Black Knight Slots Review - Free Spins, Expanding Wilds & 10 Paylines

Black Knight Slot - Editor’s Comment

Black Knight is one of those older WMS releases that still turns up in operator lobbies because the core idea works. The base game is simple: five reels, three rows, ten paylines, and a wild that only appears on the middle three reels. The appeal is not the base game, though. It is the free spins round, where any wild that lands expands to cover its whole reel and stays there for the rest of the feature. That single mechanic is what separates Black Knight from the many other medieval-themed slots that came out around the same time.

The trade-off is that the base game can feel slow. Ten paylines and a medium-high volatility profile mean long stretches without much happening, and the biggest single-line symbol value is the King at 500 coins for five of a kind. Players who want constant action from the first spin may find it dry. Players who enjoy building towards a feature and watching locked wilds stack up will get more out of it.

There is also a version question worth flagging. The original Black Knight and the later Mighty Black Knight are different games with different maths, and some pages mix them up. This review sticks to the original WMS/Light & Wonder release as described on the operator pages we checked. If you are looking for the Barcrest follow-up, that is a separate review.

What We Liked

• The expanding and locking wilds in free spins give the feature a clear identity rather than just being extra spins.
• The bet range starts at £0.10, which suits low-limit players and casual sessions.
• The Arthurian theme is carried through the symbols, with a King, Queen, Jester, crown, orb, sceptre, map and ring instead of generic fruit or card icons.
• Ten paylines keep the paytable easy to read and the wins easy to follow.

What is the Black Knight Slot?

Black Knight is a five-reel, three-row video slot produced by WMS, now part of Light & Wonder. It is themed around the Black Knight of Arthurian literature, and the reels use royal and medieval symbols rather than standard playing cards. The game has 10 paylines, all paying from left to right, and no progressive jackpot.

The headline feature is a free spins bonus triggered by scatter symbols. During the feature, wilds that land on the middle three reels expand to fill the reel and remain locked for the duration of the spins. That is the main reason the game has stayed in circulation since its original release.

It is worth being precise about the name. There is a separate game called Mighty Black Knight, produced by Barcrest, which is a different slot with different mechanics. This page is about the original WMS Black Knight only. If a site lists a Barcrest logo or a different reel layout, you are looking at the other game.

Black Knight Slot Machine At A Glance

The table below summarises the core specifications as published on the operator pages we checked. Where the two sources differ, we have noted both figures rather than picking one.

The RTP range is the most important line in that table. A range rather than a single figure usually means the game has more than one maths model, and the version you get depends on the operator and jurisdiction. The lower end of the range is still within normal territory for a video slot, but it is not a high-RTP game at the bottom of the band.

Black Knight Slot RTP, Payout and Volatility

Return to Player is a long-run theoretical average, not a prediction for any single session. If a game is published at 96%, that means that across millions of spins, the game is designed to return about 96% of all stakes to players as wins, with the remainder retained by the operator. It says nothing about what will happen in your next hundred spins.

The operator pages we checked list Black Knight at 96% to 97.75%. That is a range, not a single number, and it reflects the fact that different versions of the game can be deployed with different maths configurations. The version you actually play is the one shown in the game's own help screen or paytable, and that is the figure that matters for your session.

Volatility is listed as medium-high. In practice, that means wins are less frequent than on a low-volatility slot, but the better-paying combinations and the free spins feature can produce larger results when they land. The King symbol pays 500 coins for five of a kind on a payline, which is the top base-game line win. The free spins feature with locked expanding wilds is where the bigger potential sits.

There is no progressive jackpot on this game. Any maximum win figure you see quoted should be checked against the specific version's paytable, because the operator pages we reviewed do not agree on a single maximum win number.

How to Play Black Knight

The game plays like most five-reel WMS slots. The steps below reflect the controls described on the operator pages.

1. Set your total bet using the plus and minus controls. The minimum is £0.10, and the maximum varies by operator, so check the bet controls in the version you play.
2. Check the paytable using the question mark button in the lower left of the screen. This shows the symbol values and the rules for the free spins feature.
3. Press the spin button to start the reels. Wins are highlighted on the paylines and the amount is shown on screen.
4. Watch for the wild symbol, which appears only on reels 2, 3 and 4 and substitutes for regular symbols.
5. Watch for three or more scatter symbols, which trigger the free spins feature.
6. During free spins, any wild that lands expands to fill its reel and stays locked for the rest of the feature.

There is no skill element and no way to influence which symbols land. The reels are driven by a random number generator, and the outcome of each spin is independent of the last. Bet size does not change the odds of triggering the feature; it only changes the value of the wins when they land.

Black Knight Gameplay, Graphics & Sound

Black Knight is an older release, and the visuals reflect that. The reels sit against a medieval backdrop, and the symbols are drawn from the Arthurian court: a King, a Queen, a Jester, a crown, an orb, a sceptre, a map and a ring. The wild is the knight's helmet, and the scatter is a golden knight chess piece on a black and gold shield.

The design choice to avoid standard card symbols is a good one. It keeps the theme consistent and makes the paytable easier to scan, because every symbol is visually distinct. The King is the highest-paying symbol at 500 coins for five of a kind, followed by the Queen and Jester at 50 coins, then the crown and orb at 20, and the sceptre, map and ring at 10.

The sound design is functional rather than memorable. There is a medieval-style soundtrack and standard spin and win effects. Players who remember the land-based version will recognise the feel, though the online version has some minor differences in presentation. The game is not trying to compete with modern high-production slots on visuals, and it does not need to. The appeal is the feature mechanic, not the graphics.

Black Knight Slot Features

The feature set is deliberately narrow. There are two things to know: the wild substitution and the free spins round. Everything else is standard base-game play.

The wild is the knight's helmet. It appears only on reels 2, 3 and 4, and it substitutes for all regular symbols. It does not substitute for the scatter in the base game. The scatter is the golden knight chess piece, and it is the trigger for the free spins feature.

There is no pick-me bonus, no gamble feature, no progressive jackpot and no cascading reels. If you are looking for a feature-rich modern slot, this is not it. If you want a straightforward game where the free spins round is the main event, the design is coherent.

Bonus Features: Wilds, Multipliers, and Free Spins

Expanding Wilds

During the free spins feature, any wild that lands on reels 2, 3 or 4 expands to cover the entire reel and remains locked in place for the rest of the feature. This is the core mechanic and the reason the feature can produce better results than the base game. The more wilds you collect early, the more reels are effectively wild for the remaining spins.

Free Spins

The free spins feature is triggered by landing scatter symbols. The operator pages we checked describe the trigger as three or more scatters, with the number of free spins varying by how many scatters land. One page describes seven free spins for three scatters and twelve for four. The exact trigger and spin count should be confirmed in the game's own help screen, because versions can differ.

Win Multiplier

The sources we checked do not describe a separate win multiplier in detail. If a multiplier is present in the version you play, it will be explained in the paytable.

Where to Play Black Knight

Black Knight is available at regulated online casinos that carry the WMS / Light & Wonder catalogue. Availability depends on the operator's licensing and the jurisdiction you are playing from. Some games are removed or temporarily unavailable in certain locations due to regulatory requirements or provider decisions.

If you are in Ireland, check that the operator holds the appropriate licence for the market you are in before depositing. Our Irish casino reviews cover the operators we have looked at, and our Irish gambling laws guide explains the current regulatory position. We do not list sign-up links or bonus codes here, because those terms change and need to be checked against the operator's own published terms at the time you sign up.

If you want to try the game without staking real money, some operators offer a demo mode for verified account holders. The availability of demo play varies by operator and by jurisdiction.

Other Slot Games You Might Enjoy

If you like the medieval theme and the expanding wild mechanic, a few other games are worth a look. Arthur's Fortune stays in the same legendary territory. Black Widow is another older WMS-style release with a similar pace. If you want a more modern take on the same era, Morgana Megaways uses the Arthurian setting with a different maths model. And if you want to compare volatility profiles before choosing, our volatility guide explains what medium-high actually means in practice.