Updated
Lisa Michaels
The yellow brick road beckons in Microgaming and Triple Edge Studio’s 5x3 reel, ten payline Book of Oz Slot. This high-volatility game adopts the playful yet sinister tale of the Wizard of Oz as its inspiration, with the various potions cooked up by the wicked sorcerer acting as symbols on the reels and an opulent emerald chamber in the background. My destiny was in my hands as I decided which reels to give another chance at glory, and the game’s bonus features include free spins and wilds. This title is available across all platforms.
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Triple Edge Studios developed Book of Oz in association with Microgaming. It’s straightforward to play, although the Reel Respin feature may take some getting used to if you’ve never experienced it before. Follow these steps to start playing:
This slot uses a standard layout of five reels and three rows. At first glance, it looks ordinary, but once you start spinning, you’ll experience the exciting new feature. Beneath the reels, there’s the spin button, and on either side, there is the autoplay button and max bet button.
You can set up autoplay to complete a preset number of spins, and it’s possible to adjust your bet by tapping the bet size. This will bring up sliders, allowing you to change how much you bet per spin.
The lightning button is also included on the control bar beneath the reels, which will speed up every spin and a sound button to mute the game. You can also check your current playing stats, including your session time, number of spins, and how much you’ve won.
Lastly, you can open up another menu to the far left of the control bar, with options to change the settings, open the paytable or read the game's full rules.
Ten symbols make up this slot’s paytable, with five low-paying symbols, four premium and one bonus. The lower-value symbols are intricately decorated 10 to A card royals. 10, J and Q pay 5x your stake for five on a payline. K and A pay 7.5x your stake for five on the payline.
The higher-value symbols are three different-coloured elixirs that could have magical effects when consumed. There’s also the Wizard of Oz himself, giving a smouldering look. The key and heart potions pay 37.5x your stake for five on a payline. The courage potion pays 100x your stake for five on a payline. The wizard pays 250x your stake for five on a payline.
Last, the ornate book symbol acts as both the wild and the scatter, substituting for all symbols, triggering the bonus round, and paying 100x your stake for five on a payline.
In Book of Oz, you land wins by matching symbols across paylines. There are ten paylines, and you need to form combinations from left to right to land a win. You’ll have to have at least three or a line for the low-paying symbols, but the premium symbols payout from just two.
Even if you don’t win anything from your spin, you could change things by activating the Reel Respins feature. This gives you more control over the game and prevents those frustrating moments where you miss out on a big payout due to a single reel.
Book of Oz is best known for its bonus features. You’ll see the bonus symbol and free spins round if you've played other Book of Slots. However, the Reels Respins feature is all courtesy of Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios. Here’s what you can expect.
1. Reel RespinsAfter any base game spin, I was allowed to respin individual reels. This is a great feature, as I was put in a position where I could complete high-value symbol combinations or even trigger the bonus round from a previously losing spin.
The one thing I had to keep an eye on is that each respin had a cost attached to it, as chasing a winning combo or feature trigger could get expensive. Of course, the higher your chance of triggering a win, the higher the cost of the respin, so bear this in mind and manage your stakes carefully.
2. WildsThe main bonus symbol in this slot acts as both a wild and a scatter. It triggers the free spins round if you’re lucky enough to land three or more anywhere on the reels, but it will also help you form winning lines. It substitutes for all symbols, potentially leading to big wins.
Landing 3, 4, or 5 book symbols awarded me 1, 12, or 25 free spins. Like in other book slots, the game randomly selects a symbol to be the special expanding symbol for the duration of the feature. Every time this symbol landed, it would expand to fill the entire reel it was on, creating some spectacular wins for me. While triggering the bonus feature is rare, it has enormous winning potential, especially if you’re lucky enough to have the wizard as your special expanding symbol.
This slot has a maximum win worth up to 5,000 your bet. The max bet is $25, so you could win $125,000 from a single spin. It's a prize fit for the Wizard of Oz himself, though your best chance of triggering it is by unlocking the free spins bonus round.
This slot's return to player (RTP) rate of 96.31% is around the average for online slots. The RTP rate is an excellent way to determine how fair a game is to play, although it’s not a guarantee of how much you’ll win back from your spins, as it’s calculated over a long period.
Meanwhile, the volatility is rated as high, which means you can expect a lower frequency of wins. However, the payouts tend to be more prominent on average than other slots, so if you can manage your bankroll, there’s excellent potential to land some big wins.
During my experience playing the game, I made a small profit after initially securing some big wins during the free spins bonus. The downside of highly volatile slots is that you must manage your bankroll well, as there can be long periods with no winning spins.
I like this slot's overall visual style, which is unique to the Wizard of Oz theme. In the background of the reels, ornate emerald pillars reach up towards high ceilings. This gives the impression of an incredible palace, one fit for a powerful wizard who can grant any wish. The symbols are also nicely designed, with unique potions and the wizard, who looks much younger than you might expect.
Epic music plays as you spin the reels, and sound effects play with each spin. The result is a game that looks and feels like a magical adventure, where anything could be waiting just around the corner. Of course, you’ll be hoping for a big win, but the game is fun, even if you don’t hit the maximum win.
You can enjoy this slot with real money or play it for free. The free Book of Oz demo is available now, allowing you to enjoy all the action and special features without risking your money. We recommend trying the free demo first, as it will enable you to test out the unique Reels Respin feature and learn more about the game. You can play as much as you like, getting to grips with the features before you play with real money.
Book of Oz is heavily inspired by popular slots such as Book of Ra and Book of Dead. However, the addition of the Reel Respins feature set it apart from many of the games that came before it. Since then, other slots have adopted the same feature. Here’s a quick comparison.
As I opened the slots, I familiarised myself with the betting options, set my bet amount to 2.50 credits per bet, and began. Being familiar with the Book of Oz slots, certain aspects of the game could be recognized, such as the symbols and where the in-game buttons were. Being a respin slot, I decided to keep my bets low as these slot types can get expensive rather quickly. It didn’t take long until I hit 3 Book of Oz symbols and won 10 free spins. I had won 53.75 credits from this and carried on. After this, I attempted to get a combination of the blue courage elixir as a high-paying symbol, but it did not go my way. So I decided to increase my betsize to 5 credits and continued. Toward the end of the session, I only managed to pick up a few small wins and finished the session just over my starting amount. I was making this session a success.
Results:One of the key takeaways of this game is the respin feature, but although this feature isn’t new, Book of Oz seems to deliver it in a way that entices you to stay engaged throughout the time you spend playing the game. It is dynamic enough that it’s exciting in short or long sessions.
Book of Oz slot takes inspiration from the hugely popular Book of Ra, which has inspired countless slots. While it may share some similarities with famous Book of Slots titles, it does offer one unique, game-changing feature that helps set it apart. I immensely enjoyed the theme, even if the character designs slightly differ from what you might expect if you watched the classic Wizard of Oz film.
The star of the show here is the Reel Respins feature, which was brand new when the slot first came out. This creative and engaging innovation adds a new dimension to spinning the reels. It also adds high winning potential to the fun and exciting theme, and you could win up to 5,000x your bet while playing. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys exciting bonus features and wants to play a slot that has significantly impacted games within the casino industry.
Lisa started off as a croupier at her local casino. However she found her niche in writing and has subsequently used her real-world gambling experiences to help produce and review the many online slots that are released monthly. Lisa also contributes to keeping you up to date with Canadian newsworthy stories.
