Quick Stats
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Provider | Dragoon Soft |
| Game Type | Video Slot |
| RTP | 96% (94% variant may exist at some casinos) |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Reels / Rows | 5 × 3 |
| Paylines | 15 Fixed |
| Min Bet | $0.60 |
| Max Bet | $450 |
| Max Win | 1,000x stake |
| Features | Expanding Wild, Free Spins (up to 20), Scatter Symbol |
| Theme | Chinese Mythology / Asian |
| Platform | Desktop & Mobile |
What Is Monkey King?
Monkey King is a video pokie built around Sun Wukong — the trickster hero of the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. Dragoon Soft, founded in 2018 and primarily focused on Asian-market games, leans hard into the source material here. The setting is a dark, atmospheric reel set backed by a serene lake and cascading waterfalls — colourful symbols pop hard against the deep backgrounds.
This is a mid-range game in terms of complexity. It’s not barebones — the expanding wild is genuinely useful — but it won’t overwhelm you with modifier stacks or pick-me bonuses. If you want a pokie that respects its theme, plays cleanly, and offers a realistic shot at the free spins without punishing you all session first, Monkey King fits that brief. It’s less suited to players who want a high-octane max-win chase or a bonus buy shortcut.
Start by playing a few spins in demo mode to get a feel for how often the wild scroll appears before committing real money.
RTP and Volatility
The most widely reported RTP for Monkey King is 96%, with Dragoon Soft’s own catalogue citing 96.08%. One caveat: multiple sources note that Dragoon Soft builds RTP-adjustable versions of their games for specific casino operators. A 94% variant exists and circulates across some platforms. Before you deposit, check the game’s info panel at your casino — the RTP should be listed there.
Medium volatility means wins come reasonably often, and your bankroll won’t disappear in five spins. The trade-off is that individual wins tend to be modest. Think of it this way: over millions of spins, a 96% RTP game returns $96 for every $100 wagered. In a single $20 session, you could easily land between $10 and $35 depending on whether the free spins round fires. The max win is capped at 1,000x your stake — achievable but not spectacular compared to modern high-variance titles.
If you’re playing on a $20 budget, medium volatility gives you more time at the reels than a high-variance slot would. That’s the practical point.
Betting Range
The minimum bet is $0.60 per spin, which covers all 15 paylines at once — there’s no per-line adjustment. The maximum is $450 per spin, making this one of the wider-ranging bet spans you’ll find on a mid-tier pokie.
For most players, a comfortable range sits between $0.60 and $3.00 per spin. At $1.20 a spin with a $20 bankroll, you get roughly 16 spins before you’re out if nothing lands — though medium volatility means you should pick up small wins along the way that extend your session. High rollers can push toward the $450 ceiling if they want, but the 1,000x max win at that level equals $450,000 — the cap feels sensible given the game’s feature set.
Set your bet before your first spin, because adjusting mid-session while chasing a bonus won’t change anything — each spin is independent.
How to Play Monkey King — Step by Step
- Set your bet. Use the +/- controls below the reels to choose your stake per spin. The minimum is $0.60, the maximum $450.
- Check the paytable. Tap the info icon before you spin. The Monkey King symbol is the highest payer; playing card symbols (9 through A) are the lowest. Know which symbols you’re chasing.
- Start a round. Press Spin. Use Autoplay if you want uninterrupted sessions — you can pre-set a spin count or loss limit.
- Match symbols across a payline. Wins pay left to right across the 15 fixed lines. Three or more matching symbols on a payline pays out based on the paytable.
- Watch for the Scroll (Wild). The scroll wild substitutes for all regular symbols and can expand to fill an entire reel — which is the best single thing that can happen on a non-free-spins spin.
- Trigger free spins. Land three Free Game scatter symbols to activate up to 20 free spins. All normal win rules apply during the feature.
Try this: Load the demo version, set the bet to $1.20, and track how many spins it takes to land three scatters. Most players see the free spins trigger within 50–100 spins — useful baseline data before you play for real.
Symbols and Paytable
Monkey King uses a cast drawn straight from Journey to the West mythology. The symbol lineup, from highest to lowest value, runs roughly as follows:
The Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is the premium symbol — four of them on a payline pays 200 coins at base coin value. The Human King is the second-highest payer. Mid-tier symbols include a horned character and a pig warrior (a nod to Pigsy, Sun Wukong’s companion). The six low-value symbols are standard playing cards — 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A — which appear frequently but pay modestly.
The Scroll is the wild symbol. It substitutes for all regular symbols and is unique in that it can expand to cover an entire reel, turning every position on that reel wild. This is the mechanic that drives the biggest base-game wins.
The Free Game symbol is the scatter. Three anywhere on the reels triggers the free spins round.
Note: published coin-value paytable figures vary between sources. The values above are cross-referenced from multiple review sites but not directly confirmed from Dragoon Soft’s official paytable documentation.
Bonus Features
Expanding Wild Reel
The scroll wild appears on any reel during the base game and free spins. When it lands, it expands vertically to fill every position on that reel. A fully expanded wild reel substitutes for all regular symbols on the entire column — if it lines up with matching symbols on adjacent reels, it can trigger wins across multiple paylines simultaneously. There’s no multiplier attached to the wild, and it doesn’t guarantee a payout on its own — the adjacent symbols still need to cooperate. The feature is base-game-active, so you don’t need to wait for free spins to see it.
Watch for which reel the wild lands on. A wild covering reel 3 (the middle column) has the best chance of contributing to multiple payline wins on both sides.
Free Spins
Three scatter symbols anywhere on the 5×3 grid trigger the free spins round. The game awards up to 20 free spins — the exact number scales with how many scatters land, though the precise per-scatter breakdown is not officially published. All regular game mechanics apply during free spins, including the expanding wild, meaning a wild reel during the bonus round hits harder than in the base game. Free spins do not appear to be retriggerable based on available information, but this has not been confirmed by Dragoon Soft officially.
The free spins round is the main event in this game. If the expanding wild fires two or three times during the feature, that’s where the bigger wins come from.
Is Monkey King Worth Playing?
Pros:
- The expanding wild reel is a genuinely impactful mechanic — not just a standard substitute wild
- Medium volatility and a $0.60 minimum bet make this a low-risk option for longer sessions
- Clean, atmospheric design that actually looks like its theme, not a generic Asian reskin
- Available on mobile and desktop with no quality drop
Cons:
- The 1,000x max win is well below what modern players expect — high-volatility alternatives regularly offer 5,000x to 10,000x+
- RTP variants exist — you may be playing a 94% version without realising it
- No bonus buy, no pick-me game, no multiplier feature — the bonus content is thin by current standards
- Free spins round is straightforward but lacks depth compared to games at the same stake range
Bottom line: Monkey King is a solid, no-fuss pokie for players who want a mythology theme with a genuinely useful wild mechanic and no complicated feature stacks to navigate. It won’t deliver the big swings chased by high-variance hunters, and the 1,000x ceiling limits upside. Verify the RTP at your casino before playing — if it’s sitting at 94%, the value case weakens considerably.
Responsible Gambling
Monkey King uses a random number generator (RNG). Every spin is independent — past results have no influence on future outcomes, and no strategy changes the odds. Set a session budget before you start and stick to it. If gambling stops being enjoyable, take a break. Local responsible gambling services are available if you need support.