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Medusa's Gaze

Introduction

If this isn’t the most peculiar and shocking casino game I’ve come across, I can’t imagine what could possibly top it. This game revolves around a creature from Greek mythology, Medusa A character so extraordinarily ugly that anyone who meets her gaze immediately turns into stone. In this game, only her head is visible. Based on her fierce and venomous demeanor portrayed here, it seems she still holds a grudge against Perseus for severing her head. Fortunately, she hasn’t cast her gaze directly at me while I was playing. Yet.

You might wonder how this figure could be transformed into a casino game? Picture her amid a scatter of colored tiles, and when there are three or more tiles of the same hue, Medusa will turn them to stone, causing them to drop off while new tiles come in to fill the gaps. Players earn rewards based on tile color, the number of matching tiles in a sequence, and a multiplier. Full credit for the inventive concept goes to Playtech , the makers of the game.

Rules

  1. The game kicks off, as is customary, with the player placing a wager.
  2. Once you hit Play, Medusa’s terrifying head will be encircled by four rings of colored tiles, each containing eight tiles visible to her. Although there are more tiles in each ring, only eight are within her line of sight, making them eligible for scoring. You might expect her to be able to swivel her head in a complete circle like that girl from the Exorcist, but I guess I’m not an expert.
  3. With each wager, the rings spin at such speed that they seem to blur together. When they finally halt, a new formation of tiles is revealed. Hence, every game stands alone, completely independent of the previous round (apologies to avid slot players).
  4. If there are three or more tiles of the same color in any row or ring, Medusa will gaze upon them, and they'll turn to stone.
  5. Sometimes, a tile may contribute to two different scoring combinations. In such cases, both sets will be turned to stone, allowing the player to benefit from both.
  6. As Medusa transforms tiles into stone, the player will collect winnings based on the color and number in each consecutive combination, along with a multiplier.
  7. The white tile acts as a wild card and can represent any other color.
  8. In the rare scenario where a player lands three or more consecutive white tiles, they won’t count as white tiles. I assume they’ll be paired with the colored tiles that yield the highest payout.
  9. Once all eligible tiles have been petrified, they will tumble off due to their own weight.
  10. The game begins with a base multiplier of 1x. Each time a set of tiles drops off, this multiplier will increase by one.
  11. The pay table is shown below.

Pay Table

Color Gold Dark
purple
Yellow Pink Blue Bright
purple
Green Brown
8 10,000 7,500 5,000 2,000 1,000 500 250 150
7 7,500 2,500 1,500 800 400 200 100 50
6 2,500 250 150 100 20 15 10 5
5 500 150 75 25 10 5 2 1
4 40 15 8 4 1.5 1 0.5 0.2
3 4 2 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

Analysis

Regrettably, the game guidelines do not specify the likelihood of each tile color, leaving me without adequate information to calculate potential returns. Frankly, I’m not sure I’d consider it a wise use of time anyway. Most of the Playtech Arcade Games, which include Medusa’s Gaze, typically have a return rate of about 97%.

Warning

Engage with this game at your own discretion. Don't hold me responsible if you end up with disturbing dreams.

External Links

You can join the conversation about Medusa’s Gaze on my forum at Wizard of Vegas .