Play Merlin: Journey of Flame Online

Merlin Lights the Reels in Journey of Flame

Merlin: Journey of Flame is a fantasy slot from Play'n GO, released in July 2023, that puts a dragon-fire twist on the studio's well-known book-style format. Instead of the usual ancient tome, the expanding symbol here is a Dragon Egg that hatches into a fire-breathing dragon, and the whole game is built around the free spins round that follows. It plays out on a familiar 5x3 grid with 10 fixed paylines, so the layout is easy to read even if you have never tried a Play'n GO release before.

The base game is deliberately restrained. Most of the real action, and the headline win potential, is locked behind the bonus, which gives the slot a steady build-up rather than constant fireworks.

How the Dragon Egg Mechanic Works

The Dragon Egg is the symbol that does the heavy lifting. The Dragon Egg is the Wild, substituting for all regular symbols, while its cracked version is the separate Scatter that triggers the free spins. Landing three or more Dragon Eggs anywhere on the reels awards 8 free spins. The rest of the paytable follows the usual hierarchy, with lower-value card-style icons sitting beneath a set of higher-paying themed symbols.

Because the egg fills two roles, it shapes how the base game feels. You are always watching for it, since the same symbol that can complete a payline is also the one that opens the door to the part of the game where the bigger payouts live.

Journey of Flame Free Spins

Trigger the bonus and the Dragon Egg hatches into a dragon that unleashes an extra sixth reel, expanding the grid for the duration of the round. At the same time, one random symbol is selected as a special expanding symbol. Each time that chosen symbol lands during the free spins, it stretches to cover its entire reel, opening up far more winning combinations across the now-wider playing field.

The round starts with 8 free spins, and landing more Dragon Eggs during the feature adds further spins. This combination of a sixth reel and full-reel expanding symbols is where the slot's volatility really shows, swinging from quiet spins to sudden full-screen hits.

RTP and Volatility

Merlin: Journey of Flame ships with a default RTP of 96.28%, which sits right around the industry norm. As with many Play'n GO titles, operators may offer alternative RTP configurations depending on their market, so the figure shown in a given casino lobby is worth checking before you play for real money.

The volatility is high. In practice that means the base game can run cold for stretches while you wait for the Dragon Eggs to align, and the return is weighted heavily toward the free spins. Expect uneven sessions rather than a steady drip of small wins, which is exactly what you would anticipate from a book-style slot built around one big feature.

Maximum Win Potential

The top payout is 7,500x your stake. That ceiling is tied directly to the free spins: a full-screen win across the standard five reels can reach 5,000x, and once the sixth reel is in play during the bonus the maximum rises to the full 7,500x. The base game alone will not get you there, so the headline number is effectively a free-spins prize. It is a strong cap for a 10-line slot, though it sits below the four- and five-figure multipliers some of Play'n GO's other high-volatility titles advertise.

Betting Range

Stakes run from a minimum of 0.10 up to a maximum of 100 per spin, giving a wide band that suits both cautious players and those who want to push harder at the bonus. Given the high volatility, a larger-than-usual balance relative to your bet size helps you stay in the game long enough to reach the free spins, since that is where the slot pays out.

Playing on Mobile

The game is built in HTML5, so it runs directly in a mobile browser on iOS and Android without any download. Play'n GO develops with a mobile-first approach, and the 5x3 grid scales cleanly to phone and tablet screens. The sixth reel that appears during free spins remains readable on smaller displays, and the touch controls for setting your stake and spinning are straightforward.

Try the Free Demo

You can play the Merlin: Journey of Flame demo at the top of this page with no download and no registration. The demo runs the full game, including the free spins, the expanding sixth reel, and the random expanding symbol, on play-money credits. Because so much of this slot is defined by its bonus round, the demo is a useful way to see how often the Dragon Eggs trigger the feature and how the expanding mechanic behaves before deciding whether the high-volatility profile suits you.

If you enjoy this style of Play'n GO fantasy slot, you might also like Legion Gold Victory, Mr. Toad Deluxe, and Fortune Rewind.