Book of Shai: Slot Overview

Swintt has put out plenty of titles over the years, yet this is the first time we’ve gone head-to-head with the Malta-based casino game designer Swintt. The reason is an online slot called Book of Shai. Yes, we get it—another “Book” slot might sound about as necessary as a Dim Mak to the groin. Still, Book of Shai isn’t a totally standard, cookie-cutter “Book of” release. It definitely shares some DNA with the genre, but Swintt has tweaked the familiar framework in a few ways to help it stand apart.

It only breaks the mould so far, and mainly in specific areas. From an audiovisual standpoint, it drops players straight into Ancient Egypt with all the usual trimmings. In Book of Shai, that translates to blazing braziers, stone statues, heavy stone architecture, hieroglyphs, pharaohs—the full Egyptian slot package. If you’re asking who (or what) Shai is, Wikipedia notes that Shai was sometimes portrayed as masculine and at other times feminine. Shai was associated with fate, influenced the length of lifespans, and was present in the Duat for the judgement of souls. In short, a fascinating figure—and it’s surprising Shai hasn’t featured in a “Book” slot until now.

Now Shai has arrived in a slot that runs on a 5-reel, 3-row layout. Book of Shai increases the typical paylines to 20, which seems to be one factor behind its noticeably higher win potential. In practical terms, across these paylines, winning combinations are created when matching symbols land starting from the leftmost reel and continuing across the grid. A highly volatile slot, Book of Shai offers more than one RTP configuration, with the top version set at 95.9%, and it allows stakes from 20 p/c to $/€20 per spin.

As for symbols, even though the paylines are doubled compared to many “Book” slots, the payouts are fairly weak in comparison. At the bottom of the paytable are 9-A card ranks paying 1 to 2.5 times the bet, followed by jewellery-styled versions of an Ankh, bird, cat, eye, and scarab, which return 4 to 15 times the bet for landing five of a kind. Stronger returns can come from the wild symbols, which appear on every reel. Wilds pay up to 25 times the bet for 5 OAK and can also substitute for any standard pay symbol when calculating wins.

Book of Shai: Slot Features

One of Book of Shai’s quirks is that the wild isn’t the bonus icon. The wild shows a Pharaoh, while the bonus symbol is the familiar book. When a book lands in the base game (available on reels 2, 3 and 4), it opens to reveal a high or low-pay symbol. Every instance of that randomly chosen symbol currently visible on the reels is transformed into wild symbols. If 2 book symbols land and reveal the same symbol, that symbol then transforms into an expanding wild symbol. If 3 book symbols land and reveal the same symbol, that symbol transforms into expanding wild symbols with a random multiplier of x2, x3, or x5. Multiplier values are added together where applicable.

Free Spins

Landing 3 book symbols in the base game also triggers 8 free spins. During free spins, a single book landing reveals a random pay symbol, and all occurrences of it on the reels transform to expanding wilds. If 2 books land and reveal the same pay symbol, that symbol becomes expanding wilds with a random multiplier of x2, x3, or x5. Multipliers stack the same way as they do in the base game. If 3 books land and reveal the same pay symbol, an extra multiplier is added. When 3 books hit, +8 additional free spins are also awarded.

To wrap up, the feature buy option allows players to jump straight into the free spins round for 100 times the bet.

Book of Shai: Slot Verdict

As shown, Book of Shai may trace its roots back to Book of Ra, but Swintt has opted to add its own twist instead of simply serving up the usual expanding-symbol setup these games are known for. That can be a bit of a double-edged sword, since players chasing a traditional “Book of” experience won’t quite find it here and may be happier sticking with the classics. Book of Dead, for instance, or any number of other slots that follow the more familiar formula.

That said, “Book” enthusiasts who want something a little different could find Swintt’s approach appealing. And to be fair, the ideas aren’t bad. More paylines, extra multipliers, and a maximum win of 10,325 times the bet make a strong case. So when Book of Shai gets rolling, it can deliver some genuinely exciting moments. It can also feel sluggish at times. For example, the whole process of books revealing a symbol, turning visible instances of that symbol into wilds, and then expanding to fill the reel can feel like a drag when it’s obvious it won’t result in a payout. The features here don’t behave like straightforward expanding symbols, which generally only trigger when they’re going to create a win—so you know you’re getting something. In Book of Shai, after a book reveal, it’s often possible to tell whether you’re about to get something or not. That setup can build tension when wins are lining up, and then quickly deflate it when they aren’t.

Still, there’s no shortage of standard expanding-symbol Egyptian slots if that’s what you’re after—there are loads. Book of Shai instead does things its own way, which won’t suit everyone, but it does offer players a different flavour to sample.