How Book of Dead works

Book of Dead uses a 5×3 reel layout and a set of 10 fixed payline patterns. The important wrinkle is that you do not have to activate all 10. The rules allow the first 1-10 paylines to be selected, with lines always activated in numerical order.

That makes the game a useful example of why fixed paylines and selectable paylines are not opposites. The routes themselves stay fixed; what changes is how many of those published routes are active for the spin.

Base-game line wins are evaluated from left to right. The Book symbol is mechanically central because it does two jobs: it acts as the Scatter that can trigger Free Spins, and it also acts as a Wild that substitutes for other symbols.

That still leaves Book of Dead as a defined payline game rather than a Ways or Pay Anywhere system. Wins follow the active line structure in the base game, while the Special Expanding Symbol introduces a specific Free Spins exception described below.

How Book of Dead Free Spins work

The Book symbol acts as both Wild and Scatter. Three or more Book symbols trigger 10 Free Spins.

The feature can also retrigger: another three or more Book/Scatter symbols during Free Spins award 10 additional spins.

The Free Spins are played with the same bet and number of selected paylines as the game round that triggered the feature, unless the rules state otherwise. That means the selected line structure carries into the bonus rather than being replaced by a separate payout system.

What changes is the symbol behaviour. Before the Free Spins sequence begins, the game randomly chooses one ordinary symbol to become the Special Expanding Symbol for that entire sequence.

How the Special Expanding Symbol works

The selected symbol does not simply expand every time it appears. Book of Dead first recognises the ordinary winning combinations on the reels. The Special Expanding Symbol may then grow to cover all three positions on its reel, but only when that expansion creates additional prizes on the active paylines.

That condition matters. Book of Dead is not using a generic “symbol lands, symbol always expands” rule. Expansion is a second evaluation step that depends on whether the larger symbol footprint creates another qualifying prize.

The rules also give the feature an unusual exception to normal line reading: expanded Special Symbols do not have to sit on adjacent reels to contribute to the resulting winning combination. In the Free Spins rules, wins involving the expanded selected symbol can include gaps and still pay left to right, beginning on any reel where a winning combination is possible.

The same selected symbol remains the expansion target for the whole Free Spins sequence. When a new feature starts later, the game makes a fresh random selection.

Book of Dead RTP and versions

Play’n GO documents five RTP configurations for Book of Dead: 96.21%, 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.18%.

So there is no single RTP percentage that applies to every Book of Dead client. The 96.21% version is the highest documented setting Slotathon found, but Play’n GO also documents four lower configurations.

This matters in practice. Our UK-facing casino checks found three of those five documented settings in live game clients, with 94.25% the most common in the sample.

What RTP did Slotathon find at UK casinos?

Slotathon checked Book of Dead across 11 selected UK-facing casino clients on 24-25 September 2026. Every reading below was verified against the original in-game rules screenshot.

The distribution was straightforward: 94.25% at six clients, 91.25% at four and 96.21% at one. We did not encounter the documented 87.25% or 84.18% configurations in this 11-client sample.

How can you check the RTP of your version?

Open the in-game rules or help screen and look for the RTP statement. In the clients Slotathon checked, the rules displayed wording in the form “The average RTP is X%. The RTP is achieved through participation.”

Checking the loaded game itself is more reliable than assuming that one headline percentage applies everywhere, because Book of Dead has several documented math configurations.

Book of Dead volatility and maximum win

Play’n GO classifies Book of Dead as Very High 10/10 volatility.

The same Play’n GO material supports a maximum win of 5,000× total bet. That is a payout ceiling, not a statement about how often that outcome occurs.

Volatility, RTP and maximum win describe different parts of the game model. A Very High volatility label does not by itself tell you the hit frequency, the chance of triggering Free Spins or the likelihood of reaching the maximum win.

What about the optional Gamble round?

Play’n GO’s rules also document an optional post-win card Gamble round. After a prize, the player can choose to risk it by predicting the colour or suit of a face-down card. A correct colour prediction doubles the gambled prize; a correct suit prediction quadruples it.

The rules cap the sequence at up to five successive gambles and a 2,500-coin limit. They also state that the Gamble feature may be disabled in some jurisdictions or by operator choice.

We saw that variation in the casino clients we checked. The Gamble paragraph appeared in six of the 11 UK-facing rules captures and was absent from five. That is a genuine difference between the rules screens, but a missing paragraph alone does not prove that the feature was unavailable in that client.

Which Book of Dead version does this page cover?

This page covers Play’n GO’s original Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, released on 14 January 2016.

The mechanics described above come from Play’n GO’s current game page and rules/settings documents. Dated casino-client observations are kept separate where RTP or the visible rule text differs between configurations.