Christopher Columbus landed in America on October 12, 1492. This day is a landmark in the exploration of the earth and is celebrated as Columbus Day not only in North and South America but also in Spain and Italy. The spirit that Columbus exhibited led to the discovery of many more lands including Australia and New Zealand. This article reviews two video slots that have been inspired by this spirit.

One slot game is from the leading software developer Playtech and is called The Discovery. The high paying symbols depict various facets associated with seafaring discoveries. The native Indian girl awards the jackpot payout of 5000 coins. The other thematic symbols include the island, the telescope and the exotic flower. The low paying symbols are the usual playing card icons. The Discovery online video slot uses two special symbols. The compass is the wild symbol. It does not award line payouts but substitutes for other symbols to help make winning combinations. The compass appears only on reels 2, 3 and 4, but it can appear stacked and this creates plenty of winning combinations. The captain is the scatter symbol. It awards scatter payouts when two or more appear anywhere on the reels. The top scatter payout is 100 times the total bet. Three or more scatter symbols trigger the free spins bonus feature. You are awarded 10 free spins at tripled payouts. The feature can be retriggered. The Discovery also includes the Playtech gamble game.

Age of Discovery from Microgaming is a very similar slot game. The regular symbols on the reels are the ship, the emblem and the sextant. Instead of the usual playing card icons, the low payout symbols are exotic fruits from the new lands. There are three special symbols. The gold coin is the wild symbol, but it also awards line payouts. In fact it awards the highest line payout of 6,000 coins for five of a kind combination. The dragon awards scatter payouts. At that time it was believed that sea dragons guarded the edge of the world and devoured sailors who strayed there. It was a belief that was dispelled in the age of discovery. The third special symbol is the compass. It triggers a thematic bonus game on the second screen. Thirty treasure sites are displayed on a map. You keep selecting sites and winning bonus credits till a skull and cross bones sign is revealed.