Luck of Ra: Slot Overview

Joining the ever-expanding ‘book of’ crowd—this time with a small twist—is Luck of Ra from Microgaming partner Plank Gaming. The main attraction is expanding-symbol free spins, supported by a few additional ideas, including a couple of Modes to experiment with. If you’re after lightweight Ra-themed spins with a dash of something different, Luck of Ra might be worth a look. Let’s see whether it suits what you’re after.

Once the loading screen featuring the falcon-headed god Horus is out of the way, the game drops you into an Ancient Egyptian scene. Front and centre sits a massive 5×3 reel set filled with large, bold symbols and 10 fixed paylines. Rather than pyramids, two colossal statues frame the reels, their scale emphasised by the tiny trees in the foreground. The soundtrack is enjoyable too—clearly Egypty, with a smooth belly-dance style beat. In terms of maths, it runs with high volatility and a fairly low hit rate of 16.91%, alongside a solid 96.06% RTP. Betting is fairly limited, starting at 10 p/c on the lower side, rising to $/€10 at the top.

Where Luck or Ra begins to set itself apart is through its three different modes—starting with Standard Mode, which plays like a typical slot. The alternatives are Super Mode and Mega Mode, and when either is enabled, the 5 reels don’t spin in the usual way. In Super Mode, pressing play instead spins a needle on a small wheel split into red and green sections. Landing on green makes the reels synchronise for a single spin. In Mega Mode, hitting green awards free spins. All modes cost the same per spin.

Wins land when two or three matching symbols hit a payline from reel one. They’re not exactly in the same value bracket as the top-tier ‘book of’ titles. The higher-paying symbols are limited to three: Anubis in jackal form, a Pharaoh, and a Liz Taylor-esque queen. These pay from two of a kind, reaching 20 to 30 times your stake for five of a kind. Below them are 10-A card royals, paying 5x to 10x the bet for five of a kind. The biggest payer is actually the Horus wild, which substitutes for everything except the scatter and returns 75x for a combination of five.

Luck of Ra: Slot Features

Beyond the extra Modes to play with, the feature set includes synced reels, mega symbols, and free spins. Synced reels can trigger randomly in the base game, during free spins, or by getting a favourable result in Super Mode. When it happens, any 3 adjacent reels synchronise and spin showing identical symbols. Mega Symbols can also appear at random. These are 3×3 sized symbols that may land partly or completely within the visible area.

Free spins activate either from a successful Mega Mode result or when a scroll symbol lands fully in view. This awards 8 free spins. Before the round starts, 2 different symbols are chosen to be special expanding symbols. If those symbols appear anywhere and there are enough to form a win, they expand to fill every position on their reel and pay all ways. This expansion happens after any standard wins have been paid. The feature can also be extended if a 3×3 scroll lands fully in view, granting 8 additional free spins.

Lastly, there’s another route into free spins via the bonus buy. This option costs 85x the total bet, and when chosen it takes you straight to the special symbol selection screen.

Luck of Ra: Slot Verdict

As noted earlier, Luck of Ra is essentially a ‘book of’ style slot with one or two added twists. A few of those twists feel like they’re best tested before committing to them. It’s good to see developers trying fresh ideas, though it’s hard to say how widely some of these additions will appeal. The main question mark is the Modes, and both non-Standard choices left us with mixed impressions. Super Mode is arguably the least engaging, since the reward is just a single synced-reels spin—which might not even end up paying anything.

Even Mega Mode’s free spins reward can become a grind, because there’s a genuine possibility you’ll spend more chasing the green segment than you would by simply paying the 85x and going straight in. Sure, you could hit it on the first Mega Mode attempt—anything’s possible. Still, in testing, Mega Mode and Super Mode often felt like more hassle than benefit, and they’re not especially exciting either, as you’re basically staring at a tiny wheel and hoping the needle cooperates. But tastes differ.

When it comes to win potential, there are no official numbers, but Luck of Ra doesn’t feel like a massive-win slot. The clearest clue is the maximum payout from a single spin is 750x the bet, and that requires 15 wilds to land—something that doesn’t look likely. One small positive is that wilds can be picked as special expanding symbols in free spins. Even so, payouts in Luck of Ra tend to be modest even on a good day.

All in all, Luck of Ra is unlikely to satisfy players who prefer the heavier-hitting end of the ‘book of’ spectrum, such as Book of Dead. They’re simply operating in different leagues. Luck of Ra delivers some small ‘book’ style highlights through its core play, but the extra Modes feel a bit questionable.