Book of Power

If there’s one mechanic that has taken off and stood the test of time, it’s expanding symbols. You’d be hard pressed to find a player who hasn’t tried a book game – at my last count, there were 250+ on one casino alone, and that’s just from searching ‘book of’ – there are of course other titles. Needles to say, book games are some of the most popular on the market, and now developer Relax Gaming are jumping back onto this bandwagon in their fourth collaboration with CasinoGrounds. After the team‘s recent success in releases like Wild Hike, Grim The Splitter, Horror Hotel, and Net Gains (the third collaboration between Relax Gaming and CasinoGrounds), we’re moving onto something with a more classic touch, in Book of Power. With a fixed RTP of 96.11% (96.50% feature buy), this highly (5/5) volatile release can produce wins up to 15,000x bet.

Book of Power Base Game

Visually, there’s nothing surprising about Book of Power. The team have kept close to what you’d expect from an expanding symbol release, with Egyptian imagery in the form of pyramids, pharaohs, scarabs, tombs, and of course an intrepid explorer on the hunt for riches – although in this release, I think we’re dealing with an archeologist specifically. Regardless of the theme, graphics are the standard you’d expect from a studio as established as Relax Gaming, looking slick and inviting, finished off with a bold soundtrack.

Book of Power Base Features

Taking place across 5 reels, wins are formed on Book of Power by matching at least 2 or 3 symbols on adjacent reels, beginning with the leftmost reel, across 1 of 10 fixed win lines. Symbols available begin with non premiums, with 1os, Js, Qs, Ks, and As, awarding wins of 0.50x bet for 3 of a kind, increasing to values between 10 and 15x bet for 5 of a kind matches. At the premium end we have blue pyramids, green tombs, and purple pharaohs, with all premiums paying for 2 of kind. Land 2 of a kind of any premium to see wins of 0.50x bet, increasing to values between 75 and 200x bet for 5 of a kind matches. The highest paying symbol is the explorer/archeologist, awarding wins of 1, 10, 100, or 500x bet for 2, 3, 4, or 5 of a kind. Finally, both blue and red Book Symbols act as Wilds and Bonus symbols, substituting for all symbols except Expanding Symbols during Free Spins. Land 2, 3, 4, or 5 of a kind Book Symbols to see wins of 1, 10, 100, or 500x bet, respectively.

Book of Power Offers Players 10 Fixed Win Lines

Alright, so there isn’t much happening in the Book of Power base game – it’s really all about Free Spins in this one. That said, there is one feature that fans of Net Gains might recognise – the Power Bet. For double the regular bet, players enable the opportunity to trigger Power Free Spins, and also increase the chance of landing Free Spins by +170%. If regular Free Spins are triggered, players have the option to gamble for Power Free Spins. RTP remains at 96.11% when using Power Bet.

Book of Power Bonus

Land 3, 4, or 5 blue Book Symbols to trigger 10, 15, or 20 Free Spins, respectively. At the beginning of Free Spins, either a non premium or premium pay symbol is chosen at random to act as a special Expanding Symbol. During the feature, if this symbol lands on a certain number of reels, all instances will expand to fully cover the reel they have landed upon. For non premium symbols, a minimum of 3 reels are required, whilst only 2 reels are required for premium symbols. After all regular line wins have been paid, expanded symbols will pay across all 10 win lines, regardless of their placement. So, for example if 3 K symbols have landed, players will be awarded the 3 of a kind value, across all 10 win lines.

If 2 Book Symbols land on the reels during Free Spins, an additional special Expanding Symbol will be awarded, along with an additional +5 spins. If the new Expanding Symbol has already been activated, it will have a +x1 multiplier applied to it.

Book of Power Free Spins

If one of the triggering Book Symbols is red or the feature has been gambled, players will be awarded Power Free Spins. Once again, 3, 4, or 5 Book Symbols will award 10, 15, or 20 Power Free Spins, respectively.

Power Free Spins work in the same was as Free Spins, with a special Expanding Symbol chosen to expand and cover all reels when enough have landed in view. However, during Power Free Spins, if 2 Book Symbols land on the reels, the special Expanding Symbol that has been chosen will be upgraded to the next symbol above it, and an additional +5 spins will be awarded. Once the highest paying symbol has been reached, any further upgrades will apply a +x1 multiplier to it.

Additionally, if a Power Book Symbol, which is the red Book Symbol, lands on reels 2, 3, or 4 the reel will turn golden. For all future spins, the special Expanding Symbol will expand on this reel whether it lands or not. If an upgrade occurs as a result of a re-trigger, golden reels will also be upgraded to the new Expanding Symbol.

Finally, it is possible that at the beginning of either Free Spins mode Lucky Boost will be triggered, wherein there is an increased chance of winning big.

Land a Power Book Symbol to Lock Expanding Symbols in Place

Players in appropriate regions can take advantage of the following Feature Buy options, with a minimum of 3 Book Symbols guaranteed:

• Free Spins – 100x bet
• Power Free Spins – 200x bet

RTP is increased slightly in both Feature Buy options, to 96.50%.

The maximum win available in Book of Power is 15,000x bet. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game round will end and 15,000x bet will be awarded.

Book of Power Power Free Spins

First Impression

It’s clear that Book of Power will be a popular release for players – book releases always are. Thankfully, the team haven’t strayed too far from what players expect with this mechanic, which means it should receive a warm reception. There isn’t a great deal happening in the base game, although there often isn’t in these kinds of releases, but Power Bet helps players to simultaneously increase the chance of landing Free Spins, enable the chance to land Power Free Spins, and enable the chance to gamble Free Spins to Power Free Spins. Despite doubling the bet, there’s plenty of changes made with this option.

When players do move into Free Spins the excitement really kicks in. This is true in the regular feature with the capability to unlock multiple special Expanding Symbols, including multipliers on some, reminiscent of Thunderkick‘s Sword of Khans. In particular though, Power Free Spins give things a new lease of life, especially with the Power Book Symbol helping to lock golden reels in – another familiar feature, from Stakelogic‘s Freaky Friday. Combined with the ability to upgrade special Expanding Symbols and add multipliers, Book of Power offers more than enough excitement in Power Free Spins to make up for a tame base game. When the right combinations land, wins are possible up to 15,000x bet.

Finally, maths is highly (5/5) volatile, and RTP is fixed at 96.11% (96.50% feature buy). If you’re a fan of book games, Book of Power is a fantastic option – with a fair RTP, rewarding maximum win, and exciting maths model.

*The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.