Book of Cleopatra: Overview

Developer Stakelogic deliver another long-running crowd pleaser with Book of Cleopatra, their take on the endlessly recycled ‘Book of’ formula. If you’ve tried one, you’ve essentially tried the template, at least to an extent. With so many ‘Book of’ releases competing for attention, it can be difficult to feel genuinely hyped about spinning up yet another one. Still, studios can be surprisingly inventive, so it’s worth wiping the slate clean and giving it a fair shot.

Cleopatra, of course, was Egypt’s queen, and that’s the mystical destination here. The 5-reel, 10-payline setup sits inside a temple scene packed with pillars, statues, and brooding crimson skies – the full package. Stakelogic showed they can handle Ancient Egypt themes in Gods of Death, though Book of Cleopatra doesn’t lean quite as heavily into atmosphere. Visually it still fits the classic genre mould, and the soundtrack has an Arabic flavour drifting through it, making it a fitting backdrop for book-based action.

With stakes from 10 p/c to $/€50 per spin and a respectable RTP of 96.21%, Book of Cleopatra is a highly volatile slot that keeps things faithful to the original concept by staying straightforward. There are only 10 paylines active, and wins land by hitting three or more matching symbols along them.

On the reels you’ll find 10 to Ace royals as the lower-paying symbols, then Cat Gods, Bird Gods, a Book of Dead-style Pharaoh, and Cleopatra. It’s good to see the top-end values sitting high, as you’d expect from this genre. Unsurprisingly, Cleopatra is the premium symbol, paying 500 times the stake for five of a kind. Doing double duty is the Book symbol, which is wild and can substitute for any other paying symbol.

Book of Cleopatra: Features

Anyone familiar with ‘Book of’ games or Stakelogic titles won’t find many shocks here. The headline attraction is the free spins bonus, supported by a convenient buy option and a gamble feature.

The book symbol is the key target in the base game. Alongside working as a wild, it also serves as the scatter – landing 3 or more triggers the free spins bonus and pays 2x, 20x, or 200 times the stake for 3, 4, or 5 on screen respectively.

Before free spins start, two things happen. First, players can gamble to adjust the number of free spins. You begin with 10, and each gamble can raise or lower the total by +5 or -5. Hit 25 and the game automatically proceeds to the next stage. Drop to 0 and the bonus round ends immediately.

Next, the book opens and selects one of the standard paying symbols. During free spins, that chosen symbol can expand to fill an entire reel when it helps form winning combinations. Expanded full-reel symbols pay across all 10 paylines and don’t have to appear on adjacent reels to count. As a single example, expanded symbols on reels 1, 4, 5 will pay out.

Want to jump into the bonus without waiting for scatters? Stakelogic includes a bonus buy feature to speed things up. Paying 80 times the stake triggers the free spins bonus on the next spin. For clarity, scatter payouts still apply even when you’ve paid to activate the feature.

Rounding out the section is the standard Stakelogic gamble feature. After any win, players can either take the payout or risk it. A face-down card sits in the centre of the screen; guess the correct colour for double or nothing, or the correct suit for quadruple or nothing. Lose and the win is lost; win and you can collect or gamble again. The gamble feature is capped at up to 5x or 2,500 coins. It may also be offered after free spins end.

Book of Cleopatra: Verdict

Apart from the obvious originality issue, there isn’t much to criticise about Book of Cleopatra overall. One irritation is that you can’t skip the count-up animations when you hit a win or when symbols expand in the bonus. Even so, Stakelogic has nailed the look and feel, the symbol values are strong, and the gameplay is as solid as you’d expect from a ‘Book of’ slot. Fans of the format should have a great time, as will anyone wanting something simple and easy to follow. The max win per spin sits around 5,000 times your stake, so there’s plenty of upside.

It’s difficult to revisit this style of slot without adding something fresh, even if it’s only a small tweak. Book of Cleopatra does include a couple of touches that give it some identity. The option to gamble for extra free spins will appeal to some players and feels especially rewarding when it goes your way. The bonus buy feature is likely to be even more popular. Expanding symbols in free spins are the signature moment of ‘Book of’ slots, so being able to bypass the base game and go straight there is a very tempting option.

Overall, Book of Cleopatra is a well-made entry in an overcrowded niche. Because it sticks so closely to the established blueprint, it’s hard to pick holes in it, and the added extras do help it feel a little more distinctive.