Sword of Khans (Thunderkick): Overview

Here’s a strange fact for the day. Under the rule of ambitious Khans, the Mongol Empire expanded into one of the largest the world had ever known—stretching across China, Mongolia, Russia, and deep into Europe. Genghis Khan was so successful at conquest (and everything that came with it) that a 2003 genetic study suggested 8% of men living across the former Mongol Empire were his direct descendants. That works out at roughly 1 in every 200 males alive being directly related to Genghis Khan. And that was in 2003—who knows how much that figure has grown since? Which leads us neatly to Sword of Khans, a slot set in the era when the feared Mongol horde controlled a huge portion of the world. What may not be immediately obvious is that Sword of Khans from Thunderkick is essentially another ‘Book’ slot—though with a twist that adds a bit of energy to the formula.

The action unfolds in familiar territory. Sun-scorched mountains sit in the background, framing a pagoda-style structure that holds the 5×3 reel layout. Visually, it shares some resemblance with Divine Lotus, which Thunderkick released not long ago, even if the mechanics are completely different. You start by choosing your stake, which can range from 10 p/c up to $/€100 a pop. Thunderkick has pushed volatility close to the limit at 9.4/10, while the RTP is lower than we usually expect from them at 95.38%. Possibly a lingering effect of recent regulatory shifts.

Winning combinations are created by landing at least three low-pay symbols, or two high-pay symbols, across the 10 paylines. The low pays are the usual 10 – A royals, short on personality and interchangeable with countless other slots. The premium symbols lean into the theme, featuring spears and shield, body armour, helmet, and a Genghis character. As expected, the Mongol leader tops the paytable, with five of a kind returning 250 times the stake. These stronger symbols can deliver satisfying base-game hits, although the high volatility can make them harder to come by. Like most ‘Book’ slots, the real focus is the free spins round and those tasty expanding symbols.

Sword of Khans (Thunderkick): Features

If you’ve played Book of Ra Deluxe or any of its countless clones, you’ll already have a good idea of what’s coming. Still, stick around—Thunderkick has introduced one change that’s worth a look. Rather than a book, the key symbol is a sword, which is a slightly unusual choice given the Mongols famously favoured the composite bow. As an aside, their bows could shoot arrows roughly twice as far as their opponents’, which gave them a huge edge—especially considering how accurately they could fire from horseback. Anyway, back to the sword: it acts as both the wild and the scatter. As a wild, it substitutes for any paying symbol in the game except for expanding symbols.

Hit 3, 4, or 5 sword symbols to win 2x, 20x, and 200x your bet, and to activate the bonus. The amount of Free Spins awarded can be 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 or 15, with the exact number chosen at random. If two or more scatters appear during the feature, a random number of extra spins is added to what remains. Each time the round is triggered or retriggered, a symbol is randomly selected as a Special Expanding Symbol. When enough of the chosen special symbol lands (2 high pay, 3 low pay), it expands to fill an entire reel. No matter where they land on the grid, they create winning combinations.

The ‘new’ twist comes via retriggers—more than one symbol can be marked special at the same time. Yes, we’ve seen that in Book of Ra Magic, Magic Mirror Deluxe, Legacy of Dead and Rise of Merlin, where you could end up with as many as 9 expanding special symbols at once. Thunderkick goes a step further by introducing a multiplier. If a symbol is selected that’s already special, it receives a multiplier of up to x3. With 5 expanded symbols covering the reels and the multiplier at its maximum, the slot can deliver 10,000 times the stake from a single spin. To help you keep track, there’s a useful bar beneath the reels showing which symbols are special and what multipliers are active.

Sword of Khans (Thunderkick): Verdict

Thunderkick is one of those studios that reliably produces polished, well-made slots. Sword of Khan’s visuals look sharp without being breathtaking, and the gameplay is built to keep you engaged. That’s partly thanks to the proven Book of Ra-style format, and partly because the added tweaks make it a compelling alternative. Sword of Khans shows again that a slot doesn’t need to reinvent everything—one distinctive feature can make a familiar concept feel noticeably fresher. In this case, it’s the extra multiplier during free spins, which pushes the game’s win potential to a higher tier.

The main drawback is the RTP, which sits a bit lower than ideal. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it is below what we’re used to seeing from Thunderkick. What helps balance that is the massive Mongol-sized top prize of up to 10,000 times the stake. Overall, there’s enough excitement and payout potential here to satisfy most serious slot fans. No, it isn’t entirely original—but that’s fine. The expanding symbols in free spins are what made Ra so popular, and Thunderkick keeps that core appeal while adding just enough novelty to ensure Sword of Khans still feels relevant.