When a movie becomes a box office success, it is followed by one or more sequels. The same can be said for online slots where we find several popular series with games provided by different software developers. The main difference between the two industries is that in cinema, the second or third episode of a given title quite often rests on old laurels and rarely has the same merits, whereas, in online gambling, the opposite appears to be true.
An excellent example in this regard is the recently released Book of Secrets Extra slot. In general, coming up with an interesting casino game with over 26,000 predecessors in the same genre is difficult, but not for an iGaming provider of Synot Games’ caliber. Book of Secrets Extra is a 5-reel, 10-payline online slot with an RTP of up to 97.93%.
Book of Secrets Extra Theme, Graphics, and Sounds
Book of Secrets Extra has been designed for those who enjoy gambling and want to go on an archaeological adventure in search of hidden fortunes. The slot lets players enter a pharaoh’s tomb and, with the assistance of a beautiful female explorer, get their hands on untold riches. The playing grid is actually a tomb’s entrance decorated with Egyptian symbols and a statue. The main buttons, as well as the logo, are made of gold, alluding to the treasures hidden behind the portal. The enigmatic background audio fits the Egyptian theme perfectly and seems to hypnotize gamblers, causing them to venture deeper and deeper into the tomb, revealing ancient secrets.
Book of Secrets Extra Symbols and Payouts
Now let’s take a look at the symbols that are loaded on the reels and what they can bring you. The regular icons are divided into two groups, with the higher class paying for 2 to 5-fold matching combinations, while to win from the others you need to line up 3, 4, or 5 identical symbols. If 5 icons with the beautiful archeologist show up on any of the 20 paylines, your bankroll will grow by a sum 500 times higher than your stake. It turns out that the lady is quite generous as she is ready to share her loot with you, giving you prizes in the form of 1x, 10x, and 100x bet multipliers for hitting 2, 3, and 4 symbols, respectively.
Second in power is the Pharaoh’s Head which will multiply the wagered amount between 0.5 and 200 times depending on the number of icons that show up on the reels. The other two regular symbols from this group are a Scarab beetle and a stylized Ankh which come with stake multipliers of between 0.7x and 75x.
The lower-tier symbols in the Book of Secrets Extra slot are represented by the usual card faces from 10 to A. They are characterized by moderate payouts the highest of which is 15 times the bet for landing 5 Aces of Kings. Jacks, Queens, and 10s bring payouts equal to the stake multiplied by 0.5, 2.5, or 10.
Given the slot’s title, the fact that the Book of Secrets plays the complex role of both a Scatter and a Wild comes as no surprise. What is more, just like the other symbols, it awards rather tempting cash prizes – up to 200x the total bet.
Book of Secrets Extra Bonus Mechanics
Although not bad, the base game payouts are far from lucrative, especially considering the maximum amount you can wager is as low as $20. Fortunately, the Book of Secrets slot has a bonus feature incorporated in it, so that casino players have a chance of pocketing some significant amounts. We are talking about Free Spins, of course, which are triggered once you hit at least 3 Scatter Wilds. The other option is to purchase these free spins via the Buy Feature which will cost you 100 times the current bet.
Ten rounds of free spins are granted but before they start, one of the regular symbols will be randomly chosen as a special icon. If the special symbol in question lands on any of the reels during the bonus feature, the free spins are re-activated. However, the benefits of this special icon do not end here. If a free spin results in a winning combo, the respective payout is added to your account balance and then the symbol may expand and delight you with an additional prize. This will only become a reality if there are enough of them on the slot grid.
If, after all this, your appetite for risk is still not satisfied, you will be happy to know that you can also take advantage of a Gamble Feature. Whenever you enjoy a win, you can opt in to gamble its amount trying to double it. This is done via a card-based bonus game where you have to guess the correct color, no surprises here. The slot machine gives you ten chances to make this prediction, and if you guess incorrectly, you lose your winnings. There is also the option of risking just half of the won amount, thus reducing the risk of quickly depleting your balance.
Closing Thoughts
Creating another game in such a huge slot genre as “The Book of” is quite a risky venture. Let’s also not forget that the portfolio of Synot Games includes several other variations – Book of Secrets, Book of Secrets 6, Book of Secrets Dice, etc. The Book of Secrets Extra is still very new and only time will show if this approach is well-founded. If we look at the Book of Secrets Extra slot independently, we can safely say it ensures a qualitative gaming experience. Its financial aspect is also not to be underestimated, especially if the Free Spins feature gets activated.