Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead: Slot Overview

Cat may have been stealing the limelight for a bit, but now her old man returns for another expedition. It’s billed as a fresh adventure, although an Egyptian-themed slot built around an expanding special symbol bonus isn’t exactly breaking new ground. Still, Play’n GO rarely lacks imagination, and Rich Wilde has a couple of handy tricks up his archaeologist’s sleeve in Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead.

The Abu Simbel temples rank among the most impressive surviving monuments of Ancient Egypt. Carved straight into the cliff face, their famous statues depict towering gods and pharaohs. Play’n GO hasn’t recreated the scene in a literal way, but it’s essentially the vibe behind the 5-reel, 10-payline layout. It’s a backdrop you don’t see too often in slots, and it’s a welcome change from the usual pyramids, generic temples, or Nile scenery. Elsewhere, the presentation leans heavily into a Book of Dead style, neatly linking Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead back to Play’n GO’s blockbuster.

Sticking to the familiar formula, Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead is a volatile title, though not as extreme as some might assume, coming in at 7 out of 10. As usual, RTP settings vary, so it’s worth checking you’re on the best version, which tops out at 96.29% – slightly higher than Book of Dead for those keeping score. Built to run smoothly on any device, Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead offers bets from 1 p/c to $/€100 per spin. The 1 cent minimum is intentional, as players can choose to play with anywhere from 1 to 10 paylines, either for the experience or to make the bankroll last longer.

Payouts land when at least 3 low symbols or 2 premium symbols connect from the leftmost reel. The paytable will look very familiar to anyone who’s played Book of Dead. Low values are the Egyptian-themed 10 through A royals, while the higher-paying icons are Egyptian relics and gods, paying 17.5 to 100 times your stake for five of a kind (with 10 paylines enabled), which can produce respectable full-screen hits.

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead: Slot Features

Watch for Thoth wilds, which can show up only on reels 2, 3, or 4, and may arrive stacked. When Thoth Wilds land stacked, they set off the Thoth Multiplier. In this mechanic, 1, 2, or 3 fully stacked Thoth Wilds trigger a 2x, 3x, or 5x multiplier, respectively. Once activated, Thoth Multipliers boost all wins on the spin that triggered them. Thoth Multipliers can occur in both the base game and free spins, and they also apply to any scatter wins.

The amulet scatter can land on any reel and pays up to 100x the bet for a line of 5. It also acts as a wild, substituting for any standard paying symbol to help form wins. Hitting 3 or more amulets awards 10 free spins and opens the bonus. Before the free spins begin, one pay symbol is randomly selected to become the special expanding symbol for the entire free spins round.

After each win check during the bonus, if there are enough special symbols to make a winning combination, they expand to cover all positions on their reels. Special symbols don’t have to be next to each other to pay, and they don’t need to start from reel 1 either. Also, fully stacked Thoth Wilds can stand in for a special expanding symbol to complete a winning combination. A further 10 free spins are retriggered whenever 3 or more amulet scatters appear.

Lastly, for players who like to take a shot, there’s also the possibility to use a gamble feature. By correctly predicting the suit or colour of a face-down card, you can quadruple or double the win. You can play gamble rounds up to 5 times consecutively.

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead: Slot Verdict

Play’n GO has made sure Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead includes all the essentials you’d expect from a dependable ‘book of’ slot – expanding special symbols, wild/scatters, and the potential for big full-screen payouts. On top of that, it throws in a few elements that many ‘book’ games don’t, helping Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead sit among the stronger entries in the genre.

For one, adjustable paylines are relatively rare now, although how many people will actually play with fewer than all 10 is another question. Even so, having the choice doesn’t hurt, especially with the so-called “One Line Theory” gaining traction among casino players. Thor Wilds/Multipliers also bring extra punch to both the base game and free spins, since stacked wilds can substitute for special symbols. Not many ‘book’ slots let their wilds perform that role.

Ultimately, Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead doesn’t offer a huge amount that’s truly new, and even its main differentiator, the selectable paylines, already appears in other Play’n GO titles like Pimped and Cats & Cash. Much like adding “Megaways” to a release, what really gives Amulet of Dead its pull is the Rich Wilde branding; beyond that, the tweaks and variations here aren’t especially groundbreaking.