Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead Slot Review

Slot Provider: Play n Go

RTP: 96.29% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 5,000x

Our Score: 8.0

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About Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 1st April 2021

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Amulet of Dead is a ‘Book of’ slot from Play n Go with 5 reels and 10 paylines. It is a high variance game with a 5,000x top win. Thoth Wilds land in stacks on reels 2 to 4, with multipliers of up to 5x, helping to complete paylines. A Pendant Scatter triggers free spins as well as acting as another Wild to produce more wins in base game and bonus round. For free spins one symbol is chosen to expand when it can to complete paylines, whilst both Wilds remain active. Spins start at just 1p.

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead Game Information

  • RTP: 96.29% | 94.28% | 91.22% | 87.28% | 84.24%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 5,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 3
  • Paylines: 10
  • Minimum Stake: £0.01
  • Theme: Ancient Egypt
  • Features: Wilds, Stacked Wilds, Expanding Symbols, Multipliers

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead Review Scores

  • Gameplay and Features 8
  • Maximum Win 7
  • Theme and Design 9
  • Paytable 8
  • RTP and Variance 8

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A superb mix of old and new features where Stacked Multiplier Wilds play a huge part in delivering regular wins - a worthwhile sequel to a popular classic!"

Our Score: 8.0

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead Pros and Cons

What We Liked

  • Thoth Wild stacks land frequently
  • Unlimited free spins re-triggers
  • Pendant Scatters are Wild too
  • Excellent visual production

What We Didn't like

  • Lower max win than other Book of games
  • Some low RTP settings

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

Back In Ancient Egypt With Rich Wilde For His Latest Adventure

Rich Wilde is a celebrity in the world of slots, fronting a franchise of games that started with Book of Dead and now includes 6 other titles. In these circumstances you don’t mess too much with the formula. So, we are back in Ancient Egypt at the foot of a giant temple, with huge statues of Pharaohs either side of the reel set. The artworks is more polished than in the original Book of Dead as you would expect – that game was released in 2016 – but the overall audio-visual production is not too different.

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead by Play n Go
Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead – polished artwork and intricate illustrations

Intricate hieroglyphs are portrayed all down the sides of the temple, golden pharaohs adorn the paytable and the whole picture is bathed in an orange-red light that looks really cool. And in the background, a cinematic orchestral soundtrack plays along with more than a hint of Indiana Jones about it.

RTP and Variance

Our Score 8

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

The optimum RTP setting on Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead is 96.29%. However, there are four other settings – 94.28%, 91.22%, 87.28% and 84.24%. You may find the game running at one of these lower rates at some slot sites in the UK. It’s therefore worth checking the RTP on the game info screen when you load up to make sure you are playing at one of the higher rates and getting good value on your wagering.  In checks made for this review I found that the game runs at 96.29% at both Barz Casino and MrQ.

Regarding variance, Like other ‘Book of’ slots, Amulet of Dead is a volatile game so it can be unpredictable and holds back much of its RTP for the free spins round where expanding symbols are driving the payouts.

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The maximum payout in Amulet of Dead is unimpressive at 5,000x. This is the same as the original Book of Dead but falls well short of the kind of numbers we see in more recent variations on the format. Play n Go’s own Ghost of Dead (10,000x) and Scroll of Dead (7,500x) come in higher, as do Quickspin’s Book of Duat (32,760x) and Nolimit City’s Book of Shadows (30,761x).

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

Low Stakes, High Paytable Values And Interesting Wilds and Scatters

Amulet of Dead follows the classic ‘Book of’ format with 5 reels and 3 rows. As with the original, you can choose how many lines you want to bet on, from 1 to 10 which means you can actually set your bet level to just 1p per spin!

And like all good games in this series what is impressive is the value in the paytable which pays out a whopping 1,000x at the top end for 5 premiums.

Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead Paytable
Paytable from Amulet of Dead with 1,000x wins for the highest paying premium

At the bottom end are the low-value symbols which are represented by the standard playing card symbols 10 through Ace, all designed in an Egyptian style, awarding between 1x for 3 10s and 30x for 5 Aces. The premiums are depicted as Horus, Anubis, Tutankhamen and Rich Wilde himself. These are valued at from 1x for 3 Horus up to 1,000x for 5 Rich Wildes.

There are also several special symbols including Wilds and Scatters that are explained in the next section.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

The gameplay will be recognisable to anyone who is familiar with Book of games, though Play n Go have tweaked it a little to keep things interesting.

Thoth Wild Comes In Stacks With Multipliers

So, in this version, the Wild symbol which is a representation of Thoth, a terrifying deity which ruled the underworld. He substitutes for all symbols except the Scatter to form wins.

Thoth Wild Stack With Multiplier
Thoth Wild comes stacked on reels 2 to 4 with multipliers

When appearing on reels 2, 3 or 4, he can also land as a stack, in doing so, activating a 2x, 3x or 5x multiplier, displayed centrally above the 3 middle reels. This is a VERY regular feature in Amulet of Dead, appearing numerous times in testing which produced lots of wins in the base game. Also, when appearing as a stack in free spins Thoth can substitute for the expanding symbol to help complete paylines so he has a powerful role to perform.

Pendant Wild Scatter Triggers Free Spins and Pays Out

But more powerful still is the Pendant which has a dual role as Wild Scatter. First, landing 3 or more anywhere on the reels will trigger 10 spins. This also earns you a payout of 2x, 20x or 200x when 3, 4 or 5 land on the triggering spin. But interestingly, the Pendant is a Wild too – so it can substitute for other symbols to complete paylines in both base game and bonus round. And it also pays out 2x, 20x, 200x or 1,000x when 2, 3, 4 or 5 land on a payline.

Free Spins With Expanding Symbol

The rest of the game offers nothing new at all. Before the round starts one symbol is chosen as the expanding one. When it lands, if by expanding to full reel height it can complete paylines, then it does.

And if you land 3 or more scatters again, you’ll trigger 10 more spins.

Expanding Symbols in the Free Spins round
Wins with expanding 10s in the free spins round

Double of Quaudruple Your Wins With The Gamble Feature

Like most Book of games, Amulet of Dead will give you the option to 2x or 4x your wins on every payout by betting on the turn of a card. You can bet on its color for 2x or suit for 4x. But remember, if you guess wrong then you will lose your win completely!

The Final Verdict

Our Score 8.0

Amulet of Dead is often labelled as rather too close in design to Book of Dead to be of interest, but I disagree. With the addition of Thoth Wilds with multipliers and the Pendant Wild Scatters, there is much more going on in this edition. So whilst we are on very familiar territory with the audio visual side of the slot, the gameplay has enough new energy to make the slot worth playing. The Thoth Wilds are particularly useful – as testing showed – and having multipliers added to each stack gives them significant power. The only downside to Amulet of Dead is the 5,000x max win which feels a little underwhelming in the current climate where top wins in excess of 50,000x are not uncommon. Aside from that, this is a worthy addition to a very popular franchise.

Boom or Bust? 200 Spins On Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead

To give you an accurate and honest assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

I played 200 spins on Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead for real money at Casumo Casino to test the game and this is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £0.1
  • Start balance: £4.59
  • End balance: £2.30
  • Biggest Win: 57.6x
  • Free Spins: 2
  • Session Time: 17 minutes 15 seconds

Amulet of Dead felt like more than just a re-boot of Book of Dead during this test session, thanks largely to the Thoth Wild that appeared very regularly – 34 times over 200 spins in fact! That’s close to 20% of spins. Of course, not all those produced a win, but some did in the 5x to 10x range helped by the multipliers of course. But that’s not all I enjoyed about this test session. I also triggered the free spins round twice. First time the ‘10’ was the expander which is not great in value but still helped notch up a 57.6x win. The second time, the Ace was chosen. Better, but resulting only in a 15.8x win this time.

A big win in free spins on Amulet of Dead
A 57.6x win on Amulet of Dead during testing

This was a generous 200 spins thanks to the regularity of wins and the two free spins rounds. It may not always land that way for you but certainly it showed that despite its volatile engine, Amulet of Dead can still be a lot of fun.

Useful Tips When Playing Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Watch Out For Pendant Scatters

Though Thoth Wilds are great, it is the Pendant Wild Scatter which is the most powerful tool here because it both unlocks Free Spins AND acts as a Wild. Plus it can re-trigger free spins!

2. Thoth Wild Multipliers Are Big In The Base Game

The Thoth Wild helped produce many, many wins in testing in the base game. Watch the multiplier value displayed above the reels because this is applied to ANY win that passes through the Thoth stack!

3. Choose A Low Stake

You can spin from as little as 1p if you want to bet on just one line per spin. That can be useful in high variance slots like this one because it allows you to stretch your balance further chasing down those big wins.

4. Play Only At Licensed UK Slot Sites

I recommend that you only play at licensed UK slot sites like the ones listed on this page. These are sites regulated under UK law to ensure that they only offer safe, fair and secure betting.

Who Made Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead?

  • Name: Play n Go
  • Established: 1997
  • UK License: Remote 021725-R-304911-020
  • Total Games: 200 +
  • Known For: Grid slots, high variance slots, huge range of themes, styles and maths models
  • Popular Slots: Book of Dead, Reactoonz 1 and 2, Troll Hunters 2, Rise of Olympus
Find More Play n Go

Like The Sound of Rich Wilde and the Amulet of Dead? Here are 4 more games chosen for you...

Ghost of Dead

Variance: High

Max Win: 10,000x

Our Score: 8.2

Scroll of Dead

Variance: High

Max Win: 7,500x

Our Score: 8.2

Book of Duat

Variance: HIgh

Max Win: 32,760x

Our Score: 8.8

Book of Shadows

Variance: High

Max Win: 30,338x

Our Score: 9.0

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