Viking Runecraft Slot Review
Viking Runecraft from Play'n GO is a 7x7 cluster-pays slot built around cascading wins, a bonus meter and a god-switching system. It landed in April 2017 and still has a decent mechanical spine. I like the structure more than the ceiling. For serious players, 5,000x is not massive, but the route to get there has enough moving parts to keep the base game alive.
Wins land from 5 or more matching symbols connected horizontally, vertically, or in mixed clusters. Consecutive wins charge the meter, and that meter is the whole point of the game. Base spins can be productive, but they can also drag a bit, especially when you are chasing higher-value sequences without a proper bankroll.
Viking Runecraft Symbols: Paytable & Payouts
Symbols lean on Norse gear rather than card ranks. Thor's Hammer is the top premium and pays 1,000x for a 15+ cluster. Odin's Helmet pays 250x, the Axe pays 100x, and Freya's Necklace pays 80x. Low symbols are rune stones, paying from 10x to 50x for 15 or more. That top symbol looks strong on paper, but you still need the grid to co-operate.
Wilds substitute for regular symbols, and reviews tie them to the four gods, Odin, Thor, Freya, and Heimdall. Each god can add a different wild-based effect on non-winning spins, such as turning symbols wild, forming wild pairs, creating wild clusters, or dropping seven wilds, one on each row. That is where the real value sits, not the paytable alone.
Symbol Payouts
| 15+ | x1000 |
| 12+ | x250 |
| 10+ | x75 |
| 9 | x25 |
| 8 | x15 |
| 7 | x10 |
| 6 | x7.5 |
| 5 | x5 |
| 15+ | x250 |
| 12+ | x100 |
| 10+ | x25 |
| 9 | x10 |
| 8 | x8 |
| 7 | x5 |
| 6 | x4 |
| 5 | x2.5 |
| 15+ | x100 |
| 12+ | x50 |
| 10+ | x15 |
| 9 | x7 |
| 8 | x4 |
| 7 | x3 |
| 6 | x2 |
| 5 | x1.5 |
| 15+ | x80 |
| 12+ | x40 |
| 10+ | x10 |
| 9 | x5 |
| 8 | x3 |
| 7 | x2 |
| 6 | x1.5 |
| 5 | x1 |
| 15+ | x50 |
| 12+ | x25 |
| 10+ | x7 |
| 9 | x4 |
| 8 | x2 |
| 7 | x1.5 |
| 6 | x1 |
| 5 | x0.8 |
| 15+ | x40 |
| 12+ | x20 |
| 10+ | x6 |
| 9 | x3 |
| 8 | x1.5 |
| 7 | x1 |
| 6 | x0.8 |
| 5 | x0.5 |
| 15+ | x30 |
| 12+ | x15 |
| 10+ | x5 |
| 9 | x2 |
| 8 | x1 |
| 7 | x0.8 |
| 6 | x0.5 |
| 5 | x0.4 |
| 15+ | x20 |
| 12+ | x10 |
| 10+ | x4 |
| 9 | x1.5 |
| 8 | x0.8 |
| 7 | x0.5 |
| 6 | x0.4 |
| 5 | x0.3 |
| 15+ | x10 |
| 12+ | x5 |
| 10+ | x2.5 |
| 9 | x1 |
| 8 | x0.5 |
| 7 | x0.4 |
| 6 | x0.3 |
| 5 | x0.2 |
Viking Runecraft by Feature: Full List
Winning cascades build the bonus meter on the left side. Once full, you trigger the Charge of Destruction, which can fire one of four features. Fury of Fenrir removes and transforms diagonal lines. Judgement of Jormungand destroys an unbroken chain and replaces it with a matching symbol. Scorching of Surtr burns symbols away and drops in new matches. Lure of Loki removes one symbol type and transforms another.
The main target is Ragnarok. Reviews describe it as a single free spin triggered by double charging the meter or by landing two consecutive charges. The spin runs with a multiplier from 2x up to 15x, based on the number of consecutive wins, then all four Charge of Destruction features play one after another. I like the sequencing, but one free spin is still one free spin, so variance is concentrated hard into a very small window.
Bonus Buy Options
The bonus meter fills with consecutive wins and, when charged, triggers one of four bonus features designed to create extra winning combinations.
Volatility: High
Two diagonal lines are removed and two diagonal lines turn into identical symbols.
Volatility: High
An unbroken chain of symbols is destroyed and replaced by a random matching symbol.
Volatility: High
Three symbols ignite, destroy a random number of symbols and can produce new matching symbols.
Volatility: High
All instances of one random symbol are removed while another symbol type transforms into a new symbol.
Volatility: High
A single free spin triggered by double charging the bonus meter or by two consecutive charges, with a multiplier that can rise from 2x up to 15x and all four Charge of Destruction features played in sequence after it.
Volatility: High
Viking Runecraft Volatility: Win Potential & RTP
96.71% RTP is the best-supported figure in the source set, though other reviews list 96.20%, 96.69% and one lower setting at 94.66%. Volatility is consistently marked high, hit frequency is medium, and one source says the bonus game takes 239 spins on average. That tells me the dead-spin stretches are real enough, even if the grid throws the odd cluster back at you.
Max win is 5,000x and that is where I get blunt. For a high-volatility slot with a layered bonus path and a hard-to-reach Ragnarok sequence, the ceiling is too low for this variance. There is no Bonus Buy mentioned in the reviews either, so you cannot shortcut the hunt. With a proper bankroll, it is playable. Without one, the meter chase can become expensive.
