Book of Dead Slot Review
Ancient Egypt has long been a popular theme with slot designers, and by extension treasure hunting by fictional adventurous archaeologists in the mould of Indiana Jones has also spawned a number of hit games. Amongst these is Play ’n GO’s Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead (to give it its full title) which has established itself as a very popular rival to Novomatic’s Book of Ra that can often be found in land-based casino arcades.
Book of Dead should be rather familiar to any player that’s spun Book or Ra at a casino, building its basegame on a five-reel, ten payline format set in the torch-lit interior of an Egyptian tomb. The music and graphic presentation is all very cinematic, creating a sense of adventure as you quest to land winning symbol combinations that unlock payouts from these reels.
The symbol set follows a traditional scheme of using Royals (10 to A here) for lower pays, whilst four symbols, the Bennu (Egyptian eagle), Anubis, Mummy and Rich Wilde himself bring more thematically styled opportunities for bigger rewards. Completing the list of potential occupants of these five reels is the Book of Dead symbol itself, reserved for this slot’s combined Scatter and Wild duties.
In its role as a Wild the Book of Dead symbol can substitute for all other symbols where that will complete a winning combination, whilst three or more instances in view will not only trigger a payout in its own right, but also unlock this slot’s bonus game. That bonus is the classic treat of free spins, and here you get ten of them to begin with.
The extra spin on these free games is that, ahead of the feature starting, one of the ten standard symbols is chosen at random to become the bonus’s Expanding Symbol. This means that any instance of that symbol that lands during a free spin game will expand to fill the reel it appears on, creating more chances for that symbols to build a win. Should fate pick the top-ranking symbol of Rich Wilde, that can make for a very rich encounter (every pun intended) if he keeps showing up in this bonus!
One final feature to note is the optional gamble feature that triggers on any win. If you fancy going for this gamble to double, or even quadruple, that win on the turn of a virtual playing card the option is there.
Verdict
Book of Dead unashamedly re-treads the core aspects that made Book of Ra a hit slot with players, and so unsurprisingly delivers an experience that has won it a lot of fans too.
It’s quite a straightforward slot, bringing a very authentic feel of playing a slot in a real-world club which may well account for its popularity beyond the obvious monetary rewards its reels might bring from spins. Our view? It’s a modern classic definitely worth seeking out if a little archaeological adventure suits your slot-playing preferences.
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