Book of Dead

What you are actually playing

Book of Dead is a five-reel, three-row slot on ten adjustable paylines, released in 2016 and

still the reference point for an entire sub-genre. Rich Wilde is the top-paying symbol, and

the Book acts as both wild and scatter.

The format it belongs to — book slots — predates it. What Play'n GO did was tune it

carefully enough that every subsequent clone is measured against this one.

The expanding symbol, and why it matters

Three or more Books trigger ten free spins. Before the round starts, one symbol is drawn at

random and becomes the expanding symbol for the whole round.

During free spins, if that symbol lands anywhere on the reels in sufficient number, it

expands to fill every position on its reel and pays across all lines it covers — ignoring the

usual adjacency rule. A drawn Rich Wilde expanding across three reels is the outcome the

entire game is built around; a drawn ten or jack is the outcome you get most of the time.

That single draw is the reason the results distribution is so lopsided. The trigger frequency

is fairly ordinary, but the value of a triggered round varies enormously depending on which

symbol the game picked for you — a decision made before you spin, and entirely outside your

influence.

Reading the numbers honestly

Play'n GO publishes an RTP of 96.21% for Book of Dead, and our database classifies it as

high volatility.

96.21% is below the median of our catalogue (96.43%) and below Play'n GO's own portfolio

average (96.44% across the 98 titles we track). That is worth stating plainly, because the

game's reputation suggests otherwise: its status comes from the design and its longevity, not

from generosity.

High rather than very high volatility means the dry spells are real but not extreme. The

round arrives often enough to sustain a session; it is the value of the round that swings.

How it compares

Against the book-slot imitators — and there are hundreds — the differences are mostly in the

paytable and the pace, not in the mechanic. The reason to prefer this one is that its

symbol weightings and trigger frequency are tuned by a studio that has been iterating on the

format for a decade.

Against Book of Ra Classic, the Novomatic title that inspired the genre, Book of Dead has a

materially higher published RTP: our database records Book of Ra Classic at 95.1%.

Against a modern cascading slot, the trade is structural. The book format resolves in ten

spins with one symbol; a Megaways or cluster game resolves through accumulation. Neither is

better, but they demand different patience.

What the demo is good for

The demo is the cheapest way to see the symbol draw repeatedly. Trigger the round several

times and watch what gets drawn — the spread between a royal and a high-value character is

the entire story of the game, and no description conveys it as clearly as watching it happen

five times.

Virtual credits only; nothing can be withdrawn from a demo.

Who it suits

Players who like a compact, decisive bonus round and can accept that a triggered round often

pays little. Anyone optimising for theoretical return should note that our catalogue holds

plenty of titles above 97% — this one trades a percentage point for a format it does better

than almost anyone.

Set your limits before real-money play.