Game file
Book of Dead slot: expanding symbol, five RTP versions and spec card
Play'n GO's classic book slot: one symbol is wild and scatter, and a random expanding symbol decides the free spins.
The legal status of casino-style games offered by bookmakers is disputed in South Africa and depends on the province that licenses the bookmaker.
Try the Book of Dead demo
Play'n GO publishes a demo of Book of Dead, and the frame above loads that official version when you press play. The screenshots on this page come from the same demo: the intro screen that explains free spins and the expanding symbol, the base game, a small line win and the paytable. In demo mode you can see how often three books land and how much the expanding symbol changes a free spins round, with play credits only. The gamble feature appears there too, which is a reason to look at it without real money first. The PAYTABLE button opens three pages, the scatter and expanding symbol page and the two symbol tables quoted above, and the question mark at the bottom left opens the full written rules. Credits cannot be cashed out; see the demo modes page.
Where to play Book of Dead for real money
Provincially licensed South African bookmakers whose published game lobbies list Book of Dead, ordered by our score. Check that the game is in the lobby of your account before you deposit.
| # | Bookmaker | Score | Welcome offer | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  BetsheziWestern Cape licenceRead review | Up to R10,000 in match bonuses over first four deposits, plus R50... | Play now | |
| 2 |  ScorebetNorthern Cape licenceRead review | First Deposit 100% Match (up to R5,000) plus up to 150 Free Spins on... | Play now | |
| 3 |  SunBetMpumalanga, North West licenceRead review | None on file | Play now | |
| 4 |  SportingbetWestern Cape licenceRead review | Triple Welcome Bonus: up to R3,000 in bonus funds spread across first... | Play now | |
| 5 |  World Sports BettingWestern Cape licenceRead review | None on file | Play now | |
| 6 |  GbetsWestern Cape licenceRead review | 50 Free Spins and a R50 Free Bet for new customers | Play now | |
| 7 |  LottoStarMpumalanga licenceRead review | 100% Habanero Deposit Bonus | Play now | |
| 8 |  YesPlayWestern Cape licenceRead review | 100% deposit bonus up to R3,000, minimum deposit R20, valid 7 days | Play now |
18+ Casino-style games at bookmakers are offered under provincial licences, and their legal status is disputed nationally since a 2025 appeal court ruling on Gauteng bookmakers. Welcome offers have terms; read them first. Set a limit and never play to win back losses. Help: National Responsible Gambling Programme, 0800 006 008, responsible gambling.
Book of Dead at a glance
Book of Dead is a Play'n GO slot released on 14 January 2016, on 5 reels, 3 rows and up to 10 paylines. The book symbol is both wild and scatter: three or more award 10 free spins, and before they start one symbol is chosen at random to expand and cover whole reels during the round. Volatility is very high and the top win 5,000x. The default RTP is 96.21%, but Play'n GO ships four lower versions, down to 84.18%.
Book of Dead is the best-known of the "book" slots, a format in which one symbol does two jobs and a single expanding symbol decides the free spins. It is simple to learn and very swingy to play. The most important fact about it is not on the reels at all: the RTP the bookmaker chooses can differ by 12 percentage points from one lobby to another. This file explains the lines, the book, the expanding symbol, the gamble feature and the five RTP versions in rand.
The spec card relies on one established slot reference source. Everything this file adds about lines, symbol values, the expanding symbol and the gamble comes from the rules and paytable screens inside Play'n GO's own demo, and from Play'n GO's game page, which confirms the release date of 14 January 2016, the 10 free spins and the retrigger.
Ten selectable paylines
The grid is the classic 5x3, with up to 10 paylines. Unlike most modern slots, you can choose to play fewer lines, from one to ten. Fewer lines lower the stake per spin, but they also leave winning combinations on unplayed lines unpaid, which matters a lot during free spins when expanding symbols fill whole reels.
The rules screen adds three details. Lines are numbered and always switched on in order, so playing five lines means lines 1 to 5. A stake has three parts: the number of lines, the coins per line (1 to 5) and the coin value, and the total bet is lines times coins times coin value. Line wins pay from left to right starting on the leftmost reel, only the highest win per line is paid, and wins on different lines are added together.
What each symbol pays
The paytable quotes line wins as multiples of the bet per line. With all 10 lines in play, the bet per line is a tenth of the total bet, so the figures below are also given as multiples of the total bet.
| Symbol | 5 on a line | 4 | 3 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Wilde, the explorer | 5,000x line bet (500x total) | 1,000x | 100x | 10x |
| Pharaoh mask | 2,000x (200x total) | 400x | 40x | 5x |
| Anubis | 750x (75x total) | 100x | 30x | 5x |
| Falcon | 750x (75x total) | 100x | 30x | 5x |
| A and K | 150x (15x total) | 40x | 5x | - |
| Q, J and 10 | 100x (10x total) | 25x | 5x | - |
Only the explorer and the four picture symbols pay for two of a kind; the card symbols need three. The book pays as a scatter on the total bet, anywhere on the reels: 2x for three, 20x for four and 200x for five, added to any line wins.
The book: wild and scatter
The book symbol substitutes for other symbols on a line, like any wild, and also works as the scatter: three or more anywhere trigger 10 free spins. Free spins can be retriggered by landing books again during the round.
Free spins and the expanding symbol
- Trigger. Three or more books award 10 free spins.
- A symbol is chosen. Before the round, one regular symbol is picked at random to be the expanding symbol.
- It expands. During free spins, that symbol can expand to cover whole reels, which can turn a few scattered symbols into full lines.
- Retrigger. Three or more books during the round add another 10 free spins.
The rules spell out when the expansion happens. Regular line wins are counted first. Then the special symbol expands to cover all three positions on its reel, but only if expanding produces an extra prize on an active line. Expanded symbols do not need to sit on neighbouring reels: in free spins only, the special symbol pays with gaps allowed, from any reel where a winning combination is possible. Free spins are played at the bet and with the number of lines of the spin that triggered them.
The chosen symbol decides most of the round. A high-paying expanding symbol across several reels produces the game's big wins; a low-paying one, or one that rarely lands, can leave a free spins round worth very little. That is the very high volatility in practice.
It also explains the top win. If the explorer is the expanding symbol and covers all five reels, each of the 10 lines holds five explorers, worth 5,000 line bets each. Ten lines of that equal 5,000 times the total bet, the ceiling the paytable states as 250,000 coins at the top bet of 50 coins.
The gamble feature
After a win in the main game, Book of Dead offers an optional gamble on a face-down card. Guess the colour, a 1 in 2 chance, and the win doubles; guess the suit, a 1 in 4 chance, and it quadruples. A wrong guess loses the win. The rules allow up to five gambles in a row and cap them at 2,500 coins, state that the gamble does not change the game's overall RTP, and switch it off during Auto Play. Over time the gamble does not improve your return, and it is easy to give back a good win in a few clicks. If you want a rule, the simplest is to collect.
Five RTP versions: from 96.21% to 84.18%
The source lists a default of 96.21% and four lower versions: 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.18%. The bookmaker chooses one, and the game's info screen shows which. The rules page in Play'n GO's own demo does not print an RTP figure, so the demo does not tell you which version a bookmaker runs; only the lobby's own game information can.
That is one of the widest spreads in this guide, next to Habanero's 86% to 98%. Over a long run the 84.18% version keeps more than four times as much of every R100 as the default. Check the info screen before you play; if you cannot find the figure, assume the worst rather than the best.
Tool
Book of Dead RTP explainer
- Total staked
- R1,000.00
- Average returned
- -
- Average cost
- -
- Per R100 staked
- -
An average over a very large number of spins, not a prediction. A real session can end far above or far below it, and the more volatile the game, the wider that spread.
How swingy Book of Dead is
The source rates Book of Dead very high volatility, with a top win of 5,000x the stake. Expect long stretches without free spins, and free spins rounds that range from almost nothing to very large, depending on the expanding symbol.
Where Book of Dead is listed
Licensed bookmakers whose published pages name Book of Dead or list Play'n GO games are shown at the foot of this page; lobbies change, so check the bookmaker's own list. The legal status of casino-style games at bookmakers is disputed and depends on the province: a 2025 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling bars Gauteng bookmakers from casino games, while the Western Cape board says its licensees are not affected.
For other very high-volatility games, see Gates of Olympus and Hot Hot Fruit; for the full list sorted by RTP, see high RTP slots.
Playing the book with a limit
What helps
- Checking which of the five RTP versions runs
- Playing all 10 lines if you play at all
- Collecting wins instead of gambling them
- A stop-loss set in advance
What does not
- Using the gamble to recover losses
- Cutting lines to stretch a budget
- Expecting the expanding symbol to be a high one
- Chasing free spins after a dry spell
Responsible gambling
Book of Dead spin budget
- Spins if nothing comes back
- -
- Staked per hour
- -
- Average cost per hour
- -
- Stop-loss to set
- -
- Set the deposit limit in your bookmaker account before you start, not during a session.
- Use a timer: the clock runs faster than it feels when rounds take seconds.
- Never raise the stake to win back a loss.
Averages only: a single session can lose the whole budget much faster. Free, confidential help: National Responsible Gambling Programme, 0800 006 008. 18+ only.
Slots are for adults aged 18 and over. For limits, self-exclusion and free counselling, see responsible gambling.
Book of Dead screenshots
Game images: Play'n GO, from the official demo. Screenshots show demo mode with play credits, not real-money play.
Listed in the game lobbies of
Names only, from the bookmakers' published game lobbies. Not a recommendation to play.
Questions and answers
Who makes Book of Dead?
Play'n GO. The game was released on 14 January 2016.
What is the RTP of Book of Dead?
The default is 96.21%, with lower versions at 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.18%. The bookmaker chooses one; the info screen shows which.
How do free spins work in Book of Dead?
Three or more book symbols award 10 free spins. A symbol is chosen at random to expand across reels during the round, and free spins can be retriggered.
Is the book symbol wild?
Yes. The book is both the wild and the scatter.
What is the maximum win in Book of Dead?
5,000x the stake, according to the spec card.
Should I use the gamble feature?
It risks a win you already have on a guess, for up to five rounds. It does not improve your return over time.
Can I play fewer lines in Book of Dead?
Yes, from 1 to 10. Fewer lines lower the stake but leave wins on unplayed lines unpaid.
What does Rich Wilde pay in Book of Dead?
Five explorers on a line pay 5,000x the bet per line, which is 500x the total bet with all 10 lines in play. Four pay 1,000x, three 100x and two 10x the line bet.
How does the Book of Dead gamble work?
After a main-game win you can guess the colour of a face-down card to double it (1 in 2) or its suit to quadruple it (1 in 4), up to five times and up to 2,500 coins. A wrong guess loses the win.
Do expanded symbols need to be next to each other?
No. In free spins the special expanding symbol pays with gaps allowed, from any reel where a winning combination is possible, and it only expands when that adds a prize.