The Museum - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Vela Gaming is a Malaysian company which has become a major supplier to Asia’s gaming operators and in partnership with other businesses in the region they have established a worldwide distribution network. If you search for Vela Gaming demo slots either on their own website or elsewhere you’ll see that a lot of their output is heavily influenced by region-specific themes. They even have a highly topical game called The Belt and Road. The Museum is Vela’s answer to the Mystery Museum slot from Push Gaming, and it’s worth checking out the free play demo version to see how it stacks up against its British designed competition.

The Museum has a 5-reel, 3-column grid with 20 paylines. The minimum bet size is 0.01 and the maximum is 1.00. You can choose to play with 1, 5, 10, 15 or 20 lines and there is an optional multiplier than runs from 1x to 10x. There are 5 higher paying symbols: Necklace, Mask, Bird Statue, Lion Statue and Urn; and 5 lower paying playing card symbols from ace to 10. The wild is a broken tablet of hieroglyphics and the scatter is a decorative terra cotta circle.

Theme, Graphics and Soundtrack

The look of The Museum has been kept clean and simple so we have a fairly ornate set of reels against a sombre pillared corridor. The symbols are well drawn, particularly the fragments of tablets bearing hieroglyphic messages. The soundtrack is a little reminiscent of early 70s prog rock, but it is atmospheric and perfectly acceptable if not completely compatible with the subject matter.

The Museum RTP and Variance 

According to Vela Gaming, The Museum has an RTP of 92% to 97%. The variance is low.

How to Play The Museum

Before you start the game, take a moment to familiarise yourself with the game set-up, controls and functions with our simple guide:

1. Click the spin button or press the space bar to start playing at the current total bet level. 
2. Click the coins icon to adjust the bet level and the number of lines and multiplier rate.
3. Select autoplay, between the coin and lightning bolt, to enter the auto-play settings menu. This allows you to set the number of spins from 10 to 500. The number of auto spins is displayed on the button.
4. Press stop autoplay to exit autoplay mode at any time.
5. Click the lightning bolt for fast play.
6. The balance meter at the bottom left of the screen displays your current balance which is constantly updated.
7. Always play gambling games responsibly and if playing for money make sure you stay within the limits of what you can afford to lose. When it stops being fun you should stop playing.

Bet Sizes and Paytable Wins

The bet size ranges from 0.1 to 200. 

The paytable values run from 3x to 5x and the top pay-outs for each symbol are as follows:

Necklace
5 = 1000

Mask
5 = 500

Bird
5 = 250

Lion
5 = 250
        
Urn
5 = 200

Ace
5 = 125

King
5 = 100

Queen
5 = 100

Jack
5 = 100

10
5 = 100

Scatter
5 = 50

Each symbol also represents 1 Credit.

The Museum Bonus Features

Wild

The wild substitutes for all symbols except the scatter. The wild appears only on reels 2, 3 and 4.

Scatter

All wins pay from left to right except for the scatter which pays in either direction. Scatter wins are multiplied by the total bet.

Free Game Feature

If you land 3 or more scatters you will trigger the free spins feature. All retriggers during the feature will award the same number of free spins as the initial selection. Whenever a free spin round is activated the player must select one of the free games options:

Option 1: 5 free games. The 5 high symbols plus 1 free spin tablet and a scatter appear.
Option 2: 8 free games. The Necklace, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, one free spin tablet and a scatter appear.
Option 3: 15 free games. All 5 playing cards plus a free spin tablet and a scatter appear.
Option 4: Mystery free games. The game will randomly select 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 or 20 free spins.
Mystery free games will randomly select one set of symbols from one of Option 1, Option 2 or Option 3.

The Museum Review: Our Verdict

This is a pretty straightforward slot which really only offers free spins as any kind of bonus, but it is smart, unfussy and easy to play. It would be nice to see a bonus game in here given the rich source material. One feature that is quite a nice touch is having to choose which symbols to keep in play during the free games feature. Generally a thumbs up.

Disclaimer: The Museum trademark / license is owned by Vela Gaming. This site is not endorsed by Vela Gaming.