NetEnt released Hall of Gods in 2013 as a Norse mythology slot built around three progressive jackpot slots tiers — Mini, Midi, and Mega. It runs on a 5×3 grid with 20 fixed paylines, an RTP of 95.3%–95.7% depending on stake, and medium volatility. The game’s three features — an expanding wild that can cover the three middle reels simultaneously, a free spins round with a ×3 multiplier on all wins, and a shield-breaking Bonus Game that determines which jackpot tier you win — give it more structural depth than most jackpot titles. Bets run from $0.20 to $100 per spin.
Theme and Design
Hall of Gods draws on Norse mythology across its full symbol set. Odin, Thor, Freya, and Loki occupy the high-pay positions, while Idun, a hammer, a ring, a brooch, a pick, and a fruit box fill the lower end. The Midgard Serpent is the wild; the Raven is the scatter; Thor’s Hammer and Shield is the bonus trigger. Stone-carved pillars frame the reels and the gods are rendered in oil-portrait style against a dark atmospheric setting — a serious visual register suited to the jackpot-stakes audience, in step with other 5-reel slots that trade on mythological gravitas.
Symbols and Paytable
Odin is the top-paying symbol at 100× stake for five of a kind. Thor, Freya, and Loki fill the other high-pay positions — all three pay on as few as two of a kind, keeping premium hit frequency slightly elevated. Idun and the item symbols (hammer, ring, brooch, pick, fruit box) form the lower range and require three or more. The Midgard Serpent wild substitutes for all except the Raven scatter and the Hammer+Shield bonus symbol. The Raven pays instantly on two or more, with three, four, or five triggering 10, 15, or 20 free spins. Three or more Hammer+Shield symbols anywhere trigger the Bonus Game.
Features
Expanding Wild
The Midgard Serpent wild appears exclusively on reels 2, 3, and 4. When it lands on any of those reels as part of a winning combination, it expands to cover the entire reel. The mechanic scales with how many middle reels simultaneously receive wilds: if the Serpent lands on reels 2, 3, and 4 at the same time and each contributes to a winning line, all three expand, converting the entire centre section of the grid into a stacked wild column. This three-reel scenario represents the practical ceiling of the base game — and the same mechanic applies during free spins, where it combines with the ×3 multiplier.
Free Spins
Landing three, four, or five Ravens awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins. Every win pays at ×3 — the multiplier applies to all combinations, not just wild-completed wins. The Midgard Serpent remains active on reels 2, 3, and 4 and still expands on winning combinations. A three-reel wild expansion during a ×3 free spin is the structural ceiling of the game’s non-jackpot potential, consistent with the ~4,300× maximum excluding progressive prizes.
Jackpot Bonus Game
When three or more Thor’s Hammer + Shield symbols land anywhere on the reels, the Bonus Game begins. The screen transitions to a shield-breaking pick-em: the player uses Thor’s Hammer to smash shields one by one, each revealing a prize symbol. The round continues until three identical symbols are matched — that match determines the prize. The four possible outcomes are the Mega jackpot, Midi jackpot, Mini jackpot, or a cash prize. Every Bonus Game entry guarantees a payout — the pick-em is a prize-determination mechanism, not a jackpot lottery where you can walk away with nothing.
The Mega jackpot hit frequency is approximately 1 in 2,464,171 from the base game, tightening to around 1 in 26,618 at max bet during the Bonus Game. This is a mechanical feature of the math model: higher stakes directly increase jackpot probability. Players targeting the Mega jackpot have a genuine reason to play closer to the maximum stake — not a vague “bet more to win more” implication, but a built-in probability relationship.
Betting and Gameplay
Bet size runs from $0.20 to $100 per spin across 20 fixed paylines. Autoplay is available. A Gamble feature lets you attempt to double any base game win via a red/black card draw — independent of the Bonus Game and without effect on jackpot mechanics. At $0.20 the game operates as a medium-volatility slot with a good wild mechanic and free spins; at higher stakes the Bonus Game jackpot probability is an active part of the session.
Our Verdict
Hall of Gods sits in an unusual position for a progressive jackpot slot: its RTP of 95.3%–95.7% is competitive within the category, where many jackpot titles fund their pools through deeper house edges. The Bonus Game’s guaranteed-prize structure means no entry ever returns nothing — a meaningful design distinction from jackpot bonuses that can produce zero. The non-jackpot ceiling via ×3 free spins and three-reel expanding wilds gives sessions real win potential independent of the jackpot. At $0.20 minimum the game is accessible, and the explicit stake-to-probability link makes the betting decision less abstract than in most jackpot slots. It occupies a distinctive position in the NetEnt game library as one of the provider’s more mechanically complete progressive titles.
