Book of Ra

Book of Ra Slot Review

Book of Ra is Novomatic’s ancient-Egypt slot and the game that made the “book”
format a genre of its own: one symbol that acts as wild, scatter and free-games trigger at the same
time. The original is a five-reel, three-row game with nine win lines, and it has
exactly one feature — land three or more Books anywhere on the reels and you get
10 free games played with a single expanding symbol chosen at random.

It is also the most confusingly named slot in any lobby. Greentube, the Novomatic studio that
publishes the game online, lists 29 separate Book of Ra titles in its catalogue,
from the 2016 bingo edition to Xtension Link – Golden Book of Ra XL in May 2026. Most
pages that rank for “Book of Ra” are describing deluxe, not the original. The
sections below separate them, using the specifications Greentube publishes for each game.

Book of Ra vs Book of Ra deluxe

The difference between the two games people actually mean by “Book of Ra” is a single
line — literally. The original runs nine win lines; deluxe runs
ten. Everything else matches: the same 5×3 grid, the same 10 free games from
three Books, the same special expanding symbol, and the same volatility rating of 5
on Greentube’s own scale.

The original does carry one clause deluxe’s data sheet leaves out: if the chosen expanding
symbol appears two, three, four or five times during the free games, the value of that symbol is
multiplied by the win lines. On the original you also choose how many of the nine lines to play, so
the stake per spin is yours to set.

The free games feature and the expanding symbol

This is the whole game, so it is worth understanding properly. Three or more Book symbols
anywhere in view — they do not need to sit on a line — award 10 free
games. Before the round starts, one of the regular symbols is drawn at random and becomes
the special expanding symbol for the duration.

When that symbol lands during the free games it expands to cover the entire reel it appears on,
and then pays even on non-adjacent positions across the lines you are playing. That
is the difference between a book slot and an ordinary one: a normal slot needs the symbols side by
side from the leftmost reel, while an expanded symbol pays from wherever it lands. Draw the explorer
— the highest-value symbol — and a single spin can carry the whole round. Draw the ten or
the jack and it usually will not.

Two details differ across the family. On Book of Ra Magic, retriggering the feature
unlocks a second expanding symbol, and up to nine can be active at once. On
Temple of Gold, the round starts with one, two or three expanding symbols depending on
whether three, four or five Books triggered it.

Book of Ra symbols

The paytable is short. The low end is the card ranks — 10, J, Q, K and A — cut in
carved stone. Above them sit the themed symbols: the scarab, the statue of the pharaoh, the golden
mask and, at the top, the explorer.

The Book itself does two jobs at once, which is why the game needs no separate wild. It
substitutes for every other symbol to complete a winning combination, and it
counts as a scatter, so three or more of them pay and trigger the free games from
any position on the reels. Wins in the base game run left to right from the first reel, with no gaps
in between.

Which Book of Ra is which

Nine titles carry the name in most European lobbies. They are not versions of one game in the
usual sense — the maths and the grid change considerably from one to the next.

Two of those are worth singling out. Deluxe 10 is not a larger deluxe — it
is a different game: 100 lines spread over two reel sets, wilds that transfer from one set to the
other, and a volatility rating of 2 against the 5 the rest of the family carries.
Expect smaller, more frequent wins. And Win Ways drops win lines altogether for a
reacting grid in which each winning symbol is replaced by the one above it.

What Novomatic publishes about the numbers

Greentube’s data sheet for each title lists game type, volatility, reel count, platforms and
theme, and stops there. That is why third-party RTP figures for Book of Ra disagree with one another
— and it is also why the percentage in the game’s own info or paytable screen at the
casino you are playing is the figure that actually applies to you. Studios commonly ship the same
title at more than one return setting and let the operator pick.

What Greentube does state, for the Buy Bonus build of deluxe, is a top prize of
50,000× the bet and a feature hit rate of 150 to 200 spins. Those
two numbers are the most concrete figures published anywhere in the family, and they give a fair
sense of the shape of the game: long stretches of nothing, then the free games.

Gamble feature

Most Novomatic builds attach the studio’s card gamble to a win. You pick red or black, a
card is turned, and a correct call doubles the amount while a wrong one ends it. It can be repeated
up to five times, and it can be skipped entirely — whether it appears at all depends on the
build the casino has licensed.

Betting range and playing on mobile

On the original you set the number of active lines from one to nine and the credits staked on
each, so the total per spin moves in small steps. The cash value of a credit, the minimum and the
maximum, are set by the casino rather than by the game, so the same title can have very different
limits in two lobbies.

Every Book of Ra title in Greentube’s catalogue lists Desktop and Mobile as its platforms
and runs on NovoSDK, the studio’s HTML5 framework. In practice that means no separate app: the
game loads in a phone browser with the same reels, the same feature and the same paytable, with the
controls moved to the bottom of the screen.

What stands out, and what to know

Book of Ra is a simple game held up by one feature. Here is what that means in practice.

Pros

• One feature to learn: 10 free games with a single expanding symbol
• The expanding symbol pays on non-adjacent positions, not just left to right
• Nine selectable win lines, so the stake per spin is easy to control
• Same build on desktop and mobile — no separate app to install
• Eight further versions if the format suits you, from six reels to 100 lines

Good to know

• Greentube rates volatility 5 — the highest figure it gives any game in this family
• No progressive jackpot; Mystic Fortunes is the version that carries jackpots
• No bonus round beyond the free games
• The return setting depends on the build your casino has licensed

Where to play Book of Ra

Novomatic titles are widely stocked across European casino lobbies, and most sites that carry the
original carry several of the sequels alongside it. If the book format appeals, Play’n GO’s
Book of Dead is the closest relative
outside the Novomatic catalogue — the same Egyptian theme, the same expanding-symbol free
spins, on ten lines. For other classic slots and the studios behind them, the
casino games guide is the place to start.

Book of Ra is a straightforward game with one feature and a high-variance profile, which makes it
a reasonable place to start for anyone new to slots, provided the stake is set at a level that suits
your budget. 18+ only. Play responsibly, set deposit and session limits before you start, and see
GambleAware if
gambling stops being entertainment.