Rhyming Reels Old King Cole Slot Review - Microgaming

Provider	Microgaming

Rhyming Reels - Old King Cole Slot Review

Microgaming's Rhyming Reels series takes familiar nursery rhymes and spins them into slot games, and Old King Cole makes for one of the more entertaining entries in the range. Released in 2015, this five-reel, 20-payline video slot keeps things accessible without stripping out the features that matter. The RTP sits at 96.15%, the volatility is medium, and there's a free spins round with genuine win potential built in.

The theme leans into the nursery rhyme without taking itself too seriously. Reels are packed with characters and objects from the rhyme - the King himself, his three fiddlers, a pipe, a bowl, a gold disc, and a crown. The colour palette is bold and the soundtrack has an upbeat, almost hip-hop quality that sets it apart from the usual medieval fanfare you might expect. It's a quirky combination that works well.

Betting Range and Symbols

Stakes run from £0.20 per spin up to a maximum of £100, giving plenty of room for different bankroll sizes. You pick your coin value (1p to 50p) and the number of coins per line (up to 10), so the flexibility is there if you want to scale up. Paylines are not fixed - you can select fewer than the full 20 if you prefer, though playing all lines gives you the best coverage.

The Wild symbol is the Old King Cole logo. It substitutes for all regular symbols and landing five of them across a payline pays 2,500 coins on your line bet - the top base-game prize. The Crown is the Scatter, and it doesn't need to fall on a specific reel to count. Five Crowns anywhere on the reels pays 150x your total bet outright, before any free spins are factored in.

Other premium symbols include the three fiddlers and the gold disc, both of which pay well for four or five of a kind. The lower-value symbols follow standard card suit patterns and fill in the rest of the paytable.

Free Spins and the Gold Disc Wild

Three or more Crown scatters anywhere on the reels trigger the free spins round. You receive 12 free spins, and a random multiplier of up to 7x is applied to all wins during the feature. A 7x multiplier on a decent win during free spins can produce some notable returns, which is where the game earns its medium variance label.

The key extra during free spins is that the Gold Disc becomes a second wild symbol. In the base game the disc is just a high-paying regular symbol, but in the bonus it substitutes alongside the Old King Cole logo - giving you two different wilds in play at the same time. More wilds on the reels means more opportunities for winning combinations to form, particularly in a game with 20 paylines active.

Free spins can retrigger, which means you can extend the feature if more Crowns land while the round is running. Combine retriggering with a high multiplier and the free spins round moves from decent to genuinely rewarding. The downside is that the Crowns can take a while to show up in the base game, so patience is required.

Gamble Feature

After any base-game win, you get the option to gamble it. The mechanic is a simple card prediction - guess red or black to double your win, or name the suit correctly to quadruple it. Getting it wrong loses the win entirely.

The gamble feature is best used selectively. Risking a large win on a coin flip rarely works out well over time. Where it makes more sense is on smaller wins where the potential upside is worth the downside - turning a 5x win into a 10x or 20x without much pain if it goes wrong. Use it thoughtfully or skip it entirely; the main game gives you enough to work with without it.

Rhyming Reels Series Context

Old King Cole is part of Microgaming's Rhyming Reels collection, which adapts several nursery rhymes into slot format. The other two titles in the series take the same approach - familiar characters, bold visuals, and feature sets built around scatters and wilds. Rhyming Reels: Hearts and Tarts follows the Queen of Hearts theme and runs at 96.69% RTP, making it the highest-returning of the three. Rhyming Reels: Jack and Jill features a hill-rolling bonus round and a slightly different free spins mechanic. If you enjoy Old King Cole's nursery rhyme style, both are worth exploring as alternatives or follow-ups on this site.

All three games are available at UK online casinos that carry the Microgaming library, which includes most major licensed operators. Stakes, availability by region, and specific game features may vary between casinos.

Verdict

Rhyming Reels Old King Cole is a solid medium-variance slot from Microgaming that holds up well despite its age. The 96.15% RTP is competitive, the free spins feature has enough going on - random multipliers up to 7x, a second wild, and retriggering - to make it worth chasing, and the base game plays smoothly between bonus hits. It won't be the most volatile ride you'll find, but for players who want a balanced session with the chance of a meaningful bonus round, Old King Cole delivers consistently.

What is the RTP of Rhyming Reels Old King Cole?

The RTP is 96.15%, which is competitive for a medium-variance video slot. The other two Rhyming Reels games have slightly different RTPs: Hearts and Tarts runs at 96.69% and Jack and Jill at 96.00%.

How do you trigger free spins in Old King Cole?

Land three or more Crown scatter symbols anywhere on the reels to trigger 12 free spins with a random multiplier of up to 7x applied to all wins during the feature.

What is the wild symbol in Rhyming Reels Old King Cole?

The Old King Cole logo is the wild in the base game. During free spins, the Gold Disc also becomes a wild, giving you two wild symbols in play at the same time across all 20 paylines.

Can you retrigger free spins in Old King Cole?

Yes, landing more Crown scatters during the free spins round retriggers additional free spins. Combined with a high random multiplier, retriggering can extend the feature into a significantly rewarding run.

Who made Rhyming Reels Old King Cole?

The game was developed and published by Microgaming and released in 2015 as part of their Rhyming Reels series, alongside Hearts and Tarts and Jack and Jill.

What is the gamble feature in Old King Cole?

After any base-game win you can choose to gamble it. Predict red or black to double your win, or name the suit to quadruple it. Getting it wrong loses the win entirely. The feature is optional and best used selectively on smaller wins.