Hand of Anubis Slot (Hacksaw Gaming)

The Hand of Anubis slot is played on a 5x6 grid with no traditional paylines as it uses the Cluster Pays mechanic. Winning combinations are formed when 5 or more matching symbols connect anywhere on the grid. Connecting vertically and/or horizontally, the more matching symbols in the cluster, the larger the payout.

The biggest payout for each symbol can be achieved by landing 11 or more matching symbols. This means you can achieve cluster wins with multiple symbols on the grid.

You can play Hand of Anubis from 10p to £100 a spin with the max bet reduced/limited at some UK slot sites. To change your bet, use the arrows in the Bet box below the reels. Players outside the UK have Autoplay (up to 1,000 auto spins with loss and single win limits) and Turbo/Super Turbo Modes.

The Hand of Anubis RTP rate is 96.24% which is above the 96% average for a slot game. Hacksaw Gaming has also created 94.32% and 92.28% RTP alternative versions which may be used at various sites. Check by opening the game’s Paytable. The Hand of Anubis demo uses the highest RTP setting as do most demo slots at OLBG. 

Very high volatility (5/5), the hit frequency rate is 36.92% meaning a winning combination or cluster will form every 2.7 spins on average.

Finally, the Hand of Anubis slot game comes with 10,000 times bet max wins. Hacksaw doesn’t share max win probability information but the bigger wins can achieved in the 2 free spins features (more details below).

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.

Released on the 21^st of April 2022, the Hand of Anubis slot has an ancient Egyptian theme but with a darker/more sinister tone. Set in the Afterlife, you join the jackal god (Anubis), the god of funerary rites, protector of graves and guide to the underworld (according to Wikipedia).

With a dark, black backdrop, you’ll see a jackal deity on either side of the grid: one has blue eyes and the other red. The soundtrack is inspired by an oud (a Middle Eastern short-neck guitar) which is chilling and quite terrifying which adds to the intense nature of this game. Graphically though, it’s mesmerising and nothing like the usual stuff you get in ancient Egyptian-themed slots. It reminds me a little, visually, of Nolimit City’s Book of Shadows for some reason.

On the 5x6 grid, there are low-value A, K, Q, J and 10 royals as well as higher-value scarab beetles, the Eye of Ra, pyramids, Cobra snakes and Ankh crosses. The Ankh Cross symbol pays the most awarding 60 times your total bet for landing 11 or more in a cluster win.

Hand of Anubis has a few special symbols. With 2 Soul Orb Wild symbols, one is red with the other blue. Both wilds contain stacking multipliers that absorb power from cluster wins. The other main symbol you’ll come across is the Pharaoh Skull Free Spins symbol which is key to triggering the free spins features. In these, there are symbols you’ll encounter which are described in more detail within the Bonus Feature section. First, this is a list of symbol payouts and functions below:

• A/K/Q/J/10: 5 to 11+ pays 0.1 to 15 x bet
• Scarab Beetle/Eye of Ra: 5 to 11+ pays 0.3 to 20 x bet
• Pyramid/Cobra Snake: 5 to 11+ pays 0.5 to 40 x bet
• Ankh Cross: 5 to 11+ pays 1 to 60 x bet
• Blue Soul Orb: Substitutes + increases multiplier by 1 per winning cluster
• Red Soul Orb: Substitutes + increases multiplier by 1 per winning symbol
• Pharaoh Skll Free Spins: 3 or 4 trigger respective free spins features

Hand of Anubis Mobile

Hacksaw Gaming produce all their slot games with HTML5 technology. Detecting whatever device you use, Hand of Anubis is compatible with mobiles, tablets, laptops and PCs. There is also a special Portrait Mode for smartphones which is depicted in the image above. The 5x6 grid works well on mobile too.

Hand of Anubis has 5 bonus features. Cascading wins can give you continuous wins and Soul Orbs reward you with stacking multipliers. It’s all about the 2 free spins feature where you can benefit from multipliers up to 9999x or special blocks that can send multipliers soaring from the underworld.

Cascading Wins

Like with most Cluster Pays slots, winning clusters will trigger the Cascading Wins feature. The winning symbols disappear from the grid with the remaining symbols falling to fill the vacated spaces.

On top of this, new symbols drop down or cascade to fill the newly empty spaces. With the possibility of forming a new winning cluster, cascading wins continue as long as winning clusters are formed.

Soul Orbs

Look out for the 2 Soul Orb symbols appearing on the grid. On any base game spin, there is a chance of landing either one of both Soul Orbs, or neither.

Both are wild symbols and substitute for all paying symbols. Furthermore, both contain increasing stacking multipliers that absorb power from all symbols that are part of a winning cluster. Here’s what each of the Soul Orb symbols do:

• Red Soul Orb: Multiplier increases by 1 for each symbol in a cluster win
• Blue Soul Orb: Multiplier increases by 1 for each cluster win

The multipliers are applied to any win the Soul Orb symbols are part of. Multipliers then reset with each new base game spin. If both Soul Orbs are part of a winning cluster, the multiplier values will multiply each other and then applied to the winning cluster.

Underworld Bonus

Landing 3 Pharaoh Skull Free Spins symbols anywhere in view will activate the Underworld Bonus feature. With an even more terrifying backdrop than in the base game, your reward is 10 free spins.

Below the grid are global multipliers which increase with each cluster win. Multipliers increase by 1 for each winning symbol on the corresponding reels.

Then you have the Anubis Skull Multiplier Modifier symbol which multiplies the multiplier on that reel by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x. Global multipliers are only active when the Green Soul Orb symbol lands for that reel.

The sum of all active Global Multipliers is then applied to each winning cluster. The maximum multiplier value can reach as high as 9999x. Finally, when a Global Multiplier is activated, 3 extra free spins will be won. This means 15 additional free spins are possible with 25 in total throughout the feature.

Judgment Bonus

If you land 4 Pharaoh Skull Free Spins symbols as opposed to 3 in the base game, the Judgment Bonus feature will be triggered. With 3 refiling free spins awarded, the symbols from the base game are replaced by special ‘block’ symbols.

You’ll also encounter multipliers above each reel. Multipliers increase in value by landing Multiplier Modifier Blocks which can either add or multiply the multiplier value. Look out for standard and Epic variants of ‘block’ symbols which affect either only the multiplier in the reel where they land or all multipliers:

There are also Ice Block symbols that can drop onto the grid. It is crushed and a Multiplier Block drops from the multiplier above the reel to fill the empty space. The value of the Multiplier Block is equal to the value of the reel multiplier where it drops. Furthermore, the Multiplier Block falls to the bottom of the grid at the end of each drop, where they remain and stack on top of each other to fill up the grid.

Look out for special Crusher Block symbols that fall through all other blocks to the bottom of the grid. Destroying all Multiplier Blocks in its path, this makes way for new blocks to drop in. When the Crushed Block reaches the bottom of the grid, it turns into a Multiplier Block with a value equal to the sum of all destroyed Multiplier Blocks.

Finally, Multiplier Block, Multiplier Modifier Block or Crusher Block symbols will reset the free spins counter to 3. When you have no more free spins left, the sum of all Multiplier Blocks will be won with the feature ending.

Buy Bonus

Available to players located outside the UK, there is a Buy Bonus feature where you can buy your way directly into the 2 free spins features. Below are all the details for the 96.24% RTP version:

Visually superb, the Hand of Anubis slot is very different from other ancient Egyptian-themed games. A world away from the likes of Book of Dead (Play ‘n GO) and Book of Ra Deluxe (Novomatic), Hacksaw Gaming has taken a much more sinister approach to a genre that is frankly saturated and overpopulated. Whilst black in the predominant colour, it’s one of the best-looking slot games I’ve come across.

Set in the underworld, cascading wins are standard for Cluster Pays slots. Look out for Soul Orbs which can deliver huge wins in the base game. Blue Soul Orbs increase the multiplier by 1 for each cluster win whilst Red Soul Orbs are more valuable as the multiplier rises by 1 for each symbol that’s part of a winning cluster. If the 2 Soul Orbs land together, the multiplier values will multiply each other!

In the Underworld Bonus feature, Anubis Skull Multipliers increase reel multipliers but are not active until Green Soul Orbs appear. As well as adding more free spins to your tally, multipliers can increase up to 9999x! This is the same amount found in Nolimit City’s Mental.

The Judgment Bonus feature is all about multipliers. Multiplier Modifier Blocks can add or multiply the multiplier value with standard and Epic versions. Skull and Epic Skulls add to the multipliers whilst Anubis Skull and Epic Anibus Skulls multiplier the reels’ multipliers.  

The key, for me, are Ice Blocks and Crusher Blocks which collect multipliers with more landing in the empty positions. The concept was inspired by the original Chaos Crew slot which was released in September 2020. Fast forward 3 years and Hacksaw Gaming released Chaos Crew 2 which offers double the win potential that Hand of Anubis does.

To summarise, the Hand of Anubis slot is one of Hacksaw’s most popular titles and has made our list of OLBG’s top Cluster Pays games. It’s unique, looks great, has great bonus features and offers the max win potential to match.

The Hand of Anubis slot review was written by Chris Taylor from our OLBG Expert team who has written over 10,000 slot game reviews in an iGaming career spanning over 2 decades. It was then verified/checked by Jenny Mason, our prime Slot reviewer who has 17+ years working in online gambling, top UK brands. 

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.