John Hunter and the Mayan Gods by Pragmatic Play released on 10.12.2020 is a 5-reel & 3-row online slot with 10 paylines and a 96.51% RTP. This is a Adventure-themed game offering players a max win of up to 2500x their stake. John Hunter and the Mayan Gods can be played on all devices from €0.10 to €100 per spin and is considered a high volatility game.
- Free Spins with Symbol Upgrade
- Win up to 2,500x
- High Variance Action
Pragmatic Play’s Indiana Jones-a-like adventurer hero, John Hunter is back to star in his 4th slot, this time seeking fortune and glory among the Mayan Gods. With the usual exotic temple setting, this is familiar ground for Mr Hunter. Free spins with symbol upgrades and expanding wilds add something new to the franchise in this highly volatile addition.
Where to play
How to win big in John Hunter & the Mayan Gods – Free Spins
Three of more temple steps scatters triggers 12 free spins. The wild symbol (a golden face mask) expands to fill the reel in both the base game and free spins. Furthermore, during free spins, the appearance of a wild also adds one more spin. Landing 2 or 3 wilds during the same free spin adds 3 or 5 extra free spins, respectively.
The all important wild also has one more major function during free spins. Each time a wild lands the lowest value premium symbol is removed from the reels. These symbols are upgraded to the next lowest value premium symbol.
Therefore landing 5 wilds during free spins upgrades all premium symbols to the highest value symbol, John Hunter.
As well as the additional spins for landing wilds, landing 3 scatters fully retriggers the free spins bonus. There are no limits set on the number of additional spins which might be won.
Look and Feel of John Hunter & the Mayan Gods
This very much looks and feels like a typical John Hunter slot: same board size, same type of setting, soundtrack etc. In my opinion the artwork is somewhat superior to its predecessors, with some nice detailing of the temple and forest in the base game background. The bonus game, as is usually the case, takes place in some kind of tomb filled with riches.
Standard royal playing card values make up the low value symbols, while the usual themed artefacts plus the hero make up the premiums. See below for the full paytable (based on €1 a spin).
As to playability, this is actually quite an enjoyable game with a free spins round which can build into something very profitable. Although the symbol upgrade angle isn’t a new innovation in the slots world, it is at least a step away from the ‘Book’ clone route. However, with such high volatility and a max win restricted to just 2,500x, I’m not sure just how popular John Hunter and the Mayan Gods will prove with fans of the series.
Disclaimer: the game’s RTP and min/max bet may vary depending on operator and jurisdiction. Use our data as a pointer, but always make sure you check the real RTP by locating the help file directly in the game itself once loaded.