Scatters creating free spin combinations it truly is amazing.