Book of Dead

What the listed figures add up to

Book of Dead carries a default return to player of 96.21%, High volatility and a top win of 5,000x the stake. All three figures come from casino and review listings, not from Play’n GO, whose own page for the game publishes none of them. The listings agree on the 96.21% and the 5,000x cap, while most rate volatility High and one, OLBG, rates it Very High. Taken together, the numbers describe a game with a fairly standard default return, uneven results from spin to spin, and most of its interest concentrated in one feature: ten free spins built around a single randomly chosen symbol. Listings also show lower-return builds, so 96.21% is the default rather than the only version in circulation.

Book of Dead at a glance

Ten spins and one drawn symbol, in the order they happen

Step one: the trigger. The round opens when three or more Book symbols land during ordinary play. Because the Book works as a scatter, it does not need to sit on a payline. Three anywhere on the grid is enough to award 10 free spins.

Step two: the draw. Before the first free spin, the game picks one ordinary symbol at random and marks it as the Special Expanding Symbol for the round. This is the most important moment in Book of Dead. You have no say in it, and it sets the character of the ten spins that follow.

Step three: the spins. The free spins play out on the same 5×3 grid. When the chosen symbol lands, it can grow to fill all three positions on its reel. Its wins are then counted across the active paylines, and unlike ordinary line wins, the reels carrying it do not have to sit next to each other. Copies separated by a reel with no match can still count together, which never happens in the base game.

Step four: the retrigger. If three or more Books land during the round, another 10 spins are added to the count. This is the only way the feature extends itself, and it is the main reason a round can run well beyond its opening ten.

Step five: the ceiling. The listed maximum is 5,000x the bet, and that cap applies however the round unfolds.

The practical point is that two rounds of Book of Dead can feel nothing alike. The drawn symbol and how often it appears decide most of the outcome, and High volatility means a round can finish quietly as easily as it can build. One knock-on effect of the line rules is worth noting: because the expanding symbol pays on active paylines, running fewer than ten lines narrows the routes its expansions can pay along.

Between the Books: the ten-line base game

Outside the feature, Book of Dead is a plain line slot. Wins form along 10 paylines, and listings say the number of active lines can be set anywhere from one to ten. Lines work in the usual way, with matching symbols needing to sit on adjacent reels.

The Book does most of the work. It substitutes for other symbols as a wild, and the same symbol is the scatter that opens free spins. Every Book that lands therefore has two possible jobs, either completing a line or counting towards the trigger.

Beyond that, ordinary spins have very little going on. The only other item in the feature list is a gamble option, which listings describe as guessing a card’s colour or suit after a win. It puts a win you already hold at risk and has no bearing on the free spins or the expanding symbol. Play’n GO’s page does not mention it. In the demo it costs only virtual coins, which makes the free-play version a reasonable place to see how it works without anything real at stake.

The High rating from listings points to an uneven base game, where ordinary spins often return little while the free spins hold most of the game’s potential. That describes the shape of the game rather than a pattern any session will follow.

Character and presentation

The full title is Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead. Rich Wilde is Play’n GO’s own character, so this is the studio’s in-house property rather than a licensed film or television brand. The game dates from 14 January 2016, and its design shows its age in a straightforward way: one fixed grid, one bonus round and one modifier, with no cascades or extra layers.

The studio’s page covers the theme and the feature in outline. The art and sound are best judged by trying the demo. It is also worth knowing that Book of Dead GO Collect, released on 26 February 2026, is a separate game.

Gaps and drawbacks

• No studio figures. Play’n GO publishes no RTP, volatility or max win for the game. The listings agree closely on all three, but none of them is an official statement from the studio.
• More than one return level. Alongside the 96.21% default, listings show builds at 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.18%, and one US listing shows 94.20%. None of the lower figures is confirmed by the studio, but together they mean any given version may not run at 96.21%.
• Volatility not settled. Most listings say High, while OLBG says Very High. Either way, results are uneven.
• One feature carries everything. With no base-game modifiers, a long run without three Books leaves little to engage with.
• A bonus you cannot shape. The value of each round rests on a random draw made before the first spin, and nothing in the game lets you influence it.

Final word on Book of Dead

Book of Dead is built around one idea and does not dress it up. The Book triggers free spins and acts as a wild. Then a single random draw decides which symbol can expand and pay across reels that do not need to be adjacent. Retriggers can add ten spins at a time, and the listed ceiling is 5,000x the bet.

The figures are consistent across listings, but they come from listings, not from Play’n GO, and the existence of lower builds is the main caveat. For anyone who wants to see how the expanding-symbol round behaves, the demo shows it clearly on virtual coins. Expect long stretches of plain line play between features, and rounds that differ sharply depending on the symbol drawn.