Canny the Can and the Book of Time: Slot Overview

After trips through the underworld, scraps with warriors, and even a bit of time hopping, it was unexpected to see Hacksaw Gaming bring Canny the Can back into the spotlight. For anyone unfamiliar, Canny is one of the studio’s earliest characters, showing up years ago in titles like Stick ‘Em. At that point, Hacksaw Gaming was still shifting from scratch cards into online slots and hadn’t yet become the force it is today (a rise some people link to questionable marketing arrangements with Stake and their roster of fake-money streamers promoting Hacksaw slots). Regardless, Canny later returned in Stack ‘Em, and now he’s back again for today’s look at Canny the Can and the Book of Time. The lengthy name hints at what’s coming—expanded symbols in free spins—but there’s also a second bonus round called ‘What Time Is It?’, which adds an extra layer of intrigue.

Compared with earlier Canny outings, Canny the Can and the Book of Time (shortened to Book of Time from here on) feels closer in style to Stack ‘Em. Both keep the base game outdoors, using nature-filled backdrops that look like oil paintings, while the reels are packed with quirky symbols that seem almost oddly placed. In Book of Time, the icons lean into a witchy, Halloween-like vibe, and they can feel a bit random unless there’s an obvious reference we’re missing. The bonus rounds switch indoors—think museum, library, or gallery—and the overall presentation comes across like a collection of mismatched ideas tossed together and poured onto the screen. That’s not necessarily a negative. The offbeat mix has its own appeal, helped along by a pleasantly old-school, animated-Disney style and a cheerful oompah-like soundtrack.

To try Book of Time, you can play on any device, with stakes ranging from 10 p/c to $/€100 per spin. The action runs on a 5-reel, 4-row layout and uses 20 paylines for forming matching combinations. While it isn’t the wildest title in the Hacksaw Gaming catalogue, Book of Time still earns a 4 out of 5 rating on the studio’s volatility scale, and its maximum RTP under standard play is 96.13%. As with many Hacksaw Gaming releases, RTP can vary, though it’s easy to confirm the active version by checking the paytable details.

The paytable also outlines the symbols. First up are the 10-A card ranks, paying 5-15 times the stake for five-of-a-kind. Above them sit the premium icons—a wand, hat, dead animal, serpent severed hand, and a mouse—returning 50 to 250 times the bet for five-of-a-kind. Since this is partly a ‘Book of’ style slot, the Book symbol in Book of Time doubles as the wild and scatter. When acting as a wild, it substitutes for any standard paying symbol to help complete winning lines.

Canny the Can and the Book of Time: Slot Features

In its scatter role, hitting 3 or more Book symbols triggers the It’s a Classic! feature; 3 Book symbols grant 10 free spins with 1 special symbol, 4 Book symbols grant 15 free spins with 2 special symbols, and 5 Book symbols grant 20 free spins with 3 special symbols. The special symbols are randomly picked from either low or high-paying icons, then highlighted with a gold frame and an altered colour.

While free spins are running, if special symbols appear on at least three reels, they expand to cover all positions on their reel once any standard wins have been paid. After expanding, special symbols pay across all lines from any position. If multiple special symbols land on 3 reels during the same free spin, they expand one after another, each generating wins in turn. Landing 3 Book symbols during the feature awards +5 extra free spins and selects 1 additional special symbol. If every symbol has already been chosen, then retriggers will no longer be awarded.

What Time is It?

Landing 3 Clock Man scatters in the base game activates What Time Is It?, awarding 10 free spins. In this mode, a clock is displayed above reels 2, 3, and 4, showing a different time on each spin. When a Clock Activator symbol lands on reels 2, 3, or 4, wild Multiplier Clock symbols cascade down from the top, replacing all symbols until reaching the Clock Activator, which is replaced as well. The multiplier is determined by the time shown on the clock and can range from x2 to x12. If more than one Multiplier Clock contributes to a payline, their values are added together before the total multiplier is applied.

Buy Bonus

Using the bonus buy button, where offered, gives access to these five choices:

• Bonushunt Feature Spins – 3x the bet where each spin is 4 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. Highly volatile with a maximum RTP of 96.27%
• It’s A Classic! – 100x the bet for 10 free spins and 1 special symbol. Highly volatile with a maximum RTP of 96.39%.
• Even More Classic! – 200x the bet for 15 free spins and 2 special symbols. Highly volatile with a maximum RTP of 96.35%
• The Most Classic! – 400x the bet for 20 free spins and 3 special symbols. Medium volatile with a maximum RTP of 96.37%.
• What Time Is It? – 200x the bet. Very highly volatile, with an RTP of 96.25%.

Canny the Can and the Book of Time: Slot Verdict

Canny the Can’s return is the first surprise in a slot that keeps throwing new ones as you go. If you prefer games with a clear, grounded theme, Book of Time’s anything-goes approach might feel a little disorienting. In other words, it isn’t as instantly readable as fruit, pirates, or mythology. It’s closer to a small travelling circus that’s collected odd acts and side shows for years, until it’s evolved into something nobody can quite define. It’s certainly entertaining, even if it’s hard to neatly categorise.

That’s also where much of Book of Time’s appeal lies: it blends classic slot ideas with newer touches, while nodding toward higher-brow elements like sculpture and books. As a ‘Book of’ slot, it’s a solid option for players who enjoy the expanding-symbols setup. Running more than one special symbol at the same time isn’t unheard of, but it’s not especially common either, and the ability to buy up to 3 special symbols immediately—alongside 20 free spins—may be tempting for some. The symbol payouts are respectable as well, since a full screen of mouse symbols would deliver a 5,000x the bet win, which is roughly the standard benchmark for a ‘Book of’ game. Interestingly, our test sessions produced stronger outcomes in the What Time Is It? feature, though of course results can swing the other way for different players.

Book of Time has a maximum win of 10,000x, achievable in either bonus round, and reaching the win cap is something we’ve seen Hacksaw Gaming slots manage more than once in the past. With Book of Time, Hacksaw Gaming once again shows it prefers carving its own path instead of copying the crowd. Many ‘Book of’ slots include some kind of twist, but it’s far less common to also add a fully separate bonus game on top. If a slot like Book of Dead is the high-water mark for ‘Book of’ gameplay, then Book of Time may stray a bit too far from the usual formula. If it doesn’t, there’s still plenty of curiosity here—a mysterious, charming, challenging game that feels very much like classic Hacksaw Gaming.