Book of Sam

Review

If you’re familiar with the games by this developer then this is not the first time you meet ELK’s family of trolls, but it is by far the most memorable encounter if you ask us. Book of Sam follows a group of funny leprechauns on their holiday to Vegas, and the neon-infused setting is a lot more engaging than the forest and beach settings found in previous instalments. The look and feel of the game is very immersive, making you feel like you’re going with them on a journey. This is thanks to the intro film and the graphics, making it a joy to see what can be done with an Egyptian game theme with a bit of imagination. ELK Studios makes sure the troll kids look like they’re enjoying the artefacts in their own way. Other than being able to win top prizes of 10,000x the bet it is also a fun pokie.

Book of Sam

Imagine all the fun of a group of jolly leprechauns heading to Las Vegas. You might just be able to experience the fun in this Book of Sam pokie. Brought to you by ELK Studios comes a title that gives you a combination of Ancient Egyptian motifs, leprechauns, and the city of Las Vegas. This launch has a relatively easy to understand grid with 5 reels and 10 non-adjustable paylines. The visuals are of high quality and come with original symbols in lively colours and darker reels with nice, golden ornaments. Different symbols and signs that refer to Vegas can be seen in the background. This together creates a great setting and makes sure that players will feel comfortable when making their first spin.

How to Play

Book of Sam is a pokie that is offered by many online casinos and follows some basic rules. Here is how to play Book of Sam by ELK Studios:

• Spin: the Book of Sam pokie game has one button that dominates the screen: the white circle with a white cursor. The 5×3 grid will start spinning whenever you click on them.
• Auto spins: you can also make use of the auto sign on top to automate the process and get up to 100 auto spins.
• Betting limits: the coins on the left will open a new window with twelve betting options. Players can set bets as low as $ 0.2 and as high as $ 100 per spin.
• Info: the 3 lines in the upper-left corner open the payout table. You can use the same window to check and change the settings. This is also where to read the game rules.

Symbol Wins

Coming with an Egyptian and Vegas game theme at the same time, the Book of Sam pokie is quite a pokie. With this blend, you will see different well known landmarks from Las Vegas adapted to Sam’s own world. This means that there is a Stratosphere Tower to be found in the game, Caesars Palace which is now called Sandra’s Palace and the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign which now reads ‘Welcome to Sam Vegas’. On the reels of the grid, first you will see Egyptian style A, K, Q, J and 10 playing cards. You will need combos of 3 or more to land a win with these symbols. The premium symbols include Bastet (the feline goddess), Maggie, Sandra and Sam. As you’d expect, Sam is the most valuable symbol with payouts of 1, 5, 100 or 500x the bet awarded for combinations of 2, 3, 4 or 5 across any of the paylines. The Book of Sam symbol is the wild and scatter. Substituting for any symbol, 3 or more anywhere in a base game spin will activate the free spins round. Two, 3, 4 or 5 Wild/Scatter symbols will give you payouts of 1, 5, 100 or 500x the bet.

Bonus Features

Just like most ‘Book of’ games, Book of Sam also has quite a few features to offer. ELK Studios has included the X-iter feature which will be to the liking of many players. Below you can read how the wild symbols, electric treats and the free spins features work.

Wild Symbols

The wild symbol of Book of Sam, of course, consists of the book which is used as the game’s wild symbol. This book can substitute for all normal symbols to complete winning combinations. In addition, the book, as you are used to from ‘Book of’ pokies, is also the scatter of the pokie. With the book you also activate the free spins round.

Electric Treats

You can get electric treats both in the base game and in the free spins round of Book of Sam. This feature becomes active by forming a combination with Sam or one of his relatives. What happens next depends on which family member activates the feature.

• Sam: with a winning combination of Sam symbols, you get a respin. Before this respin starts, you also get an extra book that is sticky. In the free spins round, this book expands over the entire reel.
• Sandra: a winning combination of Sandra symbols awards a respin with a win multiplier. During the free spins round, Sandra’s multiplier is active with every electric treat spin.
• Maggie: with a winning combination of Maggie symbols, you do not get a respin. However, all low symbols, cats and Maggie symbols are removed from the grid. After this, new symbols will fall on all empty spaces. Note that expanding symbols are not removed.

Book of Sam Free Spins

The free spins round of Book of Sam is triggered by landing 3, 4 or 5 scatters on the grid. You always get at least 8 free spins for this. You also get 1, 2 or 3 scattering symbols, depending on the number of scatters you spin. Which symbols turn into scatters is decided in a completely random way. If scattering symbols can create a winning combination, they will expand to cover the entire reel. If you get to see 3 or more scatters in the Book of Sam free spins feature, you will earn 1 extra free spin and 1 extra scattering symbol. This way you can get a total of 5 scattering symbols during the free spins round.

X-iter feature

The new generation ELK Studios pokies all come with an X-iter feature. Available in most online casinos in New Zealand, players will have the choice to purchase 5 different game modes varying between 2 and 500x bet. Here’s what you can choose from and what they cost:

Payout Metrics

The Book of Sam RTP is set at 94% which is quite a lot below the 96% range that most industry experts see as average. Most ELK Studios pokies offer 94% or 95% which is a bit cheeky if you ask us. If return to players (RTP) are important to you, ELK Studios might not be your game studio. High variance (8 out of 10), the hit frequency rate is set at 22.1% by this provider. This basically means that a winning combination will land every 4.52 spins on average which is not bad at all. The Book of Sam pokie also offers you top wins of 10,000x the total bet which is a fair number. Key to big wins are the Electric Treats that see Sandra awarding a multiplier.

Summary

ELK Studios makes it look very natural, but having a fun looking troll family travel to Las Vegas instead of back in time to ancient Egypt isn’t that common. Still, ELK Studios manages to get the most out of this and we find it to be quite a cool twist. They still managed to integrate the Egyptian artefacts into their game, albeit in a playful way. You’re about to be taken away into a magic world of thrills from the first time you launch the game, and the Electric Treat feature keeps you on the edge of your chair during base game spins. Getting up to 3 expanding symbols from the start in the bonus game is an interesting twist as well, but be prepared that you will get only 1 from 3 scatters most of the time. The game’s multiplier can help out either way, and the electric treat modifier looks to trigger a lot more frequently during the feature. It all adds up to a very enjoyable pokie experience. Also, it is quite refreshing in comparison with all those Egyptian tombs.