Book of Shadows

Novomatic kicked off the ‘Book of’ craze back in 2004 with their seminal release Book of Ra. Since that time, any provider worth their salt has scrambled to include at least one ‘Book’ iteration within their own respective back catalogue, leaning on an assortment of themes for inspiration. It’s sort of an unwritten gentleman’s agreement amongst suppliers.

Most games to have followed are nothing more than meek copycats; lazy rip-offs layering minor tweaks over Novomatic’s blueprint. Normally, that means whisking players back out to the well-trodden plains of Ancient Egypt to reacquaint with Ra, King Tut, Horus, and co., again, and again, and again.

And then there are other, more daring studios with a creative bent willing to push the boundaries by taking Book slots off into an entirely fresh and exciting direction.

While much of the core Book of DNA remains the same, high flying Nolimit City proudly put their own stamp on the genre with the studio’s occult flavoured Book of Shadows that sees players grapple with the dark arts as well as a number of features that are generally alien to slots of this nature.

Does all this amount to mere hyperbole, or is Nolimit City’s contribution the real deal? Let’s find out…

Design

Aesthetically, Nolimit City have matched the theme with an equally dark look - a scene not too dissimilar to Microgaming’s cult hit Immortal Romance.

That’s where any likeness to Microgming’s gothic 2001 release ends abruptly.

Book of Shadows drips with spirit of the occult, set amongst a spooky woodland amplified by black and grey tones while an evocative Arabic soundtrack accompanies the action.

Listen out for wolves crying and owls hooting, intensifying the atmosphere. There couldn’t be starker contrast to the golden sounds of Egypt.

As to the paytable, low paying Royal icons are followed by Butterflies, Eyeballs, Purple Cats, Goat Skulls, and Female Goths as the premiums. The latter is the most lucrative in the game, dishing out payouts of 500x the stake for combinations of 5.

Gameplay & Features

Line up at least 3 identical symbols adjacently to land a win, beginning at the left outermost reel.

Book of Shadows comes jam-packed with bonus features, starting with the usual Book of fixture - the Scatter, which doubles up as the Wild symbol in Book of Shadows.

In addition to pulling in winning combinations, they also trigger the Free Spins feature when three show up at once during a base game spin.

Lucky Locks

In another departure from regular Book of gameplay, players get to benefit from Lucky Locks in Book of Shadows. This feature lets you lock up to 4 reels in place in exchange for a fee, and is particularly useful if you manage to land 2 Scatters, requiring just one more to trigger the main bonus feature. Be warned, though - this scenario usually comes with an inflated price, so use it wisely.

Free Spins

Between 10 and 14 Free Spins are awarded for landing 3 or more Scatters during a base game spin.

Your starting haul is dependant on the amount of rows in action at the time of triggering as so:

• 3 rows active: 14 Free Spins
• 4 rows active: 12 Free Spins
• 5 rows active: 10 Free Spins

Prior to the round beginning, a random ‘Golden’ symbol is selected to perform expansion duties - in true Book of fashion.

Not happy with the selection? Then take a chance at improving your odds by using the second chance feature, which lets you shuffle the pack one time. Here’s a hint: take the gamble option whenever you’re dealt one of the lowing paying card symbols (10-J).

Now, whenever 2 or more of the chosen symbol appears during Free Spins, they’ll both expand to cover their respective reels in full. Manage this with the highest paying Female Goth symbol to net a tasty 10,000x win.

Wheel of Bonus

Fancy fast-track access to Free Spins?

Whenever you hit a base game win less than 60x the bet, you can gamble your haul for a shot at unlocking the bonus feature by landing the Wheel of Bonus on a highlighted segment, whose specific sizes are proportionate to your win.

Naturally, the bigger the win, the larger the segement and the higher your chance of triggering Free Spins.

Feature Buy

In certain jurisdictions, shelling out the equivalent of 60x, 90, or 120x the stake grants players direct access to the Free Spins feature equipped with 10 spins and 3, 4, or 5 rows active, respectively. Great for those short on time, impatient, or just plain curious enough to dive straight into the bonus round.

Gamble Feature

No ‘Book of’ slot is complete without a Gamble Option bolted on. True to form, Book of Shadows gives you the chance to double your winnings via a classic red/black coin-flip. Return to the base game empty-handed it all if you guess wrong, though.

Book of Shadows on Mobile

Book of Shadows is programmed to run seamlessly on just about any modern day gaming device. It doesn’t matter if you choose to get your fix on mobile, tablet, or desktop; the slot packs the same tantalising gameplay and absorbing theme regardless without losing any of its polished audio-visual quality either.

Volatility

‘Medium’ is the variance rating applied to to Book of Shadows by its creator - meaning moderate payouts most of the time, punctuated by the occasional head-turning win worth up to 30,338x the wager in Free Spins.

The Verdict

Hats off to Nolimit City for daring to venture outside of the box with this creative release, which deviates from the tried and tested ‘Book of’ formula originally drawn up back in 2004 in more ways than one.

Thick with sorcery and heavy in supernatural references, Book of Shadows reimagines a proven concept while remaining true to the original mechanics that helped spawn a whole breed of slot games.

Added to a maximum win worth more than 30,000x, Book of Shadows should be on the radar of any serious bookworm, or those eager to explore a darker side of life.

Book of Shadows at Wildz

Like most games found in the Wildz library, Book of Shadows is available to play for free. Try it out in demo mode to get an inside look first before eating into any of your own bankroll.

There are a vast array of Nolimit City pokies lining our digital shelves, including San Quentin xWays and East Coast vs West Coast - two of our partner’s biggest hits to date.

FAQs

How do Lucky Locks work?

Players can lock up to 4 reels in place on each spin with the Lucky Locks feature.

How do you activate the Wheel of Bonus in Book of Shadows?

This comes into play after every base game win, and gives you the chance to win Free Spins in exchange for you winnings.

What is the maximum payout in Book of Shadows?

Book of Shadows has a maximum payout equal to 30,338x the bet.