Zeus Slot - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Zeus, from the developers at WMS, is one of the great classics of the slots world. Loved across the globe, it is a slot that people are always happy to return to for its great free spins features, reliable gameplay and fantastic graphics.

We’re off to Mount Olympus!

We are off to the world of the Greek myths. Zeus was the god of thunder and of the sky in Ancient Greek mythology; in his spare time, he ruled all the other gods on Mount Olympus. He was famous for his adventures with the ladies, which resulted in a bunch of children that you will have heard of, including Helen of Troy, Apollo, Athena, and many others. Symbols associated with Zeus are the thunderbolt, the eagle, the bull and the oak. There are thunderbolts aplenty in this slot, with an arm wearing a gold bracelet and a hand clutching a thunderbolt a key symbol in the game.

There is quite a good portrait of Zeus - he is nearly always represented as he is in this slot, with a big grey beard and plenty of flowing hair. It does seem that there were human sacrifices on Mount Olympus in the early years, but there is really no need for that; in fact, here at Slots Temple, you don't even have to pay to play because Zeus is brought to you completely free.

As we said, Zeus is one of the most popular slots in the entire world. There is a simple reason for this - it is great to play. It has 30 lines over five reels and if you are playing all of these paylines, you can bet 150 coins per spin. We will look at how to adjust the paylines and your wagers later.

Zeus was popular for quite a while in land-based casinos; then - with the arrival of the internet - it moved online, where of course it can be a much faster game if you want it to be. One of the things that makes Zeus particularly popular is the great variety of bonuses and features, which keep the gameplay lively and can also push your winnings up hugely.

How to Play

Zeus is a very configurable slot and you can customise both the number of paylines you use and the level of your bet. The slot has 30 paylines, but you can use the lines feature to change the number of lines you want to play. Click on the menu icon on the main screen and you will see the bet level screen. This calculates how much you are betting once you enter the relevant line information. The total bet is displayed at the top of the screen.

In the middle of the screen is a section where you can select the number of lines you want to play. Click the ‘min’ button to play the minimum, which is one line. As soon as you click ‘min’, the number one is displayed. Alternatively, you can click the ‘max’ button to play the maximum number of lines. If you do, you will see 30 displayed. Alternatively, you can use the ‘+’ button to increase the number of lines to the exact number you want to play. Use the ‘-‘ button to decrease the number of lines you want to play.

Now you are ready to set the level of bet you want to make - remember that this is your bet per line. The total that results when you multiply your bet per line by the size of your bet is displayed at the top of the screen, so you can check it and adjust either the number of lines or the size of the line bet to get the bet to the level you want.

Click on the ‘min’ button to select the minimum bet per line of 0.01 or click on the ‘max’ button to select the maximum bet per line of 5.00. If you want a bet somewhere between the min and the max, use the + and - buttons to raise or lower the bet per line amount.

Now you can check your total bet at the top of the screen. If you are happy, click OK, which is on the blue button at the bottom of the screen and you are ready to play! If you don’t want to make any changes, the arrow to the top left of the screen will take you back to the main play area.

Paytable and Rules

Zeus’s fist clutching the thunderbolt is called the ‘feature’ in the Zeus pay table. The temple is wild for all symbols except the thunderbolt.

The 30 paylines are clearly illustrated in the game’s menu and help section. Wins can take place on all or any of the paylines, with multiple wins added together to provide a total win. The total line bet has to be divided between all the active paylines, so not all paylines are created equal! The total bet is equal to the number of paylines multiplied by the wager on each line. Only active paylines can be winners; in addition, as is usual with all online slots, any malfunction will void the bet.

The rules of the basic game are very easy to follow, which is part of the reason that Zeus is a such a popular game worldwide.

The paytable will always reflect the current way you have your bets set up. In a winning combination, the highest is the one that is always paid. Paylines always begin with the reel on the left-most side of the play area.

Thundering Good Wins!

Zeus himself is, of course, the top paying symbol. There are certainly big winners when he appears! If he shows up five times, he is worth 2,500x your bet. If he shows up four times you get 1,000x your bet, three times you get 250x, and twice you get 20x.

The next highest paying symbol is Pegasus, the winged horse. Five will give you 1,000x your bet, four awards 750x and three awards 200x. You don't get anything for one or two appearances of Pegasus. The same goes for the other symbols in the game. It is only Zeus that pays out for two symbols.

Next up is the boat, which as we know is actually a Greek trireme. This is so cool because it has three rows of oars, presumably with some poor slaves manning them. Anyway, get five of these and your bet multiple is 1,750x. Get four and you will earn 500x your bet, or three will get 150x. The same totals apply to the helmet

The harp is not so highly rated, with five awarding 1,250x, four 500x, and three 100x. The same totals apply to the bars.

The gold and silver coins are worth the same amount, which doesn’t seem right. They are both worth 1,000x your bet for five coins, four coins earn you 375x, and three coins earn you 75x.

The lowest rated symbol is the laurel wreath. Five of these will earn you 750x your wager, four will make you 250x, and three will earn you just 25x your bet.

When you win, you will see a pop-up box on the screen that tells you how much you have won.

Return to Player (RTP)

You will find varying estimates of the Zeus RTP online; however, the figure is actually 95.97 per cent, which is average - not the best, but pretty good.

The UK Gambling Commission points out that the RTP percentage is just an average that has to be hit over a number of spins. It doesn’t apply to a single session on a machine; in fact, it states that the average RTP is measured over 10,000 games or more for machines that are operating randomly.

What does it mean for you as a player if a slot such as Zeus has a 95.97 per cent RTP? It means that you can’t expect to get more or less than this percentage back every time you spend 100. For free slots, the same numbers apply. You could go on playing for a long time before you hit these averages, which is why trying to make up losses is never a good idea - the slot can stay random for longer than you can stay in pocket!

Interestingly, the Gambling Commission says there is no legal minimum RTP for gaming machines. The fact that the RTPs for slots all tend to cluster around the 95 per cent mark or thereabouts is probably due to competition between rival games makers and online casinos.

If You Like Zeus, You Will Love These!

If Greek mythology is your thing, you are in tune with the game’s designers, as it is very much their thing too. There is a fantastic choice of mythology-themed games that you can play here at Slots Temple that are absolutely free! Let’s take a look at some of the best.

Now that you have met the householder, namely Zeus, what about a game based in his back garden, namely Mount Olympus? This one is a great Genesis title, with a starring appearance for Medusa, who - as usual - is having a bad hair day. This one appears so bad that her shining locks have turned into seething snakes! She doesn’t appear to care, as she is after revenge in this title. If you are a wee bit snake phobic, this won’t be your favourite game, as you have to collect different types of snakes; however, if you are not herpetophobic, you will love the slightly creepy graphics and frantic gameplay.

How about joining a quest for the minotaur? This will involve breaching the mindboggling labyrinth, with its confusing signs, false exits and double backs - sounds like the M25!

Pragmatic Play has a great slot called Quest for the Minotaur. This includes animations and instead of those boring playing card symbols, you get a range of mythical creatures. You will be glad to hear that one of the symbols is the ball of thread you can use to find your way out of the labyrinth. There is a labyrinth escape bonus, which you have to collect treasure chests to access.

The Golden Owl of Athena has great music and a romantic design - much more tasteful and less lurid than some titles! Athena is a goddess and her mystical friend the golden owl has the reputation of understanding all the wisdom of the ages past and present. What is interesting about this slot is that Athena is in charge during the free spins and randomly chooses winners for you. The slot has expanding reels and great gameplay in addition to looking good.

The developers are not averse to continuing to mine the Zeus theme. The newer game Great Zeus has more paylines than the original - 40 in total. They have thriftily reused some of the lesser symbols from their original Zeus game - you might find that the vase looks somewhat similar, as does the Greek temple with the world ‘wild’ spelt out across it. The lightning bolt still gets you access to the free spins but is a different illustration.

What is the difference between the different versions of Zeus?

The original and great Zeus was so popular that WMS, the maker, has tried to develop the title further. Zeus 2 was originally for Facebook but is available here at Slots Temple, while Zeus 3 is released for mobile, tablet and PC and is also available here at Slots Temple.

What has happened is that the company has in effect produced a trilogy on the Zeus theme. All three parts have the quirkiness of their other titles, which always have an original look and feel. With Zeus 3, the game’s designers have expressed their originality by providing a completely different pyramid-style screen. The screen has six columns, the smallest on the left and the largest on the right.

All these games, including Zeus, can be played on mobile, tablet, PC or laptop. Some mobile users found earlier 100 payout line games too big to play satisfactorily on smaller mobiles; however, reviews for Zeus 3 say it works well on mobile due to the pyramid design. Fans love Zeus 3 because it has both a stacked and a single wild. Stacked wilds expand to cover the whole screen, and it even has reels that swap around.

Of the three, Zeus 2 - or II, if you prefer - seems to be slightly less popular. Released in 2012, it is showing its age a little and has not quite attained the classic status of the original Zeus. With the Zeus titles, WMS seems to be building a Zeus brand that it hopes fans will follow as new or related titles are released.

Play Responsibly

The great thing about free slots is that the only thing you risk losing is a bit of time. Free slots are a great alternative to paid casinos. Even if you are playing a free game, the temptation is to move over and start playing for money; in fact, if you are trying to wean yourself off playing for money, a site such as this one, with hundreds of titles, can help you to break your previous habits and build up some newer, more positive ones.

Even with free slots, you need to keep your playing within bounds so that it doesn’t interfere with other aspects of your life. If you find yourself missing appointments or falling behind with work or studies, you need to take a look at your playing habit and try to ensure that it doesn’t adversely affect the rest of your life.

You can limit the length of time that you play; alternatively, you can play only at certain times of the day. If you have become a bit obsessed with playing a particular slot, try to take a break and find some other titles you can mix in with your favourite.

Disclaimer: Zeus trademark / license is owned by WMS. This site is not endorsed by WMS.