Betsoft Gaming, a well-known provider of top-quality online casino games, is taking the lovers of online slot games to the amazing world of Ancient Greek mythology. The players travel to Hellada in a quest for a Golden Owl that, if found, rewards you with wisdom and heaps of gold.
Athena, the Wise Warrior
In Greek mythology, Athena, or Athena Pallas, is the goddess of wisdom and war. She is the divine protectress of the city of Athens. The father of Athena was Zeus, the wielder of lightning and the supreme god of the Greek pantheon. Zeus had an Affair with Metis, another goddess of wisdom, and swallowed her afterward because of a prophesy which said that Metis would have children wiser than Zeus himself. However, when Zeus swallowed her, Metis was already with child. The supreme god soon started suffering from a terrible headache which nothing could cure. To stop the pain, Zeus ordered Ares, the god of war, to cleave his head with an ax. As soon as it was done, Athena, fully grown and armed, sprang out of her unwilling father’s head.
Athena’s symbols are an owl and an olive tree. She is often depicted with an owl nearby and one of the common epithets for her is “Glaukopis” which means “bright-eyed” or “the one with gleaming eyes”. The city of Athens has adopted the owl as its symbol, and the coins that were in daily use in Athens, the Athenian drachmas, were called “glaukes”, owls.
The olive tree reminds of Athena’s contest with Poseidon, the god of the sea and brother of Zeus. The two gods competed for the patronage of Athens. It was agreed that each of them would give the city one single gift, and then the king of Athens would decide which gift was the best one. Poseidon made salt water spring from the ground, thus giving Athenians access to the sea and good fortune in both trade and sea battles. Athena, for her part, gave the city the first domesticated olive tree. Athenians gave their devotion to the wise goddess, because the water, though powerful, was salty and undrinkable, while the olive trees provided them with wood, oil, food, and shade in the hot hours of the day.
The Quest for the Golden Owl
The Golden Owl of Athena is an online slot game by Betsoft Gaming. The game has five reels, ten paylines, and a 95,05% RTP. The maximum possible win that the Golden Owl rewards you with is 56,200 coins. The game is available both on the desktop and mobile devices and can be played at Bitcasino for free, in fun mode, or for bitcoins.
The basic symbols are the card symbols, from Jack to Ace. The higher-level symbols are the Chalice, the Olive Tree, The Helm of Athena, the Golden Spear, and the Temple of Athena, the Parthenon. The Golden Owl, the key symbol of the game, is both a Scatter Symbol that is responsible for the scatter wins across the reels and a Wild that substitutes for any other symbol in the game. The portrait of the goddess Athena herself is the most valuable symbol in the game: if you manage to get five of them, you are paid 5,000 coins at the maximum wager. The game’s special features are Free Spins and Double Up.
Free Spins Feature
The Free Spins feature is unlocked if at least three Golden Owls land on the reels at once. There can be 8, 10 or 20 free spins depending on the number of Owl symbols that triggered the feature (three, four, or five of these). During the spins, one random symbol will be magically transformed into a Bonus symbol. If you are lucky to get enough Bonus symbols, they multiply to cover all the reels and grant you the Bonus Wins.
Double Up Feature
The Double Up feature becomes available once a winning combination lands on your reels. You can then choose to test your luck and double your wins. Place your fortune in the hands of Tyche (a Greek goddess of luck and prosperity), choose the Heads or the Tails, and flip the golden coin. You can bet either half of the sum of your win or all of it.
Conclusion
The game is set against the colorful background of the Aegean Sea and Parthenon, a sumptuous temple on the Athenian Acropolis that is dedicated to Athena. In the best tradition of Betsoft games, the “Golden Owl” is very bright and colorful, though has enough good taste to stop before it turns gaudy. The music is very pleasant, with the soft drums in the background bringing the classical costume dramas to mind. At the same time, it doesn’t get dramatic enough to distract you from what is happening on the reels.
The game is fun and is potentially very rewarding: the Owl symbol can bring you up to 200 times your bet, and Athena’s appearance on the reels can make your purse 500 times heavier.
It is definitely a good game for those who love the bright imagery and simple gameplay combined with substantial bonuses.
