Safari King by Pragmatic Play — Fixed Jackpots & Full-Reel Wilds

Pragmatic Play's Safari King takes a different approach from most wildlife-themed slots. Instead of chasing a single massive bonus feature, the game distributes its payout potential across four fixed jackpots, a respin mechanic, and full-reel wilds that can cover entire columns. The result is a medium-volatility experience where meaningful wins arrive more regularly than in high-vol alternatives — a deliberate design choice that suits players who prefer steadier sessions without sacrificing jackpot upside entirely.

Game Specifications

Safari King uses a classic 5×3 grid with 50 fixed paylines — considerably more than the 10–25 paylines common in older titles. More paylines translate to more frequent wins but smaller individual hit values, which is part of what keeps the volatility in the medium range.

At 96.50 % RTP, Safari King sits comfortably above the industry average. Paired with medium volatility, this means shorter losing runs compared to high-vol titles like Buffalo Blitz or Raging Rhino, though the maximum single-hit ceiling is lower as a trade-off.

Symbol Breakdown

Safari King's paytable is built around African wildlife. The premium symbols are hand-painted illustrations of savanna animals, while the low tier uses gemstones rather than the usual playing-card ranks — a small aesthetic detail that gives the game a more polished feel.

High-Value Symbols

• Lion (Wild) — expands to fill the entire reel when it lands; substitutes for all symbols except money symbols
• Elephant — up to 20× total bet for five-of-a-kind
• Rhinoceros — up to 10× total bet for five-of-a-kind
• Cape Buffalo — up to 8× total bet for five-of-a-kind
• Leopard — up to 6× total bet for five-of-a-kind

Gemstone Symbols

Four coloured gemstones (red, blue, green, purple) occupy the low-value positions, paying between 1× and 4× the total bet for five-of-a-kind lines. These symbols hit frequently across the 50 paylines, sustaining your balance between feature triggers.

Full-Reel Wild — The Lion

The lion wild is the engine of Safari King's base game. Every time a lion lands on any reel, it expands to cover all three row positions on that reel before wins are evaluated. This effectively turns the entire column into a universal substitute.

The impact is significant on a 50-payline grid. A single expanded wild on reel 3 can participate in dozens of winning combinations simultaneously. Two expanded wilds on adjacent reels produce even larger clusters. Because the expansion happens automatically (no trigger condition needed), it fires consistently throughout regular play — roughly once every 8–12 spins based on observed frequency. This regular cadence of mid-size wins is the primary reason Safari King feels less punishing than high-volatility alternatives.

Money Symbols and the Respin Feature

Alongside the standard paytable symbols, Safari King includes money symbols — golden coins stamped with fixed credit values or one of four jackpot labels (Mini, Minor, Major, Grand). These symbols only appear on reels 1, 2, and 3.

When six or more money symbols land visible across the three leftmost reels, the game triggers a respin round:

• All money symbols lock in place
• All non-money positions spin independently
• You receive 3 initial respins; any new money symbol resets the counter to 3
• The round continues until either all 15 positions are filled or 3 consecutive respins yield no new money symbol

At the end of the respin round, all visible credit values are summed. If a jackpot label is present, that fixed jackpot amount is awarded instead of (or in addition to) the credit sum. Filling all 15 positions automatically awards the Grand Jackpot — typically valued at 1,000× the triggering bet.

Fixed Jackpot Values

Unlike progressive jackpots (such as the one in Mega Moolah), Safari King's jackpots are fixed multipliers of the total bet:

• Mini — 30× total bet
• Minor — 100× total bet
• Major — 500× total bet
• Grand — 1,000× total bet (awarded for filling all 15 positions)

Fixed jackpots scale proportionally with your bet size, which means both low-stakes and high-stakes players access the same relative reward structure. The trade-off against progressive jackpots is obvious: no seven-figure payday, but substantially better odds of actually landing a jackpot within a normal session length.

Bet Sizing and Bankroll Approach

Safari King's minimum bet of $0.50 per spin is higher than many 5×3 slots due to the 50-payline structure. At medium volatility, a session bankroll of 200–300× your chosen bet should provide enough runway for 500+ spins, which gives the respin feature multiple opportunities to trigger.

Practical considerations for bet sizing:

• The respin feature triggers roughly once every 80–120 base-game spins
• Expanded lion wilds deliver small-to-medium wins roughly every 8–12 spins
• The Grand Jackpot requires filling all 15 money positions — statistically rare but possible in any session
• Because jackpots are fixed multiples of bet, increasing your bet increases the absolute jackpot value proportionally

For a deeper look at how RTP and variance interact to shape session outcomes, see our RTP and volatility guide.

Visual Design and Audio

Pragmatic Play set Safari King against a golden-hour savanna backdrop — amber grass, scattered acacia trees, and a warm gradient sky that shifts subtly during bonus rounds. The animal illustrations are detailed enough to stand out on the grid without cluttering the visual space. Reel animations are smooth, and the expanded wild sequence (lion roaring as it fills the reel) adds a theatrical touch without slowing gameplay.

The soundtrack blends ambient savanna sounds with low percussion that intensifies during respins. It avoids the overly synthetic feel of some older Pragmatic titles and stays unobtrusive during extended sessions — a practical quality for players who keep the sound on.

Mobile Compatibility

Safari King runs on Pragmatic Play's HTML5 framework, which is optimised for touch input. The 5×3 grid scales cleanly across phone and tablet screens, and the respin interface — where locked money symbols remain visible while empty positions spin — renders correctly in both portrait and landscape modes. Auto-spin and turbo-spin options are fully functional on mobile. If you primarily play on your phone, our mobile slots guide covers the best-optimised African-themed games.

Safari King in the Pragmatic Play Ecosystem

Pragmatic Play has built an extensive African-themed slot portfolio. Great Rhino Megaways targets the high-volatility Megaways audience, while Hot Safari and Safari Gold Megaways provide variations on the same setting. Safari King sits in the middle of this range — more feature-rich than the basic Hot Safari but less extreme than the Megaways entries. Players who enjoy the respin/jackpot loop but want higher variance might graduate to Great Rhino Megaways; those who want calmer sessions might prefer Hot Safari.

Who Is Safari King Best For?

Safari King works well for players who want regular payouts without giving up the possibility of a meaningful jackpot hit. The medium volatility, 96.50 % RTP, and fixed-jackpot structure make it a balanced option between the extreme swings of Buffalo Blitz and the low-volatility grind of basic payline slots. The full-reel wilds keep the base game engaging, and the respin feature provides a clear secondary goal to chase beyond simple line wins.

If fixed jackpots feel limiting, Mega Moolah offers the progressive alternative — but with significantly lower base-game RTP and a jackpot trigger that is entirely random. Safari King gives you more control over your session trajectory, which many experienced players prefer.