Quick Answer
The Book symbol in Book of Dead performs two roles. As a wild, it substitutes for any other symbol on active paylines to complete winning combinations. As a scatter, it pays anywhere on the reels (no payline required) and triggers 10 free spins when 3 or more land in a single spin. It is the most important symbol in the game.
Wild Function
The Book substitutes for all symbols except — unusually, itself. When it appears on the reels during the base game or free spins, it completes adjacent symbol sequences on active paylines. For example: Rich Wilde | Book | Rich Wilde | Rich Wilde | Rich Wilde on payline 1 = a 4-of-a-kind Rich Wilde win (pays 100x). Without the Book wild it would be a losing combination. The Book wild also forms its own winning combinations, 5 Book wilds on a payline pays 200x stake.
Scatter Function
As a scatter, the Book pays regardless of payline position. Land 3 anywhere across the 5 reels in a single spin: 10 free spins triggered. Land 4: still 10 free spins but the trigger was less probable — not more spins. Land 5 scattered anywhere: still 10 free spins, but the scatter combination itself pays 20x your total stake as an additional win. The scatter payout for 3 Books is 0.2x stake; for 4 Books it is 2x stake.
During Free Spins
The Book scatter retains its triggering function during free spins. Landing 3+ Book symbols during the bonus round awards 10 additional free spins (retrigger). These stack with your remaining spins. The expanding symbol selected at the start of free spins continues to apply through all retriggered spins.
Why It Is the Game's Key Symbol
No other single symbol in the game's design carries this much function. The Book drives the base game through wild substitutions, triggers the primary bonus feature as scatter, pays scatter wins independent of paylines, and retriggers the bonus. Understanding the Book symbol, when it helps as a wild vs when it would be more valuable as a scatter, is the core of understanding what makes Book of Dead tick.
Having one symbol be both wild and scatter is unusual. Most slots separate the two: one symbol triggers free spins, a different symbol substitutes on paylines. Book of Dead consolidates both, which affects the math in subtle ways. The Book can fill in for a Rich Wilde to complete a 5-Wilde win, AND trigger the bonus, on the same spin. This is part of why 5-Book hits are valuable: 200x scatter + bonus trigger + any wild-fill payline wins.
Statistics throughout this page are sourced from SlotTracker's public dataset of 8.3 million tracked Book of Dead spins, cross-referenced with our own 10,000-session Monte Carlo simulation calibrated to the canonical 96.21% RTP build.
Does the Book symbol pay as a wild on its own?
Yes. 3 Books on a payline pay 200x as if they were any other symbol. 4 Books pay 20x, 5 Books pay 200x. These are independent of the scatter payout.
Can the Book substitute during free spins?
Yes. The Book continues to act as a wild during the bonus round. It can complete paylines as a substitute, AND it can retrigger the bonus if 3+ land during free spins.
How is the dual role different from typical slots?
Most slots have separate wild and scatter symbols. Book of Dead's combined design means every Book hit has the potential to both pay as a scatter and complete a payline win simultaneously, which compounds the payout.
Does the wild expand like the expanding symbol?
Only during free spins, if the Book is randomly chosen as the expanding symbol. In the base game, Book wilds do not expand.