Vikings Pros & Cons
Vikings delivers classic Aristocrat action with a proven track record. The choice-based free spins and stacked symbols create a good variety, but the RTP and max win won't impress everyone.
- 96.05% RTP — above average for a branded licensed slot
- Raid Spins grid expansion to 78,125 ways — spectacular mechanic payoff
- Three simultaneous Hotspot zones during Raid Spins amplify win potential
- Hotspot + Shield Wall dual base game features keep sessions active
- Premium licensed visuals — character artwork and audio are high quality
- 18% hit frequency — active sessions between Raid Spins triggers
- No bonus buy — must wait for organic Shield scatter trigger
- Medium-high volatility — Raid Spins triggers can go long between appearances
- €0.20 minimum — slightly higher than single-penny alternatives
- Appeal reduced for players unfamiliar with the TV series
Vikings Slot Review
Vikings landed on November 22, 2018 as NetEnt's official partnership with the HISTORY channel TV series. It's the slot equivalent of a prestige production — higher budget visuals, licensed character artwork (Ragnar, Lagertha, Floki, Bjorn), and a mechanical ambition that most branded slots don't attempt. The base game is a 5x3 grid with 243 ways to win and two base game features: Hotspot (fully stacked Viking symbols that turn all matching symbols into scatter wins) and Shield Wall (random mystery symbol clusters). The Raid Spins bonus expands everything — the grid grows to 7 reels by 5 rows, unlocking 78,125 ways to win across three simultaneous Hotspot zones. That's where the 10,000x ceiling becomes accessible.
The 96.05% RTP is solid for a branded slot — licensed games often run lower RTPs to offset licensing costs. The 18% hit rate keeps base game sessions active. What separates Vikings from most licensed slots is that the mechanics serve the theme rather than the other way around — the Hotspot turning stacked Vikings into scatter wins makes visual sense for a game about raiding warriors, and the grid expansion for Raid Spins genuinely feels like the payoff moment the base game is building toward.
| PROVIDER NetEnt | RELEASE DATE November 22, 2018 |
|---|---|
| BASE GRID 5 Reels X 3 Rows - 243 Ways | RAID SPINS GRID 7 Reels X 5 Rows - 78,125 Ways |
| RTP 96.05% | MAX WIN 10,000x your bet |
| VOLATILITY Medium-High | HIT FREQUENCY 18% |
| MIN / MAX BET €0.20 - €100 | BONUS BUY Not available |
| RAID SPINS TRIGGER 3+ Shield Scatters | MOBILE > HTML5, iOS & Android |
Key Symbols & Features
⚡ Hotspot Feature Core Base Game Mechanic
The Hotspot is a randomly designated reel that, when a fully stacked Viking symbol lands on it, transforms every other matching Viking symbol on the entire grid into a Scatter win. This means a stacked Ragnar on the Hotspot reel doesn't just pay as a ways-win — every single Ragnar showing anywhere on the other reels also pays a scatter prize simultaneously. Multiple Viking symbols matching the Hotspot reel create multi-symbol scatter payouts from one spin. The Hotspot reel changes position randomly between spins.
🛡️ Shield Wall Feature Random Base Game — Mystery Clusters
The Shield Wall fires randomly during base game play. A cluster of mystery symbols appears on the grid — all transforming into the same randomly selected symbol before the spin resolves. Larger shield wall clusters covering 3–5 positions create significant symbol density for that spin. When the Shield Wall clusters align with strong symbols, the combined symbol coverage across the 243 ways structure creates multi-combination wins. The Shield Wall and Hotspot can both fire on the same spin — when they do, the resulting symbol convergence is the base game's highest win scenario.
🪓 Shield Scatter 3+ = Raid Spins
Three or more Shield scatter symbols trigger Raid Spins. The scatter pays a prize at trigger, and the number of Raid Spins awarded scales with scatter count. During Raid Spins, the grid expands to 7 reels by 5 rows — 78,125 ways — and three Hotspot zones are simultaneously active. Every stacked Viking symbol covering a Hotspot column turns all matching Vikings across the entire 7x5 grid into scatter wins. The scale difference between base game (243 ways, 1 Hotspot) and Raid Spins (78,125 ways, 3 Hotspots) is the mechanic's spectacle.
⚔️ Viking Characters (Premium Symbols) Ragnar / Lagertha / Floki / Bjorn
The four Viking character symbols — Ragnar Lothbrok, Lagertha, Floki, and Bjorn — are the premium symbols. They appear fully stacked on reels, which is essential for Hotspot activations. A fully stacked reel means 3-high matching in base game (5x3), or 5-high in Raid Spins (7x5). Stacked coverage across multiple reels creates large symbol counts for both ways-to-win calculations and Hotspot scatter conversions simultaneously.
| SYMBOL | 3-OF-A-KIND | 4-OF-A-KIND | 5-OF-A-KIND |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ragnar Lothbrok
|
6x bet | 20x bet | |
|
Lagertha
|
4x bet | 15x bet | |
|
Floki
|
3x bet | 12x bet | |
|
Bjorn
|
2x bet | 8x bet | |
|
A/ K/Q
|
1x bet | 3x bet | |
|
J/ 10
|
0.5x bet | 1.5x bet | |
|
Wild
|
Substitutes all except | scatter and Hotspot symbols | |
|
Shield Scatter
|
Pays scatter prize at trigger. |
Game Mechanics
01 — 243 Ways to Win (Base):
Standard left-to-right ways system where matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right pay regardless of exact row position. The 5x3 grid with stacked Viking symbols creates natural symbol density across multiple reels, making 243-way payouts frequent when stacks align.
02 — Hotspot (Random Base Game):
One reel is designated as the Hotspot. When that reel fills completely with one Viking character (fully stacked), every other matching symbol anywhere on the grid converts to a Scatter win paying independently of paylines. This is the base game's primary high-value event — a fully stacked Hotspot reel with multiple matching Vikings scattered across the remaining four reels generates multiple simultaneous scatter payouts.
03 — Shield Wall (Random Base Game):
A mystery cluster appears randomly, all transforming to the same symbol. Combined with the Hotspot, a Shield Wall that produces high-value symbols across the grid can enable Hotspot activation indirectly by filling a Hotspot reel with symbols that match a Shield Wall cluster.
04 — Raid Spins (Main Bonus):
Triggered by 3+ Shield scatters. Grid expands to 7x5 (78,125 ways). Three Hotspot zones are active simultaneously. Viking symbols on all seven reels are fully stacked (5-high). Hotspot activations in Raid Spins affect the entire 7x5 grid — a single Hotspot column activation can scatter-convert dozens of matching symbols across 35 total positions. The 10,000x ceiling is accessed through multiple simultaneous Hotspot activations during Raid Spins at maximum symbol coverage.
What Is Vikings Slot?
- Vikings is the licensed slot adaptation of the HISTORY channel TV series that ran from 2013 to 2020. NetEnt secured the license and used the four main characters — Ragnar, Lagertha, Floki, and Bjorn — as premium symbol assets. The artwork is high-quality by 2018 standards, and the production includes series-appropriate audio.
- What distinguishes this from most licensed slots is that NetEnt designed the mechanics to feel thematic: the Hotspot (one reel becomes a raid focus point, all matching warriors scattered across the grid join the raid) and Raid Spins (the grid literally expands into a larger raid) both connect to the source material's themes rather than being generic mechanics with a skin applied.
- The grid expansion from 5x3 to 7x5 during Raid Spins is the visual and mechanical centrepiece. Going from 243 ways to 78,125 ways isn't just a number change — the screen fills with two additional reels and two additional rows, the interface transforms, and the three simultaneous Hotspot zones mean Raid Spins sessions can produce multiple scatter conversion events per spin. For fans of the show or players who appreciate branded content done properly, Vikings remains one of NetEnt's best executions of the licensed slot format.
Play Responsibly - 18+ Only
Gambling should be entertaining and fun. Remember that slots are games of chance, and there's no guaranteed way to win. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose, and always set limits for yourself. If you feel gambling is becoming a problem, please seek help immediately.
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hotspot mechanic and how does it fire?
The Hotspot is a randomly selected reel that acts as the raid focal point for a given spin. When that entire reel fills with a single fully-stacked Viking character symbol, every other matching Viking symbol anywhere else on the grid immediately converts to a Scatter win — paying independently of the ways-to-win system. A fully stacked Hotspot reel showing Ragnar (3 positions in base game) converts every other Ragnar visible on the remaining four reels into a scatter prize each. More scattered Ragnars on the other reels means more simultaneous scatter conversions. The Hotspot reel position changes randomly between spins, so you never know which reel will activate next — watching for stacked symbols on the current Hotspot reel is the base game's primary tension.
How does the Raid Spins grid expansion work?
When Raid Spins trigger, the game interface literally expands — the grid grows from 5 reels and 3 rows to 7 reels and 5 rows. This changes the ways-to-win from 243 to 78,125 (3^5 = 243 base; 5^7 = 78,125 expanded). Three Hotspot zones are simultaneously active across the seven reels rather than the single Hotspot in the base game. Viking character symbols are fully stacked at 5-high on every reel. The Hotspot mechanics work identically to the base game — stacked symbol covering a Hotspot column converts all matching symbols across the 35-position grid. With three active Hotspot zones, multiple simultaneous Hotspot events on a single Raid Spin are possible. This is where the 10,000x ceiling becomes accessible.
Does the Vikings slot have free spins you can retrigger?
The Raid Spins are the free spins equivalent in Vikings. They're triggered by three or more Shield scatter symbols landing simultaneously. The number of Raid Spins awarded scales with scatter count — three scatters give a base amount, more scatters give additional spins. During Raid Spins, additional Shield scatters can land to extend the feature — this retrigger mechanic adds spins to the remaining count and allows productive Raid Spins sessions to extend significantly beyond the initial award. There's no upper limit on retriggers, though in practice most Raid Spins sessions run their initial allocation without extending.
Is the Vikings slot based on the actual TV show?
Yes. Vikings is an official licensed product from NetEnt in partnership with the HISTORY channel, which produced the TV series. The character symbols — Ragnar Lothbrok, Lagertha, Floki, and Bjorn — are the actual characters from the show using official artwork. The audio design incorporates series-appropriate Nordic instruments. The game launched in November 2018 during the show's sixth season (final season). NetEnt's license was for the TV series specifically — this is different from games that use generic "Viking" themes without a specific IP license. The production quality reflects the licensing investment, with significantly higher-quality character artwork than generic Viking-themed alternatives from the same period.
Is Vikings available at regulated Canadian casinos?
NetEnt (now Evolution) holds AGCO licensing for Ontario and distributes through several regulated operators. Vikings is one of NetEnt's flagship titles from 2018 and has broad Canadian distribution across both Ontario-licensed and offshore casinos carrying the NetEnt library. The game's licensed content requires active IP agreements — verify that your casino is running the current licensed version rather than an older pre-deal configuration. Ontario-regulated casinos are required to disclose RTP settings in game info screens. The €0.20 minimum bet and €100 maximum are standard configurations, though some operators set lower maximums in the Canadian market.
How does the Shield Wall feature differ from the Hotspot?
The Hotspot and Shield Wall are both random base game features but operate differently. The Hotspot converts all matching symbols to Scatter wins when a Hotspot reel fills with a stacked Viking character. The Shield Wall places a cluster of mystery symbols on the grid that all transform into the same symbol before the spin resolves — it's a symbol-flooding mechanic rather than a conversion mechanic. Shield Wall creates symbol density for a single spin; Hotspot converts existing density into scatter wins. The two can fire together: a Shield Wall that floods the grid with a symbol type, combined with a Hotspot conversion of that same symbol type, creates the base game's most significant single-spin event. Neither feature requires any player action — both fire randomly.