Who made the Kathmandu slot?

Kathmandu was developed by Microgaming, one of the longest-established software providers in online gaming. It was released in February 2006.

What is the RTP of the Kathmandu slot?

The Kathmandu slot has an RTP of 96.29%, which is above the industry average and means the game returns a fair proportion of stakes over time.

How do you trigger free spins in Kathmandu?

Landing three or more scatter bell symbols anywhere on the reels triggers 15 free spins. A random multiplier of 2x to 5x applies to all wins during the feature, and the bonus can be retriggered.

How many paylines does Kathmandu have?

Kathmandu has 9 paylines, all of which are adjustable. You can choose to activate fewer than all nine if you prefer a lower-cost spin.

What are the wild symbols in Kathmandu?

There are two wild symbols in Kathmandu - the spinning wheel and the temple. Both substitute for regular symbols to help form winning combinations. During free spins, a third wild activates alongside the existing two.

What is the maximum bet on the Kathmandu slot?

The maximum bet is £45 per spin, achieved by playing 20 coins per line across all 9 paylines at the highest coin value of £0.25.

Kathmandu Slot Review - Microgaming | RTP 96.29%

Provider	Microgaming

Kathmandu Slot Review

Kathmandu is a Microgaming slot released in February 2006, built around Nepal's capital city. It runs on 5 reels with 9 adjustable paylines and sits at 96.29% RTP - above the 95% industry average that most online casinos offer. Two wild symbols, a free spins bonus with multipliers, and a gamble feature give it more mechanical depth than a basic nine-liner might suggest.

Betting runs from £0.01 (one coin on one payline) up to £45 per spin (20 coins at £0.25 per coin across all 9 lines). You control how many paylines to activate, which lets you lower the cost per spin while keeping the higher-value symbols active. Most players run all 9 lines at a moderate coin size.

Theme and Design

Microgaming based the visual design on Kathmandu's landmarks and culture. The reels show a regional map, an elephant with its keeper, a Himalayan sunrise, and colourful market goods. Two wild symbols - the spinning wheel and the temple gate - sit at the top of the paytable. The background is a mountain panorama, which provides more context than many slots from the same period.

The graphics are functional rather than animated. This is a 2006 release and the production sits squarely in that era: static symbols, minimal effects, a clean layout. Playing card fillers (Ten through Ace) appear on the lower paytable, which breaks the Nepal theme a little but is standard for Microgaming titles of this generation. Compare it to Adventure Palace or Moonshine from the same catalogue and the visual approach is consistent across the range.

Symbols and Paytable

The spinning wheel is the top symbol. Five spinning wheels on an active payline pays 6,000x your line bet - at £0.25 per coin with 20 coins, that is £30,000 on a single payline. The temple is the second wild and also pays well at the five-of-a-kind level.

Both wilds substitute for all standard symbols but not for the scatter. The scatter symbol is the bell. Three or more bells anywhere on the reels triggers the free spins, regardless of payline position. During the base game, landing the maximum 5-of-a-kind on any of the top symbols with a full 20-coin bet produces the biggest single-spin returns.

Free Spins Bonus

Three scatter bells trigger 15 free spins. Before the feature starts, the game assigns a random multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x that applies to every win during the round. The multiplier is fixed for the entire feature - you cannot influence it once set. A third wild symbol activates during the free spins, adding to the two base-game wilds and increasing the frequency of substitutions across the reels.

The feature can retrigger if three or more bells land during the free spins. With a 5x multiplier and three active wilds, the free spins round is where Kathmandu's largest payouts land. The combination of fixed multiplier and extra wild is the main reason the 96.29% RTP holds up - without those two mechanics, the base game alone would not sustain the number.

Gamble Feature

Any base-game win unlocks the gamble option. Choose the colour of the next card and a correct guess doubles the win. Choose the correct suit and the win quadruples. Colour guessing is a 50/50 chance; suit guessing is 25%. The gamble is available after every win and can be used repeatedly on the same win, but each incorrect guess loses the accumulated amount. Using it once on a solid win is a different proposition to running three consecutive suit guesses on a modest payout.

Autoplay and Game Modes

Kathmandu has two play modes: standard and expert. Expert mode unlocks autoplay, which lets you run 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, or 500 consecutive spins. You can also set stop conditions, including a specific win amount or a loss limit. The autoplay function follows the coin size and payline selection already active when you start it, so it is worth configuring those first.

RTP and Volatility

The 96.29% RTP is above what most online casinos set as their house target. Microgaming published this figure officially, so it holds across all licensed operators carrying the game. Volatility is medium - wins occur with moderate frequency, and the range between small wins and the larger free-spins payouts is not extreme. Session variance is manageable compared to high-volatility titles where long dry spells are built into the payout structure.

For context within the Microgaming catalogue, Alaskan Fishing (96.81%) and Gung Pow (96.92%) both sit slightly higher on RTP. Kathmandu's 96.29% is still a solid number for a nine-payline game, particularly with the multiplier mechanic pushing the ceiling on free-spins wins.

Is Kathmandu Worth Playing?

Kathmandu is a 20-year-old slot that still delivers a reasonable session. The 96.29% RTP is competitive, the dual wild mechanic adds more punch than a single wild on nine paylines would provide, and the 15 free spins with up to 5x multipliers produce memorable rounds when the top multiplier lands.

The Nepal theme is underused in slots - most developers default to ancient Egypt, Norse mythology, or generic fantasy. Microgaming made a workable choice here. The game lacks the visual polish of modern releases and the payline count is low by current standards, but if you are running through Microgaming's back catalogue or looking for a medium-volatility nine-liner with an above-average RTP, Kathmandu fits that description. Set your coin size, activate all 9 lines, and let the free spins feature show what the multiplier system can do.