Book of Sam: Slot Overview

ELK Studios are a highly imaginative outfit, and one area they consistently shine in is creating quirky, likeable characters and building a run of titles around them. Previous examples include the dogs in Nitropolis, the bull and matador from the Toro series, and, naturally, Kane and his big lineup of Gold slots. Another charming bunch is the troll family: Sam, his wife Sandra, and their daughter Maggie. This trio is all about neon-soaked fun, as shown in games like Electric Sam and Sam on the Beach. Up to now, though, they haven’t quite landed with the same force as the three series mentioned earlier. That may be about to shift with their third outing – Book of Sam. Yes, it’s another ‘Book of’ slot, but ELK has blended familiar ideas with fresh touches to make it stand out.

From the very start, Book of Sam sets an inventive tone. Sam and the family haven’t gone back in time or flown to Egypt, yet the game is packed with Egyptian-style visuals. The trick is that the family has been whisked off to a mock Las Vegas setting, where the action takes place in a Luxor Hotel-style venue surrounded by playful parody details like a ‘Welcome to Sam Vegas’ sign and something resembling ‘Sandras Palace’. Topping it off is a seriously funky soundtrack that practically demands you dance, and it’s easy to picture the crew swaggering into Vegas, checking in, and seeing what’s on offer.

Players can tag along with Sam’s family on any device, choosing between two modes – Normal or Bonus mode. Normal mode is the standard setup: select a wager of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin and spin away. Bonus mode is accessed by pressing the X-iter button and selecting one of five choices. Both modes run at a theoretical return of 94% and are highly volatile. Although it includes more mechanics than a typical ‘Book of’ title, Book of Sam sticks to the classic layout of 5 reels, 3 rows, and 10 paylines.

Standard payouts start from the leftmost reel and pay left to right across consecutive reels. You’ll need at least three of the low-value 10-A card symbols, or at least two of the higher-value cat, Maggie, Sandra, or Sam symbols. A five-of-a-kind pays 5-9x the bet for low symbols, rising to 10 to 500 times the stake for the premium ones. As expected, Book of Sam includes a book symbol, and it serves as both the wild and the scatter. When acting as a wild, the book substitutes for any paying symbol, and if it forms a winning line made up only of wilds, it pays the same as Sam.

Book of Sam: Slot Features

Taking its place among the many ‘Book of’ slots that add a couple of extra ideas, Book of Sam features free spins with selected expanding symbols, alongside three types of Electric Treats and five picks available through the X-iter menu.

Electric Treats

Electric Treats can occur in both the base game and the bonus game. They trigger when one of the troll family members lands a win, as follows:

• Sam – a win on two or more Sam tiles triggers the Sam Electric Treat. Respins with a sticky book symbol are awarded. If this occurs in the bonus round, the added book symbol is an expanding wild symbol.
• Sandra – a win on two or more Sandra tiles triggers the Sandra Electric Treat. Respins with a multiplier is awarded.
• Maggie – a win on two or more Maggie tiles triggers the Maggie Electric Treat. A symbol redrop occurs after first removing any low pays, cats, or Maggie symbols. Expanding symbols are not removed.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 book scatters in normal mode grants 8 free spins with 1, 2, or 3 expanding symbols, respectively. The pay symbols that become expanding symbols are randomly chosen. After standard win checks, expanding symbols extend to fill every position on their reel. To expand, you’ll need at least two high-pay or three low-pay expanding symbols on a reel. Once they expand, these symbols pay all ways from any position.

If 3 or more book symbols appear during free spins, extra free spins are added along with 1 more expanding symbol, up to 5 expanding symbols at the most. Electric Treats can also trigger during free spins. Sandra’s multiplier remains persistent throughout the free spins session, but it only applies while an Electric Treat is active. It switches off when the Treat ends, then returns when another Electric Treat triggers. When Electric Sam activates, the book symbol becomes an expanding wild for the respins as well.

X-iter

Where available in the game, players can press the X-iter button to access feature buy mode and select one of the following options.

• Bonus Hunt – 2x the bet for a spin with double the chance of triggering the bonus game.
• Electric Treat – 10x the bet for one spin with a guaranteed Electric Treat.
• Expanding Symbols – 50x the bet for one spin where all symbols are expanding symbols.
• Bonus Game – 100x the bet to buy one spin, guaranteeing entry to free spins.
• Super Bonus – 500x the bet for one spin guaranteeing entry to free spins where all symbols are expanding symbols.

Book of Sam: Slot Verdict

Elk Studios already proved it could create a genuinely inventive ‘Book of’ spin on the formula with Book of Toro, and it has followed that up with something that’s at least as strong, if not stronger. The base game moves at a brisk pace; the Electric Treat modifiers dropped in without disrupting the flow when they appeared, although they also underlined how rarely premium symbol wins might show up. When Electric Treats did land, they typically felt rewarding, whether that meant stacking a few respins with a win multiplier or even kicking off free spins via the Electric Sam.

Inside the bonus round, Treats seemed to activate more often, and when they did, they could mesh nicely with the expanding symbols mechanic. Expanding symbols are the core of any ‘Book of’ slot, and here they’re given room to shine with as many as five expanding symbols at the same time. Alternatively, players can pay 500x the bet for the Super Bonus through the X-iter, where every pay symbol becomes an expander. The X-iter selections were worthwhile additions too, feeling designed to complement the feature set rather than forcing it. They let eligible players jump straight into some of Book of Sam’s best moments, or go even further and sample the more premium side of ‘Book of’ gameplay overall. The finishing touch is a win cap of 10,000x the bet, showing the extra features aren’t merely cosmetic, although the return to player value may leave some players less impressed.

On gameplay alone, Book of Sam felt solid enough to tempt ‘Book of’ fans to give it a try, and it’s also presented in a slick, appealing style—something ELK Studios tends to do well. The below-average RTP is a negative, but the jazzy vibe, the bright Sam Vegas setting, and the fast-moving blend of classic and modern ideas combine into a slot that brings fresh energy to the ‘Book of’ space.