Book of Dead is an Egyptian-themed video slot developed by Play’n GO, released in 2016 and consistently ranked among the top ten most-played online slots in the UK and across Europe. Built on a 5-reel, 3-row layout with 10 fixed paylines, it follows Rich Wilde — Play’n GO’s adventurer protagonist — through the tombs of ancient Egypt in search of the Book of Dead, which serves as both the wild and the scatter symbol. The game’s enduring popularity comes from a combination of high volatility, a deceptively simple mechanic and a free spins round capable of producing outsized returns relative to stake.
The Book symbol is central to everything. As a wild it substitutes for all other symbols to complete winning combinations. As a scatter, landing three or more anywhere on the reels triggers 10 free spins. Before the free spins begin, one symbol is randomly selected as the special expanding symbol for that round — if it lands anywhere on the reels during free spins, it expands to fill the entire reel and pays across all positions on active paylines, regardless of whether the symbols are connected. Landing three or more Books during free spins retriggering the feature. The maximum win of 5,000x is achievable when the expanding symbol lands on all five reels simultaneously during a retrigger sequence — a rare outcome, but one that has made Book of Dead one of the most discussed high-variance slots in the market. With an RTP of 96.21% and high volatility, it rewards patience and a bankroll sized to withstand extended base game sequences between bonus triggers.
The expanding symbol is chosen randomly before each free spins round — the highest-value symbols produce the biggest returns when they expand across all five reels.
The Book of Dead symbol serves a dual role — substituting for all other symbols as a wild to complete paylines, and triggering the free spins bonus when three or more land anywhere on the reels simultaneously.
Ten free spins are awarded when the bonus triggers. One symbol is randomly selected before the round begins. If that symbol appears anywhere during free spins, it expands to fill the entire reel — paying across all positions on every active payline regardless of adjacency.
Landing three or more Book symbols during the free spins round retriggering the feature, awarding an additional 10 free spins with the same expanding symbol. Retriggering can occur multiple times in a single bonus activation, significantly extending potential returns.
