Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead is arguably the most famous Egyptian-themed pokie in the world, and plenty of Australian players know it by name. Play'n GO launched this slot in 2016, casting adventurer Rich Wilde as an explorer digging through a pharaoh's tomb for the legendary Book of Dead. You can spin it in AUD at online casinos, and the free demo on this page lets you play without an account or a deposit. Because Aussies typically search for the Book of Dead pokie or its RTP, here is a straight-talking look at how the slot behaves and where things stand legally.
How Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead plays
The layout is a familiar five reels, three rows and ten fixed paylines, paying from the leftmost reel across. Rich Wilde is the premium symbol, joined by a golden scarab, Anubis, the pharaoh mask and the standard card royals. The gilded Book of Dead does the heavy lifting as both wild and scatter: it fills in for other symbols and, when enough books land, it opens the free spins feature. Just before the round starts, the game picks one ordinary symbol at random to become a special expanding symbol. During the free spins that chosen symbol stretches to cover an entire reel whenever it can help form a win, and this is what creates the game's biggest results. A gamble feature is also offered after wins, giving you the option to guess a card's colour or suit to try to double up.
Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead RTP, volatility and max win
Book of Dead runs a default RTP of 96.21 percent, roughly in line with the market average, although operators can deploy lower configured versions so the paytable is always worth a glance. It is a high-volatility pokie, so wins tend to be less frequent but heftier when they hit. The top prize is 5,000 times your stake on a single paid spin, most often reached when the expanding symbol blankets several reels during the free spins.
Playing Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead in Australia
It is important to be clear about the legal position. Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, online casino and pokie games cannot be licensed for or advertised to Australian residents, so any casino offering Book of Dead to Australians does so from an offshore licence rather than a domestic one. The game itself plays in AUD at those sites, and the free demo above needs no registration, so you can see the mechanics for yourself at no cost. We are describing the game here, not suggesting it is locally regulated.
Is Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead worth playing?
As a piece of game design, Book of Dead remains a benchmark. The stripped-back ten-line grid, high-variance model and single expanding symbol give the free spins a real sense of anticipation, which is why it has stayed popular for years. The flip side of that volatility is longer losing runs, so it suits players who set a budget and stick to it rather than those chasing a quick win. Try it free first to judge whether the pace is for you. However you play, treat it as entertainment and set firm limits, and our responsible gambling resources are there if you ever need support or self-help tools.
