Book of Ra Deluxe Slot Review (Novomatic)

The Book of Ra Deluxe slot is played on the classic setup of 5 reels and 3 rows, and there are 10 paylines to play with. All winning combinations need to begin from reel 1 and be on successive reels across any of the paylines. You will need 3 or more matching symbols for a win. However, there is one exception of the 2 higher value symbols where you only need 2 to make a win.

The stake range starts at 10p and goes up to £50.  You can toggle between the bet amounts by using the plus and minus signs in the boxes below the grid.

The Book of Ra Deluxe RTP (or Return to Player rate) is 95.1% which is below the online average of 96%. However, as this originated from a land casino game, the average RTP in land casinos is 95%. There is also a 94.26% RTP version, which may be available at some best casino sites.

Book of Ra Deluxe is highly volatile, which means wins occur less often. Its hit frequency is 30%, meaning that a winning combination typically appears every 3.33 spins on average. From a max win point of view, the game can award 5,000 times bet max wins on each spin or free spin. 

The Book or Ra Deluxe slot was released in 2008 and is the most popular of all Novomatic slots. The original Book of Ra game was released back in 2005 and it was a hit in Germany before finding fame in land-based casinos. It was then developed into an online version, which was an instant success. 

The slot has an ancient Egyptian theme, with an explorer fronting the game. He is leading an expedition through the ancient lands of Egypt. During his adventure, he’s hoping to find undiscovered treasure including the fabled Book or Ra buried deep in the pyramids. 

Sound effects are very land casino-like, so expect plenty of tinny beeps, cash registers and clunks.

The grid is set against pillars in an ancient pyramid complete with hieroglyphics and a gold statue of a mummy. The symbols are brightly coloured and the font and imagery have an Egyptian style. The paytable instructions are written on papyrus to suit the topic.

In the background of the base game, the brilliant red and orange sun sets against the mystical pyramids. When you trigger the Free Games feature you switch into the dark and dank chamber of a pyramid. The music turns into traditional Egyptian music, complete with flutes and harps.

The reel's higher-value characters start with the adventurer. Next are the mummy, Horus statue, and scarab beetle. These are then followed by the standard symbols A, K, Q, J, and 10. Finally, there is the Book of Ra, which acts as the Wild AND Scatter symbols. Here are the payout amounts of each symbol:

• Q/J/10:  3, 4 or 5 pays 0.5, 2.5 or 10 x bet
• A/K: 3, 4 or 5 pays 0.5, 4 or 15 x bet
• Horus/Scarab Beetle: 2, 3, 4 or 5 pays 0.5, 3, 10 or 75 x bet
• Mummy: 2, 3, 4 or 5 pays 0.5, 4, 40 or 200 x bet
• Explorer: 2, 3, 4 or 5 pays 1, 10, 100 or 500 x bet
• Book of Ra Wild/Scatter:  3, 4 or 5 pays 2, 20 or 200 x bet

Book of Ra Deluxe Mobile 

Even though Book of Ra is an older slot game, it has been developed to work well on all devices. So, whether you’re using a tablet, smartphone, or desktop to play the game will look superb.

Like many older slot games, there is one bonus feature to enjoy in Book of Ra Deluxe. The spotlight shines on the Free Games feature, which offers free spins. Triggering it requires landing 3 or more Book of Ra Scatters anywhere on the reels. 

This awards you 2, 20, or 200 times your initial bet (for 3, 4, or 5 scatters), and you then enter the bonus round and receive 10 free spins. Just before the feature starts, an expanding symbol is selected at random, you can see in the screenshot below that 10 is the selected expanding symbol. Whenever this symbol lands on the reels, it expands to cover the entire reel, provided it contributes to a winning combination. If the chosen symbol appears on all five reels, it fills every position on the screen.

Each spin has the possibility of giving you a max win. Below are the amounts that are possible with each symbol:

• Adventurer: 2, 3, 4 or 5 reels pays 10, 100, 1,000 or 5,000 x bet
• Mummy: 2, 3, 4 or 5 reels pays 5, 40, 400 or 2,000 x bet
• Horus & Scarab: 2, 3, 4 or 5 reels pays 3, 30, 100 or 750 x bet
• A & K: 3, 4 or 5 reels pays 5, 40 or 150 x bet
• Q, J & 10: 3, 4 or 5 reels pays 5, 24 or 100 x bet

To give you an example, in order to win the max win of 5,000x your bet, you would need to land the highest paying symbol -the Adventurer on all 5 reels.

The screenshot below shows the Free Games bonus round and how the symbols look on the grid.

Book of Ra Deluxe Slot

Rating: 4.5/5

The Book of Ra Deluxe slot is an iconic game that is very popular online and in land-based casinos. Importantly, it's inspired countless other clones and spin-offs as well Book of Dead.

Jenny Mason

If you’re a fan of land-based slot games with a vintage feel, you’ll love the Book of Ra Deluxe slot game. The imagery and graphics look dated by modern-day standards, but that is part of the charm of these older slot games that have become classics. Other examples include Lord of the Ocean (which is identical in terms of gameplay) and Lucky Lady's Charm Deluxe (which offers 27,000 x bet max wins). 

Book of Ra Deluxe has lead to many 'Book of' slot games which are hugely popular in the online slots world. One of the most well-known games is Book of Dead by Play 'n GO. It has also been the catalyst of sequels including Book of Ra - Temple of Gold and Book of Ra Magic.

A negative is the sound effects which I found grating, I ended up muting them, but they are in line with land casino sounds. So it’s a case of personal preference. Also, the RTP is much lower than standard online slot games too (around 96%). 

Many modern slot games are filled with tonnes of features, but this game has just the one bonus round featuring free spins. However, there is something appealing about this, just keeping it simple. There is enough within the game to hold your interest with the expanding symbol and various max win amounts.

There are oodles of ancient Egyptian-themed slot games out there, but this one is a keeper because it is one of the originals, so enjoy. If you're looking for a casino site to play at OLBG has a range of casino offers available.

The slot review was written by our slot game experts on the OLBG Expert team. Beginning with Jenny Mason our prime slot reviewer who has 17+ years in online gambling, working for top UK brands. Jenny is an expert in slots and bingo. It was then verified by Chris Taylor who has written over 10,000 slot game reviews in an iGaming career spanning over 2 decades.  

Jenny Mason

Queen of Bingo

Jenny Mason has more than 17 years of experience in the online gambling industry and has worked for some of the UK’s top betting brands. She started at OLBG in 2014 and her role involves creating great content and looking after the marketing activity. Jenny is knowledgeable in all areas of online sports betting and has an interest in slots and bingo.

Chris Taylor

The King of Slots

Chris Taylor is an industry veteran originally from Gibraltar. Having worked in the online gambling industry since 2004, Chris loves slots and has reviewed over 10,000 online slot games. Running a slots-focused website for 13 years, Chris is the go-to guy for everything slots-related.