Book of Shai Slot by RNGPlay 🎰 Free Demo and Review

Book of Shai Review

RNGPlay are one of those companies that are rather uneven when it comes to the overall quality of their games. On one hand, some of their slots are quite interesting and worth it. On the other hand, there are also many bad apples in the mix, so players should be a bit more careful than they usually are. In this slot review, we’ll examine the Book of Shai online slot that RNGPlay launched in the first quarter of 2023 and that brings a new twist to the classic “Book of” formula. There’s nothing new about its playing field, though, as it offers your usual combination of 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 fixed paylines.

The theme of Book of Shai is then somewhat unimaginative as well, since it’s all about taking players to the fascinating pyramids of ancient Egypt. That’s a setting that still has at least some charm, but it feels that we’ve been there so many times already that it’s hard to get excited. It has to be said, though, that the slot’s production values are above average, and that there’s a lot to be said for its colorful and detailed symbols.

Book of Shai Slot – Reels Screen

As for the mathematical model of Book of Shai, it has a high volatility level and a very juicy jackpot worth 10,325x your bet. That’s a nice sum to play for, and the game’s hit frequency is also rather high at 28.29%. The least that you can play for is then £0.20 per spin, while high rollers can risk up to £20 per game round. Unfortunately, the theoretical RTP of Book of Shai is only 93.93%, which is more than two percent below the current industry average.

Book of Shai Slot Features

The paytable of Book of Shai is dynamic, and it offers a set of 11 pay symbols, which are split into 6 low pays and 5 high pays. For the former, there are your usual card ranks from Nines to Aces, and these can net you up to 2.5x your bet for a combination. Then, there are more thematic symbols with ankhs, birds, cats, eyes, and even scarabs. Scarabs are the slot’s most valuable symbols, and you’ll win 15x your stake if you manage to line up 5 on a payline.

For specials, there are just Wilds and Book Scatters. Wilds can substitute for any of the pay symbols in winning combos, and they also come with their own payout values. Book Scatters, meanwhile, are there to trigger both symbol transformations and free spins.

Book of Shai Slot – Free Spins Feature

Now – if you land a single Book Scatter in the base game, it will open to reveal one of the pay symbols. Then, all of its instances will transform into Wilds, improving your winning chances in the process. That also happens if you land two Book Scatters, but you’ll get Expanding Wilds instead of classic Wilds if those Book Scatters reveal the same symbol.

If you land 3 Book Scatters, you’ll trigger the Free Spins feature with 8 free spins. And, if they open and reveal matching symbols, you’ll get Expanding Wilds with a win multiplier of 2x, 3x, or 5x.

Symbol transformations are then in play during free spins as well, though with a small twist. Even one Book Scatter is enough for Expanding Wilds, you see, and win multipliers are then added whenever you flip matching symbols via two or three Book Scatters. It’s these win multipliers that can lead you to the slot’s biggest wins, so watch out!

At any point of the game, you can decide to use the Buy Feature option and simply purchase a free spins trigger outright. Doing so will cost you 100x your bet, however, and that’s a pretty hefty price tag.

Review Summary

To sum things up, Book of Shai does deliver an interesting concept, but its math model comes with such a low RTP that we simply can’t recommend the entire package to anyone. If you’re interested in the game, check out its free demo, but playing for real money simply isn’t a good deal. It’s a shame, really, but RNGPlay slots need to take a big step forward in that regard if they are to be competitive.