What are "Book of" slots?
'Book of' slots come in a number of themes. They all have one feature in common: the Expanding Symbol bonus feature.
During the free spins mode, the Expanding Symbol feature activates on any of the available paytable symbols and, when a minimum number of the expanding symbol, usually 3, appear on the reels, they will expand to cover the entire matched reels, ensuring big potential wins.
Book of Ra
The most famous and popular online "Book of" game is Greentube's Book of Ra Deluxe.
The Book of Ra slot game is one of the most entertaining games ever made. Originally created by Novoline and Gaminator, the Book of Ra series put a unique twist on a familiar experience. Years of improvements have yielded not one but many distinct versions of the game, each with its own unique spin of this Ancient Egyptian saga.
All of the Book of Ra games are of course available on Starcasino.be.
Book of Ra Classic – March 3, 2005
Book of Ra Classic was the first of the series to be released back in March 2005. Offering a fairly simple and straightforward gameplay, the game’s unique theme won it over the appreciation of players eager to dig deeper in the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.
At the time, the game offered a rather modest payout of 92.13% return-to-player (RTP) rate. The classic version came with 9 paylines and 5 reels, a traditional built for most games at the time.
The payouts in Book of Ra Classic are awarded according to a left-to-right pattern. The game also features a wild symbol designed as a Book, supposedly secreting away the knowledge of the god himself.
Upon lining up 3 wild symbols, players may enter the bonus level where they are granted 10 free spins. Each win is accompanied by a ‘risk’ option, where a player stakes their money on the flip of a coin for a chance to double his or her profit. A player may use the risk function up to 5 times.
Book of Ra Deluxe – April 11, 2008
It took a while, but Novomatic followed through with an update on the popular classic version, releasing Book of Ra Deluxe in April, 2008. It is one of their most played games to date even though they have released another 6 slots in the series since then. The game was a significant improvement in graphical terms, with Novomatic sprucing up the overall interface and design.
Apart from the visual touches, the developers also introduced an additional payline, bringing the total number of winning combinations to 10. The bonus level, once again triggered with 3 or more book symbols, also allows players to benefit from improved theoretical payouts and 10 free spins.
There is an Explorer symbol which can easily award players 500,000 coins in total payouts so long as 5 of these symbols are lined up on a winning combination. One notable feature of the game is volatility.
Book of Ra Deluxe is a high volatility slot, meaning players will need to arm themselves with patience as the payouts will occur less often, but they will bring higher profit. The RTP rate in the Deluxe version has been boosted to 95.5%.
Book of Ra Deluxe 6 – August 31, 2015
Following in the popularity of the game, Novomatic decided to return to the title after a 7-year hiatus. Book of Ra 6 online bears all the markings of its time – eye-pleasing with smoothed rough edges, the game definitely strikes home with traditionalists and new generations of players.
In nearly every aspect, the Deluxe 6 version is a successor of the previous versions. Yet, there’s an interesting spin whereby the game comes with 6 and not 5 reels as in the earlier games. Nevertheless, you still have 10 paylines and a special symbol, which when triggered, activates 10 free spins.
Book of Ra Deluxe 6’s RTP is listed as 96% making it a slight improvement on the previous version as well. The game also offers you a chance to trigger a special expanding symbol for extra profits as you play.
The expanding symbol will cover three positions in the free games level. Not least of all, you can once again use the ‘risk’ or ‘gamble’ version up to five times for a potentially huge payout. The betting limits are accommodating, and you may bet between 0.01 and 100.00 units.
Book of Ra Jackpot Edition – April 2017
With progressive jackpot achieving a significant status in iGaming, Novomatic has decided to develop an exclusive jackpot game for one of its flagship titles.
Book of Ra Jackpot Edition was released in April 2017 as a high volatility game with theoretical 94.26% RTP. In terms of reels, Book of Ra is back to basics with 10 paylines and 5 reels. The size of the bets has been adjusted to 0.10 and 20.00 per spin.
Novomatic has decided to top the maximum payout per individual spin at 500 times your current stake, bringing the potential payout to 500*20.00. Just like in the other iterations of this title, the Book symbol will grant you access to the 10 free spins levels to pursue better payouts.
The bonus game is designed to boost your potential winnings by replacing certain symbols and substituting them with wilds. Needless to say, the graphics are quite delightful as is Novomatic’s signature style.
Book of Ra Magic – May 8, 2018
Book of Ra Magic was launched in 2018, with one thing becoming evident immediately; Novomatic has been revving up the frequency of fresh releases, following through with fans’ requests for even better versions of the game. This game has been extremely popular in online casinos such as Starcasino. Book of Ra Magic is a successor of Book of Ra Deluxe in every aspect, but one – the bonus game has been touched up for some extra benefits.
Everything else remains the same, bar a few tweaks to the interface to achieve a daisy-fresh crispness. Other than that, players will still very much be pursuit of the Book of Ra symbols to trigger the 10 free play games.
However, there is a twist! While you are at the free play game, you can re-trigger the level for another 10 free spins, so long as you get the Book of Ra to show up on your reels once again. This innovative bonus mechanic is definitely quite welcome and an interesting way to bring the potential payouts up!
Book of Ra Dice – June 5, 2018
Welcome back to the arcade dynamics. Book of Ra dice is one of the latest releases in the series, but it nevertheless comes with a very retro vibe all over it. The visuals are superb and they are tweaked to appeal to a crowd which has grown with HTML5 games.
Yet, the sounds are intentionally designed as that of a 2D game. Once again, the goal of the game is to land the biggest win. This title comes with 9 paylines and 5 reels, offering a well-rounded and familiar Book of Ra experience.
The symbols feature the Pharaoh, Book of Ra, and the explorer himself who is always eager to get to the free game. The 10 free spins are once again triggered as soon as you land the required Book symbols. You can still benefit from the gamble feature, though, so keep this in mind!
As usual, players can enjoy the special expanding symbol, which will cover the reels and helps you along with your paylines. Plus, the dice graphic addons are always a fun part of the experience, as they come in various colours and create a more engaging and immersive experience.
Book of Ra Mystic Fortunes – October 10, 2018
Book of Ra Mystic Fortunes is Novomatic’s latest version of the popular slot – at least as a pure slot game. The design is familiar and fans will definitely find this title to be up to their high standards for graphics and sound.
As to gameplay, there are some familiar scenarios and unexpected twists. Once again, you will need to be on the lookout for the Book of Ra symbol to access the bonus game and the desired 10 free games.
Better yet, though, you can benefit from a jackpot feature. Yes, Book of Ra is full of mystery and thankfully – fortunes. The Book of Ra symbol would once again be essential to accessing the bonus level. Once it pops on the reels, you will have a chance to trigger the jackpot game, and there, you will end up choosing from coins.
You must match three of the same coins to hit the jackpots, which come as mini, minor, major and grand and each pays 5x, 20x, 80x and 10,000x of your stake respectfully.
Book of Ra Bingo – October 25, 2018
Novomatic means business in one of the most innovative versions of the game – Book of Ra Bingo, an interesting amalgamation of slot and bingo gameplay. Some of the key features of this interesting product include up to 11 extra balls available to be purchased by the player and up to 4 bingo cards.
There are free extra balls to benefit from as well as a joker ball. The Book of Ra slot bonus game is an indelible part of the bingo version and you can expect some decent payouts when you trigger the game.
And while the design is the spitting image of the classic slot, this is a bingo game nevertheless. There are 4 3×5 bingo cards with the numbers drawn from 1 to 90. Your objective is to win one of the combinations. The winnings vary slightly from one combination to the next and you will be paid accordingly.
Supplementing your regular bingo combinations with up to 10 free games is definitely a nice touch and a way to add excitement to your experience.
Other "Book of" games
There are many other games using the "Book of" game mechanisms. The most popular one of all other is Book of Dead. Swinging into the gaming scene in 2016 from Play’n Go, Book of Dead appeared bringing brand new adventures to the world of slots by popularising the“Book of” slot mechanics. The Book of Dead game features Rich Wilde's escapades through ancient Egyptian temples.
Besides Book of Ra and Book of Dead, Starcasino.be offers you "Book of" games from a variety of providers such as Spinomenal, GameArt, Synot, AirDice, Games Global, Quickspin and many more.