Independent reference · Novomatic / Greentube
Book of Ra by Novomatic: Versions, RTP, Max Win and Demo
Book of Ra is not one slot but a Novomatic family. The 2005 original runs at 92.13% RTP; the 2008 Deluxe rebuild set the template with 5x3 reels, 10 lines, 95.1% RTP and a 10,035x ceiling; the 2018 Magic edition keeps the same numbers but can stack up to nine expanding symbols at once. Every version shares one bonus: three books award 10 free spins at a 2x multiplier with one randomly chosen expanding symbol.
- RTP · Deluxe / Magic
- 95.1%
- Max win · Deluxe 6
- 10,180x
- Free spins · multiplier
- 10 × 2x
- Mainstream versions
- 4
The Book of Ra slot family: which version is which
Four tomes on one shelf, four dates. The bonus is identical in every one — three books, ten spins, one symbol that grows. What changes is the maths built around it: lines, ceiling and the stated return.
Of all Book of Ra slots the 2005 original is the one that invented the "book" genre: five reels, three rows, nine adjustable lines and a stated return of 92.13%. Its ceiling is 5,000x the stake, and the line bet runs from EUR 0.01 to EUR 10, so a full nine-line spin costs between EUR 0.09 and EUR 90.
Book of Ra Deluxe, released on 11 April 2008, is the build you will meet in most lobbies. It kept the 5x3 grid, fixed the line count at ten, lifted the return to 95.1% and doubled the ceiling to 10,035x. Bets run from EUR 0.02 to EUR 20 per spin. Deluxe and Magic compared in detail on their own page.
Deluxe 6 (31 August 2015) adds a sixth reel — a 6x3 grid with ten fixed lines. That is its only structural change: more paying positions per spin, the same bonus, a slightly lower 95.03% return and the highest ceiling of the line at 10,180x.
Book of Ra Magic (8 May 2018) goes back to 5x3 and 95.1% but rewrites one rule of the bonus: each retrigger adds ten spins and a further expanding symbol, up to nine at once, for a 10,056x top win. Greentube also publishes Book of Ra Deluxe 10, Book of Ra Mystic Fortunes, Book of Ra Bingo — official, but rarer in lobbies.
| Version | Release | Grid | Lines | RTP | Bet range | Max win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Book of Ra | 3 March 2005 | 5x3 | 9, adjustable 1–9 | 92.13% | EUR 0.01–10 per line (0.09–90 total) | 5,000x |
 Book of Ra Deluxe | 11 April 2008 | 5x3 | 10 | 95.1% | EUR 0.02–20 | 10,035x |
 Book of Ra Deluxe 6 | 31 August 2015 | 6x3 | 10 fixed | 95.03% | EUR 0.02–20 | 10,180x |
 Book of Ra Magic | 8 May 2018 | 5x3 | 10 | 95.1% | EUR 0.02–20 | 10,056x |
Play the Book of Ra Deluxe demo right here
The Greentube Deluxe build, on a virtual balance. It opens on click, asks you to confirm you are over 18, and then behaves exactly like the cash version — same reels, same 10 free spins, same 2x multiplier. Only the money is not real.
The demo frame did not load here (blocker or region). All four versions in demo on the demo page.
- Tick the 18+ box and press Play. The frame loads only after that click — nothing runs in the background before you ask for it.
- Set lines and bet. Deluxe runs ten lines; the demo balance is virtual and resets when you reload the page.
- Wait for three books. They land anywhere on the reels, not only on a line. Ten free spins follow at 2x, and one symbol is drawn to expand.
- Count how rarely it happens. That is the honest lesson of a high-volatility slot, and the demo teaches it for free.
Play money only — this is Book of Ra online free, not a bonus. Nothing won in the demo can be withdrawn. All four versions in demo — original, Deluxe, Magic and Deluxe 6.
The expanding symbol round, explained once for all versions
One rule, four builds. Learn it on Deluxe and you know the original, Deluxe 6 and Magic too.
- Three or more books anywhere trigger 10 free spins at a 2x multiplier. The book is scatter and wild at once, so it also stands in for any regular symbol on a line.
- Before the first free spin the game draws one regular symbol at random — explorer, pharaoh, Horus, scarab or a card letter. That symbol is the expanding one for the whole round.
- When it lands, it stretches over all 3 positions of its reel and pays on every active line, adjacent or not. Enough of them across the reels and every line pays at once.
- Retriggers keep it going. Three more books add ten spins. In Magic each retrigger also adds a new expanding symbol, up to 9 working together — the whole difference between the two editions.
The round is where almost all the return of the game lives. Base-game hits are small and rare by design; the expanding symbol is what turns a 10,035x ceiling into something a reel can actually show.
RTP by version: 92.13%, 95.03%, 95.1% — and why newer is not richer
Three stated returns across four builds. The gap between the original and the rest is real money over time; the gap inside the Deluxe generation is a rounding error you will never feel in a session.
95.1% is a long-run average, not a promise for tonight. Over millions of spins the Deluxe build returns EUR 95.10 of every EUR 100 staked; over a hundred spins it can return nothing at all or several times the balance. High volatility means exactly that spread.
The original's 92.13% is the number to notice. Nearly three points below Deluxe, it is the reason the 2005 build survives mostly in demo mode and older halls. Deluxe, Magic and Deluxe 6 sit within 0.07 of each other — pick between them for the bonus you prefer, not for the return.
Casino marketing does not change these figures: the return is set in the build the studio ships, and a lobby that claims "96%" for Book of Ra is quoting a different game.
Max win compared: 5,000x in 2005, 10,180x on Deluxe 6
The ceiling doubled when Deluxe arrived and has barely moved since. Deluxe 6 holds the top of the line by a whisker — because a sixth reel gives one more position for an expanding symbol to fill.
All four ceilings are stated against the total stake, so at a EUR 20 spin the theoretical top of Deluxe 6 is EUR 203,600 and the original's is EUR 100,000 at its EUR 90 maximum. Those are five-explorer, every-line, expanded-symbol outcomes inside the free spins — a shape of result the demo will show you how seldom it forms.
Magic's 10,056x sits between Deluxe and Deluxe 6. Its promise is not a higher single hit but more of them at once: nine expanding symbols can fill the reels in ways one never could, which raises the top-end swing without raising the printed ceiling.
Symbols and paytable: explorer, scarab, Horus, sarcophagus
Real symbol art from the Deluxe build, and what each set pays as a multiple of the line bet. The explorer is the top payer from two of a kind; the book pays on the total bet and doubles as the wild.
Explorer - 5×
- 5,000
- 4×
- 1,000
- 3×
- 100
- 2×
- 10
Pharaoh - 5×
- 2,000
- 4×
- 400
- 3×
- 40
- 2×
- 5
Horus statue - 5×
- 750
- 4×
- 100
- 3×
- 30
- 2×
- 5
Scarab - 5×
- 750
- 4×
- 100
- 3×
- 30
- 2×
- 5
Book — scatter and wild - 5×
- 200
- 4×
- 20
- 3×
- 2
A · K - 5×
- 150
- 4×
- 40
- 3×
- 5
Q · J · 10 - 5×
- 100
- 4×
- 25
- 3×
- 5
The sarcophagus of the 2005 art became the golden pharaoh mask in Deluxe; the scarab and the Horus statue kept their places and their 750x. Card letters — A and K at 150x, Q, J and 10 at 100x — fill most of every spin, which is why the base game feels quiet until the books arrive.
Lines and stakes: nine adjustable lines against ten fixed
The original let you switch lines off; every build since Deluxe 6 keeps all ten on. That one setting changes what a "cheap spin" means.
On the 2005 original you choose one to nine lines at EUR 0.01–10 each, so a spin costs anything from EUR 0.09 to EUR 90 — and a one-line spin at a cent is legal, if pointless, because the expanding symbol pays only on active lines.
Deluxe and Magic run ten lines with spins from EUR 0.02 to EUR 20. Deluxe 6 fixes all ten permanently: you set the stake, the game sets the lines. The coloured tabs on the side of the reels are the same in every version — they are the lines' numbers, and in Deluxe 6 they simply stop being buttons.
Where to play Book of Ra online for real money
Our partner casino carries the Greentube catalogue — Deluxe, Magic, Deluxe 6 and the rest of the Novomatic shelf — alongside Play'n GO, Pragmatic Play, Amatic, EGT and Wazdan. A welcome offer exists; its size, wagering and minimum deposit change more often than this page, so read them on the operator's site before you deposit.
- Find the exact build. Search the lobby for "Book of Ra Deluxe" — the original and Magic are listed separately.
- Read the offer in words, not banners. Wagering applies to the bonus, and slot contributions differ by title.
- Set a deposit limit first. High volatility drains a balance in minutes; the limit is the only brake you control.
- Check the rules panel in the game. The RTP printed there is the number that counts, whatever the lobby says.
Book of Ra: five questions answered
How many Book of Ra versions are there?
The line runs from the 2005 original through Deluxe (2008), Deluxe 6 (2015), Magic (2018), plus Deluxe 10, Mystic Fortunes and a bingo adaptation. Deluxe is the one most casinos stock.
What is the difference between Book of Ra and Book of Ra Deluxe?
Deluxe raised the RTP from 92.13% to 95.1%, moved from nine adjustable lines to ten, doubled the ceiling from 5,000x to 10,035x and reworked the art. The bonus round is the same idea in both.
Which version pays the most?
By stated ceiling, Deluxe 6 at 10,180x, ahead of Magic (10,056x) and Deluxe (10,035x). By stated RTP it is the other way round: Deluxe 6 sits at 95.03%, marginally below the 95.1% of Deluxe and Magic.
Can I play Book of Ra free on this page?
Yes. The demo above runs the Greentube Deluxe build on play money after an 18+ confirmation. Nothing won there is withdrawable.
Is the gamble feature worth using?
It doubles or wipes the win on a coin-flip style guess. It changes variance, not expected value, and it is disabled in several regulated markets.
Book of Ra in one paragraph
Pick Deluxe if you want the version every lobby carries and the 95.1% return; pick Magic for the same numbers with a wilder bonus; pick Deluxe 6 for the highest printed ceiling and accept a return 0.07 lower. Leave the 2005 original to the demo — 92.13% is a different game economically. Whatever you choose, the free spins with the expanding symbol are the whole slot; the base game only pays for the wait.
Book of Ra is a high-volatility slot: long runs without a bonus are normal, and a session can end far from the 95.1% average in either direction. Set deposit and loss limits before the first spin, treat the gamble feature as pure variance, and stop when the fun stops. Free, confidential 18+ support: BeGambleAware.org and GamCare.