Book of Merlin Slot Review
Book of Merlin is an online slot from game provider 1×2 Gaming. The slot was launched in 2020 at non GamStop casinos. The main character in this slot is the wizard Merlin. This character is part of the famous story of King Arthur, which revolves around a magical sword: Excalibur.
For years, the wizard has appeared in slots from various providers, such as Rise of Merlin (Play'n GO), Merlin's Magic Mirror (iSoftBet), and Merlin and his Magical Creations (Novomatic). In Book of Merlin, he has taken up residence in his castle. From there, he does his best to help you win, while players can also test non-GamStop betting sites risk-free.
Neither the theme nor the gameplay features are particularly original at non GamStop casinos. Book of Merlin is a clear clone of the all-time classic: Book of Ra (Novomatic). This slot has been cloned dozens of times in various "Book of" games. Think of Book of Oz, for example. This means it features scatters, wilds, and a free spins feature with expanding symbols. The maximum win is set at a respectable 5,000 x the bet. However, with Book of Power, this can reach up to 15,000 x your bet. The Return to Player (RTP) of Book of Merlin is lower than the original.
Advantages and disadvantages of Book of Merlin
To give you a good idea of this online slot machine, we will first discuss the most important advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
• Graphically a beautiful slot machine
• Expanding symbols
• High maximum profit
Disadvantages
• Yet another Book of slot
• RTP percentage just below average
• Bonus difficult to trigger
How does the Book of Merlin slot work?
The number of symbols and paylines in the game won't surprise Book of Ra fans at non GamStop casinos. There are 5×3 symbol locations, and you can create up to 10 paylines per spin. These lines run from left to right across the reels. Spinning starts at €0.10 and goes up to a maximum of €25 per spin.
The 10, J, Q, K, and A are the basic symbols in Book of Merlin. There's not much to say about them, other than that you need at least 3 of the same symbols on a payline. This wins you 10 times your stake, or a maximum of €250.
The magic potion, the magical chain, the staff, and the old Merlin himself are the higher-paying symbols. Landing two of these symbols on a payline creates a winning combination. This means you can win up to €1,875 for the first two, and €5,000 and €12,500 for the others, respectively.
Important to know: All amounts in this review are calculated with a maximum bet of €25 per spin.
Bet and variance
The Book of Merlin stakes are relatively modest, with a minimum bet of €0.10 and a maximum bet of €25. However, this is still higher than the maximum bet on Amatic slots. The highest possible payout is in the free spins bonus game with the expanding symbol, where you can win up to 5,000 times your stake. The game has high variance.
This means it can take a long time to win a prize. The payout percentage for Book of Merlin is 95.8%, below the industry standard of 96%. Although land-based slots have an RTP of around 80%, 95.8% is still low for the top 10 non GamStop casinos.
Bonus features of Book of Merlin
In addition to the standard symbols, Book of Merlin has a wild and a scatter. These are represented by the same symbol. You'll recognize this symbol by the book. The book's wild function is to substitute for other symbols in this slot, making it easier to form winning lines.
Free spins
Merlin's Book is the scatter symbol. Land this symbol three times on the playing field and you'll win a cash payout. It also triggers the free spins feature.
• 3 scatters will give you 20 coins, so up to €50 and 10 free spins
• 4 scatters will give you 200 coins, so up to €500 and 10 free spins
• 5 scatters will give you 2,000 coins, so up to €5,000 and 10 free spins
If you trigger the bonus, a special symbol is first chosen from the magic book. This can be any regular symbol. If you get 3 or more of these symbols on the reels during the bonus, they expand across the entire reel they appear on. This automatically creates 10 paylines, as it's not necessary to line up the symbols from left to right during the bonus.
For example, if Merlin is chosen as the expanding symbol, you're in luck. You only need him spread across all 5 reels to receive the maximum payout: up to €125,000.
Conclusion: Book of Merlin is an entertaining game with an interesting free spins feature
Cloning a winning formula isn't always smart. This also makes us much more critical. With so many different copies of Book of Ra, the focus here is even more on the RTP, variance, and top prize.
The theoretical payout percentage of Book of Merlin is actually just a bit too low to compete with the fierce competition. For example, Book of Dead has an RTP of 96.21% with the same maximum payout. Or consider the lesser-known Ramses Book (Gamomat), with 96.15%.
Book of Merlin is definitely not a bad game. The slot has beautiful graphics and is of high quality. Moreover, the reels spin quickly and smoothly. The free spins feature with expanding symbols is very interesting to play. The only downside is that you won't get to this bonus game often, as the slot has a high variance.