Wilhelm Tell review
Theme and Storyline
Wilhelm Tell, better known in the English speaking world as William Tell, is a famous trick shot with a crossbow who assassinated a tyrannical Swiss despot. The more famous moment from the tale, and the one around which this slot centres itself, is the famous apple shot.
This comes at the moment when Tell, under arrest and threatened with execution, is told that he can save his life if he shoots the apple from atop his own son’s head. Tell draws two bolts, shoots one straight through the apple and tells the despot that if the first bolt had hit the boy, the second bolt would have hit the despot.
The tale is a classic of swiss mythology and here is rendered in a rather cutesy style.
Win in the base game of Wilhelm Tell slot machine
Graphics, Sounds and Animations
The slot, despite its roots in deep folklore, has a style that feels rather cheap and cartoonish. A sort of Asterix and Obelix style take on history that casts the villains as fat and mustachioed and the boy as a knock-kneed little ginger kid.
The animations aren’t too flashy. Just enough to make things clear for the player. Which is odd, as the whole slot has a decidedly 3D feel that makes one expect more elaborate movement on the reels.
The soundtrack is adapted from the overture to the Rossini opera’s score, lending the slot a rather classy, classical air that the cartoony visuals do their best to unsuccessfully undermine.
Gameplay
Wilhelm Tell is a pretty standard slot machine with its five reels, three rows, and twenty win lines.
It has no gamble feature and only has a simple free spin bonus – though this does have a choice of volatilities (see below for details).
In short, Wilhelm Tell gives the player exactly what they expect. This might be boring to some players, while others will value the familiarity.
Gameplay video
Wilds, Bonuses and Free Spins
The Wild symbol substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter symbol. All Wilds are three symbols high. After each spin, if a Wild has only partially landed on the reels, the game nudges the Wild so it sits across the whole reel. The game will only do this if nudging the reel will result in a win for the player.
The Scatter symbol pays out no matter where it lands on the reels. Two or three Scatter symbols net the player 40 times their bet per line. Four or five Scatter symbols win 400 and 10,000 times the bet per line respectively.
If a Wild symbol guarantees a win, it then would expand to cover the entire reel
Three or more Scatters also trigger the free spin bonus. Here the player has the option of choosing one of three options: 10 free spins with a x5 multiplier on every spin, 5 free spins with a x10 multiplier, or 1 free spin with x50.
The choice of bonus does not affect the player’s RTP, but it does alter the volatility of the game.
Bet Sizes, RTP and Variance
The return to player of this game is 97.00%, well over our yardstick for average of roughly 96% by a full percentage point.
The range of bets on the site we tested ran from a minimum bet per spin ofR$/£/€0.10 up to a maximum ofR$/£/€50.00 per spin.
Paytable for Wilhelm Tell slot machine
The volatility of this game is determined by the player’s choice of free spin bonus. The volatility increases as the number of spins chosen decreases. We suggest always choosing the highest volatility option (1 free spin with a x50 multiplier) if you are using our preferred slots strategies.
Conclusion
Wilhelm Tell has an unusual theme rooted in the world of fairy tale and legend. It executes this in a fun style and with a classy soundtrack.
The gameplay is a little basic, though the choice of bonuses and the nudge-able Wilds are a nice touch.
Overall, the game’s main appeal is the choice for a high volatility option and the very generous 97% return to player.
