Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead is Play'n GO's flagship slot and one of the most recognisable titles in online gaming. First released in 2016, it centres on the adventurer Rich Wilde exploring an ancient Egyptian tomb, with the Book of Dead acting as both the wild and scatter symbol. The 5-reel, 3-row layout with 10 adjustable paylines keeps things uncomplicated, while the expanding symbol mechanic in free spins gives the game its reputation for producing large single-spin payouts.
How Book of Dead Plays
The grid is a classic five-reel, three-row setup with ten paylines. Unlike most modern slots where paylines are fixed, Book of Dead allows you to adjust the number of active lines from 1 to 10. Reducing the paylines lowers the total bet but also reduces the number of winning combinations available. Most players leave all ten active. Bets range from 1p to £100 per spin depending on the payline and coin value configuration.
Symbols follow the Egyptian theme closely. The low-value icons are the standard card ranks from 10 to Ace, styled as hieroglyphics carved into stone tablets. The premium symbols are the Egyptian gods Anubis, Osiris and Horus, along with the adventurer Rich Wilde himself. Rich Wilde is the highest-paying standard symbol at 500x your line bet for five of a kind. The Book of Dead symbol is the most important icon on the reels because it serves a dual purpose, acting as both the wild and the scatter.
As a wild, the Book substitutes for all other symbols to complete winning combinations. As a scatter, it pays in any position regardless of payline alignment, and three or more trigger the free spins bonus.
Free Spins and Expanding Symbols
Three or more Book of Dead symbols anywhere on the reels trigger 10 free spins. Before the round begins, one symbol is selected at random to become the expanding symbol. When this chosen symbol appears on a reel during free spins, it expands to fill all three positions on that reel, regardless of whether it sits on an active payline. Wins are then evaluated across all paylines with the expanded symbol in place.
This mechanic is what gives Book of Dead its high-variance character. If the expanding symbol is Rich Wilde or one of the higher-paying Egyptian gods, a single spin can fill multiple reels and create several overlapping payline wins simultaneously. Five reels of the same expanding symbol across all positions is the route to the 5,000x maximum win.
Retriggering is possible by landing three more Book symbols during the round, adding another 10 free spins. Each retrigger also selects an additional expanding symbol, so late in a long free spins session you can have two or even three symbols with expanding properties active at the same time. Multiple expanding symbols dramatically increase the probability of full-screen wins.
RTP and Volatility
Book of Dead has an RTP of 96.21%, which is roughly average for an online slot. The volatility is high. Base game sessions can run for extended periods without significant returns, with the bulk of the payout potential concentrated in the free spins feature. The 5,000x maximum win is strong for a game of this age and structure, though newer competitors have pushed max win caps much higher.
The variance profile means this is a game that tends to polarise sessions. You will have runs where the base game ticks over with minimal returns and the bonus rarely triggers, and then sessions where a single free spins round with the right expanding symbol produces a payout that covers dozens of previous spins. That swing is built into the mathematics and is the reason Book of Dead has remained popular with players who prefer high-risk, high-reward gameplay.
Where Book of Dead Fits in the Market
When Book of Dead launched in 2016, it entered a market dominated by Novomatic's Book of Ra, which had popularised the expanding symbol free spins format in land-based casinos. Play'n GO took the same core mechanic, updated the graphics, added the Rich Wilde character and optimised the game for mobile play. The result was a slot that quickly became one of the most popular online titles in Europe and remains a fixture at most UK-licensed casinos a decade after its release.
The game spawned its own series within Play'n GO's catalogue. Rich Wilde has appeared in several follow-up titles including Legacy of Dead, Book of Dead 2, and unrelated adventures like Pearls of India and Shield of Athena. However, the original Book of Dead remains the most popular and most commonly offered in casino free spins promotions, partly because casinos know it converts well with players.
Mobile Performance
Book of Dead was one of the earlier slots optimised for mobile-first play, and it shows. The game loads quickly, the 5x3 grid scales well to phone screens, and the animations during the expanding symbol feature run without frame drops on modern devices. The Egyptian theme with its gold and dark blue palette is legible on smaller screens, and the payline adjustment controls are easy to use via touch. Play'n GO's mobile framework handles portrait and landscape orientations, though landscape provides the better view during the expanding symbol reveals in free spins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book of Dead has an RTP of 96.21%. It is a high-volatility slot by Play'n GO with a 5,000x maximum win, first released in 2016.
When free spins are triggered, one symbol is randomly selected to become the expanding symbol. During the bonus round, whenever that symbol lands on a reel it expands to fill all three positions, creating wins across multiple paylines simultaneously.
Yes. Landing three or more Book symbols during free spins awards an additional 10 spins. Each retrigger also selects a new expanding symbol, so you can have multiple expanding symbols active at once.
The Book of Dead acts as both the wild and scatter symbol. As a wild it substitutes for all other symbols. As a scatter, three or more anywhere on the reels trigger 10 free spins with expanding symbols.