Book of Dead has been one of the best-known online slots for a decade. Play’n GO released it on 14 January 2016, and its format (five reels, three rows, ten paylines and a free spins round built around a single expanding symbol) has been borrowed by dozens of studios since.
Below we explain how the “book” format works, where it came from, what Book of Dead’s published numbers are, and how Book of Ra, Legacy of Dead, Book of Shadows and Book of 99 differ from it.
Figures come from each provider’s game page or, where it publishes none, from two independent review sites that agree. Anything unconfirmed is left out.
What Makes a Slot a “Book” Slot
Book slots share a short list of rules, and once you know them you can read almost any game in the genre in a minute.
- The book symbol is both wild and scatter.
- Three or more books anywhere start a free spins round, usually ten spins.
- Before the free spins begin, one regular symbol is picked at random to be the special expanding symbol for the whole round.
- When enough of that symbol lands, it fills its reel and pays on every payline, even when the copies aren’t on neighbouring reels.
- Most book slots have no retrigger limit, use a 5×3 grid with nine or ten paylines, and offer a card gamble.
The base game pays little. Almost all of the win potential sits in the free spins, which is why the genre is treated as high volatility across the board.
How the Book of Dead Slot Works
Key Features
- Format: 5 reels, 3 rows, 10 paylines
- Book symbol: wild and scatter
- Free spins: 10 for three or more scatters, with 10 more per retrigger
- Expanding symbol: one ordinary symbol chosen at random before the round
- Published RTP: 96.21% default (lower configurations exist)
- Max win: 5,000x the bet
- Released: 14 January 2016
The Expanding Symbol, Step by Step
According to Play’n GO’s game page, three scatters unlock ten free spins. “Before the Free Spin sequence begins, an ordinary symbol is randomly chosen to act as a Special Expanding Symbol during the entire Free Spin sequence.”
On each free spin, regular line wins are paid first. The special symbol then “may expand to cover all three positions on its reel”, but only when the expansion creates an additional win on an active payline. Expanded symbols “do not need to appear adjacent to each other to result in a winning combination”. So two expanded symbols on reels one and four pay nothing on their own, while a third on reel two completes a three-of-a-kind on every line at once.
Every symbol has a different value, which means the random choice of expanding symbol decides the potential of the round. The random number generator makes that choice, and nothing the player does can influence it.
Book of Dead RTP and Max Win
The official page does not list an RTP, a max win, a grid size or a volatility rating. Independent review sites agree that the default Book of Dead RTP is 96.21%, the max win is 5,000x the bet and the grid is 5×3 with ten paylines.
The game ships in more than one RTP configuration, and a casino can run a lower build than the 96.21% default. The in-game information screen shows which version is live. Our guide to RTP and volatility in slots explains why the published figure is a long-run average rather than a promise for a session.
On volatility, review sites say high or very high, and the 5,000x figure is a ceiling, not a typical result.
The Gamble Feature
After a base game win, Book of Dead offers an optional card gamble. You guess the colour of a face-down card, and a correct guess doubles the win while a wrong one loses it. You can skip it and collect.
Book of Ra: The Novomatic Original
Before Rich Wilde there was the explorer in Book of Ra. Novomatic released the original in 2005, and Greentube, Novomatic’s digital arm, took it online.
The original ran on five reels with nine paylines. Greentube’s page for Book of Ra deluxe describes the follow-up as “a 10-line, 5-reel video game with Free Games Feature” with “an increase in win lines” over the classic. The core loop is the one every later book slot uses. The Book of Ra symbol “substitutes all other symbols”, three or more anywhere trigger ten Free Games, and “before the feature begins, a special symbol is selected at random to be the Expanding Symbol for the duration of the Free Games.”
In other words, Book of Dead did not invent the format. It refined one Novomatic had been running for over a decade. Greentube lists no RTP for Book of Ra deluxe and review sites give different figures for different versions, so we haven’t printed one.
Notable Book Slot Variants
Legacy of Dead (Play’n GO)
Key Features
- Format: 5 reels, 3 rows, 10 paylines
- Free spins: 10, with unlimited retriggers
- Expanding symbols: each retrigger adds another, up to 9 at once
- Published RTP: 96.58% default, with 94.51%, 91.51%, 87.56% and 84.55% versions
- Max win: 5,000x the bet
- Released: 2 January 2020
Play’n GO’s page says landing Tomb scatters during the round means “the potential for Free Spins is unlimited”. Review sites add that every retrigger brings another expanding symbol, so the whole paytable can eventually expand.
Best for Book of Dead regulars who want a bonus round that grows rather than repeats.
Book of Shadows (Nolimit City)
Key Features
- Format: 5 reels, 3 rows as standard, expandable to 4 or 5 rows
- Shadow Rows: pay extra per spin to add rows and win lines
- Free spins: 10 with a Golden expanding symbol, one redraw allowed
- Gamble: 50/50 double or nothing, plus a gamble into the free spins
- Published RTP: 96.01%
- Max win: 30,338x the bet
- Volatility: Extreme (Nolimit City’s own rating)
- Released: 20 August 2020
The grid is not fixed, and Nolimit City’s game page notes that the free spins “can be chosen with more or less Shadow rows altering the number of spins given”. There is also a feature buy, which Nolimit says “may however be removed in some regulated markets”.
Best for experienced players who want a far higher max win than 5,000x and don’t mind an “extreme” volatility rating.
Book of 99 (Relax Gaming)
Key Features
- Format: 5 reels, 3 rows, 10 paylines
- Published RTP: 99%
- Free spins: 10 for three or more books, or by collecting 99 book symbols in the base game
- Volatility: high or very high (review sites)
- Released: 4 May 2021
Relax Gaming launched Book of 99 in May 2021 and calls it a “first-of-its-kind” 99% RTP book slot. The second trigger route is the distinctive part. Every book that lands in the base game fills a meter, and at 99 the game awards ten free spins. We haven’t printed a max win, because review sites disagree on the exact figure.
Best for RTP-first players. It is the standard book experience with the smallest published house edge in the genre.
Book Slots Compared
| Game | Provider | Released | Grid and lines | Published RTP | Max win | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book of Ra (original) | Novomatic | 2005* | 5×3, 9 lines* | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Book of Dead | Play’n GO | 14 Jan 2016 | 5×3, 10 lines* | 96.21%* | 5,000x* | High or very high* |
| Legacy of Dead | Play’n GO | 2 Jan 2020 | 5×3, 10 lines* | 96.58%* | 5,000x* | High* |
| Book of Shadows | Nolimit City | 20 Aug 2020 | 5×3 to 5×5 | 96.01% | 30,338x | Extreme |
| Book of 99 | Relax Gaming | 4 May 2021* | 5×3, 10 lines* | 99% | Not confirmed | High or very high* |
*Taken from two or more independent review sites because the provider’s page does not list it. RTP values are the published default.
Which Book Slot Should You Choose?
If you have never played a book slot, start with Book of Dead. Its rules are the ones every other game in the genre assumes you know, and a free demo sits on Play’n GO’s own site, so you can watch a few free spin rounds before any money is involved.
Want the bonus to build rather than repeat? Legacy of Dead adds expanding symbols with each retrigger. Anyone who looks at published RTP first will lean towards Book of 99. If you want control over rows and a 30,338x ceiling, and you are comfortable with a game its own studio labels “extreme”, Book of Shadows is the one.
Whichever you pick, set a budget before you load the game and treat the free spins as the entertainment you are paying for. A long quiet stretch is the normal experience in a book slot, not a sign that a bonus is due. Our online slot tips cover bankroll pacing.
Conclusion
Book of Dead is the best-known version of a format Novomatic first put on reels in 2005, with a book that is both wild and scatter, ten free spins and one randomly chosen symbol that expands to fill its reel. Play’n GO’s version added a 96.21% default RTP, a 5,000x max win and the Rich Wilde theme.
Legacy of Dead stacks expanding symbols, Book of Shadows lets you pay for extra rows and pushes the ceiling to 30,338x, and Book of 99 trades features for a 99% published return. Check the info screen in whichever one you choose, because the RTP version your casino runs is the figure that applies to you, and each spin is decided by the random number generator whatever the feature set.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The default published Book of Dead RTP is 96.21%. Play’n GO’s game page does not list it, but independent review sites agree on the figure. Lower RTP configurations also exist, so the version a casino runs can be below 96.21%. The game’s information screen shows the live figure.
The maximum win is 5,000 times the bet, reached when a high-paying symbol is chosen as the expanding symbol and fills the screen during free spins. It is a ceiling rather than a common outcome. Legacy of Dead shares the same cap.
Book of Ra by Novomatic, released in 2005, is the game the genre is usually traced back to. It introduced the wild-and-scatter book, ten free games and a randomly selected expanding symbol. Book of Dead, released in 2016, uses the same structure with ten paylines and a new theme.
Yes. Play’n GO hosts a free demo on its own website, and most slot review sites embed the same demo. It uses the same rules and reels as the real-money game, so it is the quickest way to see how the expanding symbol pays.
Of the games covered here, Book of 99 by Relax Gaming has the highest published RTP at 99%. Legacy of Dead’s default is 96.58%, Book of Dead’s is 96.21% and Book of Shadows is 96.01%. Lower versions of several of these games exist, so check the figure in the game you are playing.
Top Bonus Pick
