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Last Updated on 23 Oct 2026
8 min read
| Game Developer | Play'n GO |
|---|---|
| Release Date | January 2016 |
| RTP | 96.21 |
| Volatility | high |
| Bonus Feature |
| Bonus Rounds | |
|---|---|
| Free Spins | |
| Quickspin Feature | |
| Gamble Feature | |
| Mulitplier |
| Autoplay | |
|---|---|
| Progressive Jackpot | |
| Configurable Winlines | |
| Min. Bet | 0.0100 |
| Max. Bet | 100.00 |
The expanding symbol free spins in Book of Dead are still the whole story here, and that single feature still holds up years after release. On paper, it is a simple 5 reel, 3 row slot with 10 paylines, 96.21 percent RTP, high volatility, and up to 5,000x max win. In practice, the way those free spins unfold keeps it tense. One bonus can flip everything.
What drew me in during testing was how quickly a single expanding premium symbol can swing a session. If you are browsing classic Egypt titles on our free slot games page, this one earns its reputation as the purest book-style take around.
Book of Dead uses a 5 reel, 3 row layout with up to 10 adjustable paylines. Wins pay from left to right, and you can change coin value and number of lines to scale your total spin up or down.
The Book symbol acts as both wild and scatter, so it can substitute to complete line wins and also trigger the bonus. Landing 3 or more Books anywhere on the reels awards 10 free spins.
Before free spins start, one regular symbol is randomly chosen to become an expanding special. When this symbol appears during the bonus, it can expand to cover its entire reel and pays on all active lines even if the symbols are not adjacent.
Free spins can be retriggered by landing 3 or more Books again during the feature. There is also an optional play game after any win where you can try to guess card color or suit to multiply your return.

Book of Dead has a 96.21 percent RTP, which means that over a very long period the game is expected to return 96.21 percent of all spins to players as prizes. This is close to the industry average for online slots, so it sits in a fair zone for this style of game.
The volatility is high, so returns can be sparse in the base game with most of the serious potential packed into free spins. Sessions can swing quickly because many small dead spins are offset by occasional large hits, especially when premium symbols expand across several reels.
This profile suits players who are comfortable with dry spells while chasing fewer but larger bonus rounds. Those who prefer steady small hits may find the pacing tougher and might want to stick to shorter sessions.
All listed payouts are multiples of your line spin, with wins counted from the leftmost reel across active paylines. The Book symbol is both wild and scatter, paying scatter wins and substituting for all regular symbols to form line wins.
| Symbol | 3-of-a-kind | 4-of-a-kind | 5-of-a-kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Wilde (Explorer) | 100x | 1,000x | 5,000x |
| Osiris (Pharaoh) | 40x | 400x | 2,000x |
| Horus | 30x | 100x | 750x |
| Anubis | 30x | 100x | 750x |
| Ace | 5x | 40x | 150x |
| King | 5x | 40x | 150x |
| Queen | 5x | 25x | 100x |
| Jack | 5x | 25x | 100x |
| 10 | 5x | 25x | 100x |
Explorer, Osiris, Horus, and Anubis are premium symbols, and some of them pay from just 2-of-a-kind, which helps during expanding symbol free spins. The card ranks Ace through 10 are lower payers and require at least 3-of-a-kind.
The biggest practical hits tend to arrive when a high symbol is chosen as the expanding special, then covers 3 or more reels during free spins. Because expanded symbols pay on all active paylines regardless of exact line position, a single spin can connect many winning lines at once.

Book of Dead does not have a fixed or progressive jackpot, but it does have a strong fixed ceiling. The advertised maximum payout is 5,000x your total spin amount.
This is theoretically possible during free spins when the Explorer symbol is chosen as the expanding special and fills a large part of the grid. Reaching that top end will be very rare, so most sizeable returns will be smaller but still meaningful multiples of your spin amount.

No strategy can change the outcomes in Book of Dead, since every spin is determined by a random number generator. That means any approach should focus on managing your balance and understanding how the bonus behaves. Keep your expectations realistic.
Running the demo showed me that free spins can take a while to land, especially if you are hoping for a premium expanding symbol. I prefer starting on a lower total spin amount so I can see a few bonus rounds before deciding whether to increase stakes.
If autoplay is available in your jurisdiction, setting a modest number of auto spins with a loss limit can help stick to your plan. Remember that long losing streaks or a big prize streak do not influence what happens on the next spin.

Book of Dead uses clear 2D illustrated art with bold outlines and strong contrast on the main characters. The reels sit in front of an Egyptian tomb interior, with stone columns, golden trim, and hieroglyphs framing the action. It looks focused, not cluttered.
On bigger wins, symbols pulse with a warm glow while payline paths are highlighted and the Book flips open with animated pages. When expanding symbols trigger in free spins, the entire reel flashes as it fills, which gives a clear sense that something major just happened.
The soundtrack leans on dramatic orchestral themes with soft drums and flutes during regular spins. I really noticed how the audio spikes into sharper, higher tempo cues when free spins trigger, with extra chime sounds as expanding wins land.
You can play the Book of Dead demo here on Gamesville completely free, with no download or registration needed. This is the best way to see how the expanding symbol feature feels before any real-money decisions.
For real-money play in the United States, one option is social and sweepstakes casinos that host similar Egypt-themed slots for gold coins and sweepstakes entries, which you can compare on our sweepstakes casinos page. In states with regulated online gaming, you can find licensed operators on our online casinos page and read about offers that may include free spins on slots at free spins bonuses.
Slots are entertainment, not a way to make money. Set a personal spending limit before you play, and use tools like session timers, time-outs, or self-exclusion to keep things in check.
If playing stops being fun or you feel your control slipping, step away for a while. For more support and practical advice, visit our responsible play guide.
Book of Dead is best suited for players who like high-risk, high-reward slots and do not mind long stretches of quiet spins while waiting for a big bonus. If you enjoy classic book mechanics and want a straightforward ruleset, this hits the mark without unnecessary clutter. It knows exactly what it is.
For me, the strongest part of Book of Dead is how cleanly the expanding symbol free spins are executed. When a premium symbol is chosen, a single good bonus can feel huge, and the way wins count on all lines keeps each free spin loaded with tension. My first Explorer expanding round on test went from flat session to memorable in one spin.
The flip side is that the base game can feel sparse, especially if you go several hundred spins without landing free spins or a solid 4 or 5-of-a-kind. The high volatility also means this is not ideal for very small bankrolls unless you are happy with short sessions.
Despite that, I still rate Book of Dead as one of the essential Egypt slots to try, especially if you want to understand the book-style format. Load up the demo, experiment with different spin amounts, and see whether the bonus rhythm fits how you like to play. Give it some room to breathe.
The RTP of Book of Dead is 96.21 percent. This figure is calculated over a very large number of spins and describes the long term average return, not what any single player will experience in one session.
Book of Dead is a high volatility slot. That means wins can be infrequent, but the game has the potential to deliver sizable returns, particularly during its free spins feature with expanding symbols.
Book of Dead centers on a free spins feature triggered by landing 3 or more Book symbols anywhere on the reels. The Book symbol is both wild and scatter, and during free spins one symbol becomes a special expander that can cover entire reels and pay on all lines.
Book of Dead has up to 10 adjustable paylines across its 5 reels. You can usually choose to play fewer lines if you want a lower total spin amount, though most players stick with all 10 active to keep hit chances as high as possible.
The maximum advertised win on Book of Dead is 5,000 times your total spin amount. This is most likely to occur during free spins when the Explorer symbol is selected as the expanding symbol and lands in large stacks across several reels.
Yes, you can play the Book of Dead demo for free on Gamesville with no download or account registration. The free version uses the same mechanics as real-money play, so it is a good way to learn how the expanding symbol feature works before risking cash.
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