Book of Dead Slot Review
Book of Dead is a 5×3 Play’n GO slot with 10 paylines, 94.25% RTP, high volatility and a 5000x ceiling, built around one idea: a book symbol that is Wild and Scatter at once and turns into an expanding symbol during free spins.
This review explains how the expanding symbol decides the value of the bonus round, why the 94.25% version changes session planning, and where the gamble feature helps or hurts.
Key Information
| provider | Play’n GO |
| release date | 14.01.2016 |
| RTP | 94.25% |
| volatility | High |
| max win | 5000x |
| reels | 5×3 |
| paylines/ways | 10 paylines |
| min/max bet | €0.01 / €100.00 |
| theme | Ancient Egypt |
| bonus buy | Not specified |
Play’n GO ships this title in more than one RTP configuration, and the active one is set by the casino.
Check the paytable in the game before you commit to a session.
How the book decides the round
The base game is deliberately plain. Ten fixed paylines run left to right and the card royals fill the rest of the grid. Nothing on the screen is meant to hold your attention for long, because the whole design points at one symbol.
The book is Wild and Scatter in the same symbol. It substitutes for every regular symbol on a payline, and three or more anywhere on the reels pay as a Scatter and open ten free spins. That double role is why a spin can look empty and still be worth watching to the last reel.
Before the free spins begin, the game draws one of the regular symbols at random and marks it as the expanding symbol for the whole round. If it lands on at least three reels, it stretches to cover them fully and pays regardless of payline position. Drawing the explorer is the difference between a modest ten spins and the round that people remember; drawing a card royal usually is not.
Main features in Book of Dead
Expanding symbol free spins. Ten spins with one marked symbol, retriggerable by three more books during the round. The retrigger keeps the same marked symbol, so a good draw compounds and a poor one does not improve.
Book as Wild and Scatter. One symbol carries both jobs, which keeps the rules short and makes every book landing meaningful in two different ways.
Gamble after a win. A card-colour and suit gamble doubles or quadruples a win, or loses it. It is optional and it does not change the long-run figure printed above; what it changes is how fast a balance moves in either direction.
High-volatility payout shape. Long stretches of small returns interrupted by one round that carries the session. The 5000x ceiling is reached through the expanding symbol, not through base-game combinations.
What the 94.25% version means in practice
At 94.25% the theoretical return sits below the usual value for modern slots, and the high-volatility profile makes that gap harder to feel spin by spin. Two consequences are worth planning for.
First, session length matters more than bet size here. The feature cycle is what pays, so a bankroll that runs out before the books land has paid for the base game only. Smaller stakes and more spins suit this design better than fewer large ones.
Second, a demo run is genuinely informative. Because the expanding symbol is drawn at random each round, watching several bonus rounds in demo mode shows how wide the outcomes really are before money is involved.
Who this slot suits
It suits players who like a simple grid, a single strong feature and a high ceiling, and who are comfortable with quiet stretches between rounds. It does not suit players looking for frequent small wins, layered mechanics or a modern ways-to-win board; the game is from 2016 and has never pretended otherwise.
Similar slots to compare
| Slot | RTP | Volatility | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Potter: The Book of Teos | 96.29% | High | Same expanding-symbol book format |
| Legend of Ra | 95.82% | High | Egyptian theme, free spins as the main event |
| Luxor Secrets | 96.12% | Medium | Calmer Egyptian alternative with steadier returns |
Use demo mode to see which symbol gets marked across several bonus rounds.
The Slots hub lists more Egyptian and book-mechanic titles to compare.
FAQ
This version runs at 94.25%. Play’n GO supplies the title in more than one configuration, so the figure shown in the game’s paytable is the one that applies at your casino.
Three or more books anywhere on the reels start ten free spins. One regular symbol is drawn before the round and expands to fill a reel whenever it lands on three or more reels, paying regardless of payline position.
5000x the stake, reached through the expanding symbol in free spins rather than through base-game paylines.
It is optional and does not change the slot’s long-run return. It only makes the swings larger in both directions, which matters more in a high-volatility game than in a calm one.





