Book of Dead, Book of Time, Book of Ra, Book of Kings, etc.
While ‘Book of Slots’ by Play’n GO are not available yet at sweepstakes casinos, the subject of this review, Book of the Fallen, is an exciting alternative. Book of the Fallen was released on November 18, 2021 by Pragmatic Play, one of the most prolific developers of online slot games specially adapted for sweepstakes casinos such as McLuck and Stake.us.
As the title indicates, Book of the Fallen is part of an extensive collection of online slots belonging to the “Book of …” slot genre. A few other well-known slots in this group that you might be familiar with include Book of the Dead, Book of Ra, and Book of Kings.
One of the distinguishing features of all of these games is that their key symbol is a book. Typically, the book serves as both the wild and scatter symbol, which is the case in Book of the Fallen.
Expanding Symbols give you more ways to win. Anytime one of these symbols lands on one or more reels, it expands to cover the entire reel. But unlike in most slot games that offer this feature, where the game software randomly chooses which symbol will be expanding during free spins, Book of the Fallen leaves the choice up to the player. Keep reading SweepsKings review to learn more about this innovative and highly immersive online slot.
Pros
Eye-catching graphics and animations
Wide enough betting range for most players
Above-average default RTP of 96.50%
Potentially lucrative retriggerable Free Spins bonus round with a Choose Your Expanding Symbol feature
Playable on mobile devices
Cons
Overdone irrelevant ancient Egypt theme
Very high volatility
Below-average RTP in some versions of the game
No progressive jackpot
Best Sweepstakes Casinos to Play Book of the Fallen in the US
If you enjoy adventure slots, are not turned off by the prospect of exploring an ancient Egyptian tomb, and are willing to take some risks for the possibility of big returns, look no further than Book of the Fallen by Pragmatic Play.
All of the action in this high-RTP, high-volatility slot takes place inside an ornately decorated pharaoh’s tomb where you get to join explorer John Hunter (the game’s highest paying regular symbol) in a quest for treasures. Despite the macabre theme and title, Book of the Fallen uses warm golden hues as a welcome change from the dark and drab colors typically seen in similar slots. However, the hieroglyphics on the walls, the close attention to detail in the ornate golden columns and gilded pedestal holding the grid for the symbols, and the intricately designed symbols themselves make the time in history and place unmistakable.
Bright colors and superior graphics and animations are not the only way Book of the Fallen successfully combines an ancient theme with modern technology to grab and maintain your attention and interest. Having a book acting as both a wild symbol and a scatter symbol and popular features like Scatter Pays and a retriggerable Free Spins bonus round with an Expanding Symbol that you get to choose add to the appeal. You even have the option (for an inflated price) to buy the Expanding Symbol early during the base game or advance directly to the bonus round without playing the base game at all.
In addition, Book of the Fallen, like all of the other Book genre slots, offers the convenience of advanced HTML5 technology, enabling you to play on-the-go on your iOS or Android mobile phone or tablet anytime as an alternative to your desktop. No downloading of any apps is necessary. Simply visit the web browser on your mobile device to get started.
Book of the Fallen is available at select sweepstakes casinos in most states for either free play with Gold Coins or to try to win real money with Sweeps Coins (your choice).
Book of the Fallen Slot Information
Book of the Fallen is played with 5 reels, 3 rows, and 10 fixed paylines. The minimum bet is only 0.10, and the maximum is 50 (100 at some casinos), making this game equally appropriate for small players and high rollers.
Book of the Fallen has 9 regular symbols and one special symbol, a book, which serves as both the wild symbol and the scatter symbol. The highest paying regular symbol is John Hunter, followed in descending order by a pharaoh’s mask, Anubis, and Ankh cross, and then by five low-paying symbols, the playing cards A, K, Q, J, and 10.
Winning combinations are formed in the usual manner, on consecutive reels across a payline from left to right, starting with the reel farthest to the left. A minimum of only two matching symbols must line up in this manner for a payout with any of the four higher paying symbols, but you need at least three in a row for a payout with any of the playing cards. Also, as you can see in the following pay table, there is quite a difference in the sizes of the possible payouts. For example, five consecutive John Hunter symbols across a payline (very hard to get) will pay a whopping 500x your bet, whereas the much more likely five consecutive 10s, Js, or Qs across a payline will only pay 10x your bet.
Besides the nine regular symbols, there is one more symbol, a book, that can be a huge factor in determining how much and how often you win. As a wild symbol, any L to R sequence of 3, 4, or 5 comes with an immediate payout of 2x, 20x, or 500x your bet, respectively. As a scatter symbol, 3, 4, or 5 books anywhere on the reels will award an immediate payout of 2x, 20x, or 200x your bet, respectively.
Book of the Fallen Slot Features
One of the main reasons why online slots like Book of the Fallen and other slots in the Book genre are so popular is the various special features they offer. Every time you play turns into a new adventure, and this is especially true for Book of the Fallen. In this highly immersive game, instead of simply letting the game’s software randomly dictate the course of action, players have a big say. To a large degree, you can control how conservatively or aggressively you want to play.
Here is a description of the different special features found in Book of the Fallen that can help you win, including several where you, the player, have a lot of leeway.
A book with a red and gold cover adorned with the eye of Horus is both the wild symbol and the scatter symbol.
Besides acting as a paying symbol on its own, the book assumes the traditional wild symbol role of substituting for any regular symbol to help form new winning combinations or add to existing ones.
As long as at least three book scatter symbols appear simultaneously anywhere on the reels, this symbol is your friend. First, the scatter pays mechanism is activated, and depending on how many scatter symbols land (3, 4, or 5), you get an immediate payout of 2x, 20x, or 200x your bet.
You also trigger the Free Spins bonus round, but before it can begin, the book opens and you are asked to choose which of the nine regular symbols you want to act as an Expanding Symbol during the entire bonus round.
Each time 3 or more scatter symbols land during the base game, you get 10 Free Spins to start. However, if 3 or more scatter symbols land again anytime during the bonus round, you receive another 10 spins. The number of times you can keep retriggering 10 Free Spins is unlimited.
Anytime the symbol you choose to be an Expanding Symbol lands on one or more reels, it expands to cover the entire reel. This still doesn’t guarantee a winning combination, but since the Expanding Symbol can pay from any position, it greatly improves your chances and also increases the size of the payout.
You might take a conservative approach and pick one of the lower-paying symbols, which will give you more frequent modest-size payments. Or if you are more of a risk-taker, you can choose a higher paying symbol for fewer but bigger payouts.
Rather than wait until you trigger the bonus round to activate the Expanding Symbol of your choice, the Super Spin option gives it to you in the base game for 10x your bet on every spin.
For 100x your bet, you can bypass the base game completely and advance directly to the bonus game.
Game Specs: RTP & Volatility
The default RTP for Book of the Fallen is listed as 96.50%, which is similar to what you are likely to find in other Pragmatic Play slots. However, if you pay extra to activate the Expanding Symbol feature or Free Spins bonus round early, that will lower the RTP slightly. More importantly, some sites offer this game with the RTP adjusted downward to 95.50% or lower. You can avoid playing on those sites by selecting our listed Book of the Fallen sweepstakes casinos.
Another important caveat is that the RTP only represents a theoretical average based on many thousands of spins; your results for any given playing session can deviate markedly from this figure in either direction.
This is especially true in a game like Book of the Fallen where the above-average RTP is tempered by its very high volatility (on a 1-5 scale, rated 5). When the RTP and volatility are both high, withstanding the inevitable bankroll swings that come from the frequent dry spells can be a challenge.
200 Spins Test of Book of the Fallen
I chose a relatively small bet size of 1.00 for this test. All of the spins were taken in demo mode using the SweepsKings’ Book of the Fallen free slot.
Based on my previous experience with other Pragmatic Play slots, I expected to be taking many spins in the base game before triggering the Free Spins bonus round. However, that was far from the case.
After only 43 spins, 3 scatter symbols showed up. I then chose the second highest symbol, the pharaoh, as my Expanding Symbol and began my 10 Free Spins, only to retrigger another 10 midway through. Alas, after being down by 28 coins at the start of the bonus round, I was ahead by only 20 coins when the 20 spins were over.
By the time I completed all 200 spins in the base game, I had triggered the bonus round three more times. On those occasions, in the hope of snagging some bigger wins, I switched to the highest paying symbol, John Hunter, as my Expanding Symbol. However, for the most part, my winnings did not increase much. My most rewarding bonus round was the last one. It ended with a profit of 140 coins. But I still had 27 spins remaining in the base game, which brought my total net profit down to 107 coins.
After triggering both the Expanding Symbol and the Free Spins the natural way 4x, I had no desire to pay extra to activate those features early.
Our Experts Verdict and Ratings
While I am not a big fan of slots that are so deeply entrenched in ancient history, I was captivated by this game’s colorful symbols, especially when they expanded to cover a whole reel. I was also pleasantly surprised by how quickly and frequently I triggered the Free Spins bonus round.
The only thing I did not like was the small size of most of the payouts. If you are a new player, consider playing in fun mode first to acclimate yourself to the inevitable bankroll swings. Then, when you are ready to switch from Gold Coins to Sweeps Coins, start with a smaller bet size than usual.
Book of the Fallen
Rankings
Our Thoughts
Theme
80%
Ancient Egypt is a common theme in online slots. However, Book of the Fallen avoids looking like the same old, same old due to the innovative features and highly immersive gameplay.
Gameplay
90%
With a user-friendly 3X5 format, only 10 paylines, and easy-to-recognize symbols, this slot game is simple enough for beginners.
Metrics
80%
The combination of a high RTP and high volatility means relatively few big payouts interspersed between many non-paying or low-paying spins. This can be a tough challenge for players with limited bankrolls who are in a big hurry to win.
Bonus Features
90%
The opportunity to choose your own Expanding Symbol is the icing on the cake in a slot that is already loaded with popular bonus features.
Mobile Compatibility
90%
This slot can be played on any currently used iOS and Android device. Eye-catching graphics and animations keep you focused even on small screens.
Jon has been playing slots for 20+ years, he’s seen all of the trends from classic fruit machines to Megaways to tumbling reels to Hold & Win. Jon has spent extensive time working in the slot industry and uses his expert knowledge to produce engaging and highly informative reviews. He is also a sweepstakes casino bonus guru, and if you follow his tips, you’ll have more free sweeps coins than you’ll know what to do with!
Jon has been playing slots for 20+ years, he’s seen all of the trends from classic fruit machines to Megaways to tumbling reels to Hold & Win. Jon has spent extensive time working in the slot industry and uses his expert knowledge to produce engaging and highly informative reviews. He is also a sweepstakes casino bonus guru, and if you follow his tips, you’ll have more free sweeps coins than you’ll know what to do with!
