The Shadow Order Theme
Stories about secret societies that covertly manipulate world events for their own goals have existed for centuries. The Bavarian Illuminati came into existence in 1776, and its original goal was to oppose superstition, excessive use of state power and excessive religious influence on day-to-day life. It was banned by the ruler of Bavaria just a few years later, but today the name persists as a scapegoat for conspiracy theorists who want to claim that a shadowy order behind the scenes controls large corporations and even governments. The Shadow Order obviously builds on these traditions with its covert meeting place, strange symbols and enigmatic members.
The Shadow Order Graphics
The way The Shadow Order uses its graphics to create an atmosphere is one of its most standout features. Background features look at you through a mysterious fog that lingers on the house behind and the fountain and gardens in front. Every symbol is tied into the theme, with even what would traditionally be card symbols (Q, K and A) instead appearing on what appear to be wax seals. These symbols sit next to chess pieces, alchemical instruments and mysterious tomes.
How to Play The Shadow Order
This pokie is a little different from the standard types because instead of spinning reels, symbols simply drop from the top of the screen. When you win, new symbols will cascade into place. You still have to choose your bet and click the button to play, just as you would in a traditional pokie, as you still control settings like the sound.
The Shadow Order Paytable
As you might expect, the card symbols are the lowest on the paytable. If you’ve set the minimum bet at 0.10, the Q will give you 0.01 for three matches, 0.04 for four and 0.10 for five. These figures see small increases through the K and A before we reach the chess pieces, the least valuable of which is the knight with rewards of 0.04, 0.15 and 0.60 for three, four and five matches respectively. Appropriately, the Queen and the King sit above the knight on the paytable before reaching the more specific symbols of the Shadow Order. At the very top of the table is the handily labelled Wild, which in addition to serving as a substitute for other symbols is worth an impressive 0.50, 5.00 and 30.00 from that 0.10 minimum bet.
What Is The RTP Of The Shadow Order?
The Shadow Order comes with an impressive maximum Return to Player (RTP) average of 96.98%. That means that an average game will win you 96.98 for every 100 you bet. Unusually, this RTP is only available once you’ve unlocked all four characters. With each new character, your RTP will increase from its 96.51% base.
How To Win At The Shadow Order Pokies
All you need to do to win at The Shadow Order is set your bet, hit spin and hope that the symbols fall in a winning combination. You need three or more symbols in a row to succeed. Once you have your reward, the winning icons will disappear so new symbols can cascade from above and potentially give you a few more wins on the same turn. Cascades can also help charge the orbs that trigger some of the bonus features.
The Shadow Order Pokie Bonus Features
There are some extra symbols in The Shadow Order that don’t fit on the regular paytable but that you’ll definitely want to find. These include the orbs to the top left of the screen. Coming in vivid shades of green, blue or purple, cascades will charge them with crackling electricity until they roll down to act as Wilds. If you’re really lucky, they’ll land on a hotspot and activate their special features.
Blue is the Orb of Destruction and removes the lowest-paying symbols so there’s space for new ones to fall. In contrast, green is the Orb of Creation and adds anywhere between three and six Wilds to your board. Where there is creation and destruction, there must also be a central balance, and the purple Orb of Preservation keeps high symbols in place even as others fall away. Three orbs gathered together on the Collection Tile can also trigger free spins and potential multipliers.
Ring symbols are another extra source of excitement as they can unlock new characters as they fill the meter. Different characters come with different abilities that can be randomly triggered at the end of the round. The first (and default) character is Molly the Messenger, and she can charge the first orb, whilst Billy the Gambler at level two can convert low-paying symbols to high-paying ones. Every reel will receive an extra Wild from Archie the Spy at level three, whilst low and mid-paying symbols will be removed when Amarillo the Magister arrives at level four and creates cascades with only the high-value symbols left.
Free Spins on The Shadow Order Pokies
If you’re lucky enough to collect the three orbs in the right place, you’ll be granted some valuable free spins. If you collect the orbs on the Collection Tile again during the free spins round, you trigger even more spins, along with some cumulative multipliers. Orbs stay in place during the free games.
The Shadow Order FAQ
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