Bookie of Odds (Triple Edge Studios): Review

With the Cheltenham Festival just around the corner and the Grand National not far behind, Microgaming and its partner Triple Edge Studios have lined up a digital thoroughbred for you to root for. That said, NetEnt were the first to stake a claim on the famous British racing buzz when they publicly announced their branded slot Scudamore’s Super Stakes earlier in the year. Much to NetEnt’s likely irritation (we can only assume), Microgaming essentially jumped the queue by having their subordinates pick a title from their own catalogue to copy, re-theme and launch a day ahead of NetEnt. Strategic timing, to say the least.

Bookie of Odds is an outright clone of Book of Oz, which turned out to be Triple Edge Studio’s strongest effort so far. It keeps the same 5-reel, 10-payline layout, the same 96.31% RTP, and the very same features—paid respins in the base game and expanding symbols in the bonus in true Book of Ra fashion. As before, this horse-racing themed slot can be played from 0.10 to 25 Eur per spin on all devices.

Since it’s mechanically and mathematically identical to Book of Oz, the only real difference is the presentation. Visually, it’s bright and fairly easy on the eyes. It’s not especially refined, though. The abstract background, for instance, is basically a simple wallpaper that stays unchanged throughout the entire game, bonus included. Still, minimalism is a big part of what defines Book of Ra, so it’s hard to fault it too much.

On the reels you’ll find the A, K, Q, J and 10 royals, along with 3 jockey symbols in red, purple and blue. The explorer symbol—Rich Wilde, if you like—is replaced by a Bookie character and delivers the best payout: 5 of him on a payline awards 500 times your stake. As with many similar slots, the book acts as both scatter and wild, substituting for all other symbols.

Bookie of Odds (Triple Edge Studios): Features

The game includes a paid Respins feature. Beneath each reel there’s a Respin button showing the cost of that respin. Using a mathematical formula, the price naturally changes depending on which symbols are currently showing. For instance, going after a third scatter will be pricier, and attempting to hit 5 bookie symbols across a full payline costs even more.

Watch for the book symbol—landing 3, 4 or 5 anywhere on the reels pays 2, 20 or 200 times your stake and also unlocks the free spins round with 10, 12 or 25 free spins. Like the classic book-style slots, it can retrigger quite freely, and there’s no cap on the number of retriggers. Before the bonus begins, one regular symbol is randomly selected as the special expanding symbol. When it appears on the reels (3 needed for low-value symbols and 2 for premiums), it expands to a fully stacked symbol.

Bookie of Odds (Triple Edge Studios): Verdict

Book of Oz is unquestionably a strong slot, and as a direct copy, Bookie of Odds delivers the same quality. The problem is that the lack of originality makes it feel like an unnecessary release—unless you’re a dedicated horse racing fan who also enjoys online slots.

If you played Book of Oz when it launched, there’s essentially nothing fresh to dig into here. Bookie of Odds comes across as a rushed re-skin, seemingly pushed out mainly to ride the horse racing hype NetEnt has been building over the last few weeks. How do you score a clone? It’s certainly not A for effort.