Slots Like Book of Sam: A Koala Explorer, Thirty Lines and a Random Expanding Symbol
Book of Sam is Chilli Games taking the oldest template in the business and giving it a koala. Sam is an Australian marsupial in an Indiana Jones fedora, digging through an Egyptian temple at sunset, and the joke is carried off with a lot more care than it has any right to be. Under the artwork sits a familiar five reel, three row grid, but with thirty paylines rather than the ten that Novomatic’s original used, which changes the rhythm of a session completely. The published return to player is 95.3%. Stakes run from 0.30 to 150 a spin. The golden book is scatter and wild at the same time, three or more of them start a ten spin bonus, and one symbol is drawn at random before that round begins and then expands across whole reels when it pays. Chilli Games publishes no maximum win figure and no volatility rating, which we will come back to. If you are hunting for slots like Book of Sam because you want the book format with more lines and fewer dry spells, this is a reasonable place to start, with one large caveat about where you can actually play it.
Where to Play
18+ only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.
Book of Sam Demo Play
The panel below is connected to the Book of Sam record held by our demo partner. Chilli Games has not yet released a free play build of this title to that network, so the panel currently shows the game art and a Coming Soon button instead of loading the reels. We have left it in place because it will begin working as soon as the build appears. 18+.
Game Information
How the Game Works
Reviewed by Brian TaylorPublished: July 2026
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The reels are framed by two stone pillars and a carved lintel covered in hieroglyphs, with the game name mounted in the middle of it. Behind that sits a wide desert at dusk, purple fading into orange, with palm trees, a pyramid and a sphinx in soft silhouette. Five reels, three rows, thirty lines. Wins are read from the leftmost reel across and only the best combination on each line counts. The thing that separates this from most of the games it copies is that the premium symbols start paying from two of a kind rather than three, so on thirty lines the meter ticks over on a large majority of spins.
That design choice matters more than it sounds. On the two spins we captured at a 3.00 stake, a pair of lotus tiles on the bottom line returned 3.00, exactly the stake back, and a pair of winged scarab amulets on a V shaped line returned 1.50, half of it. Neither is a win in any meaningful sense, but both keep the balance moving and both make the game feel considerably less brutal than the ten line originals. The trade is that the base game almost never produces anything worth stopping for. You are grinding towards the bonus, and the game is honest enough about that.
The stake ladder runs from 0.30 to 150 a spin, which is a wide spread for a small studio and suggests the game was built with high roller lobbies in mind as much as casual ones. Because thirty lines are fixed, that 0.30 minimum works out at a penny a line. There is no bonus buy button, no ante bet, no adjustable volatility setting and no way to pay extra for a better trigger chance. Whatever build you find, the maths is the maths.
Symbols and Paytable
The symbol set is carved stone plaques for the low values and framed portraits for the high ones. Ranked from the top down:
- Sam the koala. The top symbol, a koala in a battered brown fedora and an explorer’s jacket, mounted in a red hexagonal frame. He is the biggest payer on the board.
- The black cat. A Bastet style cat with amber eyes and a gold collar, set in a turquoise frame. Second tier.
- The winged scarab amulet. Gold wings around a turquoise scarab on a purple plaque. We watched two of these pay half the total stake.
- The lotus tile. A painted papyrus and lotus panel in cream, green and gold. Two of them returned a full stake at our bet level, which puts it just under the scarab.
- Card royals, A K Q J 10. Cracked sandstone plaques with coloured lettering, the ace and king in red and orange, the jack and ten in turquoise and violet. These make up the bulk of the reels and pay very little.
- The golden book. A stone bound tome with a pyramid emblem stamped on the cover and a blue ribbon marker. It is scatter and wild at once, so it pays from anywhere and it also substitutes.
There is a separate wild in the paytable as well, and the rules screen is specific about its limits. It substitutes for every symbol except the scatter and except the special expanding symbol during the bonus. That second exclusion is easy to miss and it matters, because it stops a wild from quietly completing an expanding symbol line for you.
Bonus Features Explained
The Free Spins Bonus Game
Three or more golden books landing anywhere pay a scatter award and start the round. You get ten free spins. That number does not change with the number of books that triggered it, so a five book trigger buys you the same round as a three book one, just with a bigger scatter payment attached. Land three or more books again while the round is running and ten more spins are added, and the rules screen puts no stated limit on how often that can happen.
The Random Expanding Symbol
This is the mechanic the whole game is built around and it is worth reading the small print on. At the start of the bonus the game shuffles through the symbol set and stops on one, which becomes the special expanding symbol for the rest of the round. In the paytable illustration it lands on Sam himself, with the lotus tile and the scarab amulet either side of him and an open book glowing underneath, which tells you plainly that any symbol on the board is eligible, premium or royal.
Once the round is running, the sequence goes like this. The reels stop, ordinary line wins are paid first, and only then does the special symbol expand. It stretches to fill its whole reel, and it pays as if it were a normal symbol except that it counts on every line and, crucially, on positions that are not adjacent to each other. That last part is what makes book slots pay big. Two expanded reels at either end of the grid with nothing in between still pay.
The catch is written into the rules in plain language: the expansion is only triggered when enough symbols for a win are already present. In other words the game does not expand a single stray symbol on the off chance. You need the makings of a win before the reel fills. Some book slots are more generous here and will expand from two symbols on the leftmost reels regardless. This one waits.
Chilli Games publishes no maximum win, so we cannot tell you what the ceiling on this round is. What we can say is that ten spins with one expanding symbol and no multiplier attached is a modest structure by 2022 standards, and nothing in the paytable suggests a hidden mechanic that would push it into five figure territory.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Thirty lines with two of a kind pays on the premium symbols means far fewer dead spins than the ten line book slots this format grew out of.
- The artwork is genuinely good. A koala in a fedora could have been dreadful and instead the modelling, the lighting and the desert backdrop are all a cut above what a studio this size usually manages.
- The expanding symbol pays on non-adjacent positions and on all thirty lines, which is the version of the rule that actually pays rather than the watered down one.
- Retriggers add ten spins each time with no stated cap on how many you can collect.
- The 0.30 to 150 stake range covers everything from a penny a line to a serious bet without changing games.
Cons
- Chilli Games publishes no maximum win figure at all. For a 2022 release that is close to indefensible, and it makes the game impossible to compare properly against anything else.
- No volatility rating is published either, so players have to work it out from the paytable themselves.
- At 95.3% the return is below the 96% figure most book slots have settled on, and there is no higher configuration on offer.
- The game is not certified for Great Britain, so no UK licensed casino can carry it.
- Ten free spins with no multiplier and no upgrade path is a thin bonus by the standards of the games it sits next to.
- The free play build has still not been released, which for a title this old is odd.
Game Screenshot
The base game with the reels at rest. The top row is A, K, A, J, A. The middle row holds the black cat in its turquoise frame on reel one, the golden book on the centre reel and Sam the koala in his red frame on reel four, with violet 10 plaques either side of them. The bottom row reads Q, A, J, 10, Q. No payline is lit and the carved lintel above the reels carries the game name between two rows of hieroglyphs.
Payline Win Screenshot
A two of a kind win being paid. A pale yellow line runs along the bottom row across all five reels, and the two lotus tiles sitting on reels one and two are what has paid it. The rest of that line is a violet 10, a stone Q and a red A. A single golden book has landed on the top row of reel three, one short of anything happening, and the black cat sits below it on reel four. This is the kind of result the thirty line grid produces constantly.
Expert Take
Book of Sam has been almost entirely ignored, and that is more a comment on Chilli Games’ distribution than on the game. The studio is not in Britain, not in most of Western Europe and not in the lobbies the big review sites cover, so the title sits in directories with its variance field marked as not available and its maximum win blank. Nobody has done the work on it. Having gone through the rules screens and the paytable properly, the honest verdict is that it is a competent, slightly generous version of a format that has been done four hundred times, wrapped in artwork that is better than the game underneath it. The koala is a good joke well executed. Thirty lines is a real improvement on ten. Neither of those makes up for a missing max win figure and a return that starts with 95.
Similar Slots to Try
The Novomatic original that set the single random expanding symbol rule Chilli Games has copied here, on ten lines instead of thirty.
Another studio working the same tomb setting, and a useful comparison if you want to feel how much the line count changes the pacing.
Playson hands the expanding symbol decision to you rather than drawing it at random, which is the one thing Sam never lets you do.
Iron Dog swaps the pharaohs for a pantheon of gods and layers a wild reel on top, so the bonus has more moving parts than this one.
About the Developer
Chilli Games started in Ukraine in 2019 and tells its own story briefly and without spin. The team showed a virtual reality slots prototype at ICE London in 2020, kept building through the pandemic, and has carried on releasing games since the invasion. Its own site still describes a library of twenty classic games, but that page has not been touched since 2022 and the games directories that track the studio now count fifty three titles, so the official figure is badly out of date. Certification covers Curacao, Romania and Croatia, with the company saying it is working on more.
The catalogue is broad rather than deep. Fruit machines and three by three classics sit alongside Norse titles like Valhalla and Valhalla Deluxe, Aztec Warriors, Osiris Gold, Mighty Sailor Deluxe and a run of oddities including Bored Ape Slot Club and Viruslot. Sam himself has appeared more than once, with Sam Koala and Koala Sam: Wild Hunter both carrying the same character. For the studio profile, the certification detail and the rest of the catalogue, see our Chilli Games developer page.
Book of Sam is the first Chilli Games title reviewed here, so there are no sibling game cards to show underneath yet. The developer page lists everything we have verified about the rest of the range in the meantime.
Book of Sam Key Stats
Book of Sam slot information last reviewed: July 2026
| Book of Sam Slot Info | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Book of Sam |
| Provider: | Chilli Games |
| Developer Rank: | 5 out of 53 Chilli Games releases |
| RTP: | 95.3%. Chilli Games publishes a single figure and no reduced configurations are listed anywhere, but check the game information screen before playing. |
| RTP Category: | Medium-Low |
| RTP Rank: | In the upper half of the 94.00% to 95.99% medium-low band, seven tenths of a point short of the 96% mark that most modern book slots reach |
| Feature Description: | The golden book acts as scatter and wild together. Three or more anywhere pay a scatter award and start a ten spin Free Spins Bonus Game, and three or more during that round add ten more spins. One symbol is drawn at random before the round begins and becomes the special expanding symbol, filling its whole reel after ordinary wins are paid and counting on all thirty lines including non-adjacent positions, but only when enough symbols for a win are already present. |
| Feature Categories: | Free Spins, Expanding Symbols, Scatter Pays, Wild Symbol, Retriggers |
| Reels: | 5 |
| Rows: | 3 |
| Paylines: | 30 |
| Volatility: | Medium (our own assessment; Chilli Games publishes no rating and every directory we checked lists the variance field as unavailable) |
| Volatility Rank: | Middle of the range. Premium symbols pay from two of a kind across thirty lines so small returns are constant, while a ten spin bonus with a single expanding symbol and no multiplier limits how far a good round can take you |
| Min Bet: | £0.30 |
| Max Bet: | £150.00 |
| Max Win: | Not published. Chilli Games states no figure and no games directory we checked lists one, which is a real gap rather than an omission on our part. |
| Release Date: | August 2022. Sources disagree on the exact day, with one directory recording 12 August 2022 and another 13 August 2022. |
| Slotslike Rank: | New listing, not yet ranked among the 4,300+ games on the site (View Top 100) |
Slots with the Same Features
Ancient Egypt Slots
Tombs, pharaohs and dusty explorers remain the most heavily mined setting in slots, and the book format is the reason why. Our Ancient Egypt directory collects the games we have recorded in that setting.
The benchmark every book slot is measured against, and a far harsher game than Sam thanks to its ten lines and 96.21% return.
Pragmatic Play’s explorer runs the same tomb errand with a retrigger that keeps stacking spins well past the first ten.
Merkur builds its round on expanding wilds that also nudge, a different route to the same feeling of a reel filling up.
Free Spins with Expanding Symbols
Every game below hands you a symbol that grows to fill a reel once the free spins begin, which is the single mechanic that defines this whole family. The wider free spins feature page covers how the rounds differ.
Microgaming moves the format to the Emerald City and lets you raise the trigger difficulty in exchange for more spins.
A Nolimit City take where the expanding symbol arrives alongside extra reels, which is a busier idea than Sam’s clean single pick.
Play’n GO’s follow up, where the chosen symbol can land as a full stack and the round can retrigger over and over.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the bonus work in Book of Sam?
The golden book is both scatter and wild. Land three or more of them anywhere on the five reels and the game pays a scatter award and starts the Free Spins Bonus Game, which is ten spins long. Before the first spin the game draws one symbol at random and marks it as the special expanding symbol for the whole round. From then on, every time enough of that symbol land for a win, it expands to cover its entire reel and pays on all lines, including on positions that are not next to each other. Landing three or more books again during the round adds another ten free spins.
What is the RTP of Book of Sam?
95.3%. That is the figure Chilli Games publishes and the one every directory we checked reproduces, with no reduced configurations listed anywhere. It sits in the upper half of our 94.00% to 95.99% medium-low band, about seven tenths of a point short of the 96% mark most modern book slots reach. Always open the game information screen and confirm the number before you play, because operators can be supplied with alternative builds without announcing it.
What is the maximum win on Book of Sam?
Chilli Games does not publish one, and no games directory we checked lists a figure either. That is unusual and it is a genuine gap rather than an oversight on our part. Ten free spins with one expanding symbol on thirty lines is not a structure that reaches the five figure multipliers modern book slots advertise, so treat anything you see quoted online as guesswork until the studio states a number.
How volatile is Book of Sam?
Chilli Games publishes no volatility rating for this game. Our own reading is medium. The paytable pays premium symbols from two of a kind, so on thirty lines something lands on most spins, and we watched two lotus symbols return the whole stake and two scarab amulets return half of it. Frequent small returns like that are the signature of a middling game rather than a punishing one, and the ten spin bonus is too short to swing a session hard in either direction.
What are the best slots like Book of Sam?
Book of Ra Deluxe is the closest relative because it invented the random expanding symbol rule that Sam uses. Book of Gold: Symbol Choice is the pick if being handed a symbol at random is the part that frustrates you, since Playson lets you choose it yourself. Book of the Sphinx keeps the tomb setting on a smaller line count, and Book of Immortals is the one to try if you want a bonus with more happening in it.
Can I play Book of Sam for free?
Not yet through us. The demo panel further up this page is wired to the correct game record, but the free play build has not been switched on by the network that supplies it, so the button reads Coming Soon rather than opening the reels. We have left the panel in place because it will start working the moment the build lands. Until then the screenshots on this page are the closest look at the game you will get.
Who makes Book of Sam?
Chilli Games, a small independent studio that started up in Ukraine in 2019 and has carried on releasing games through the war. It is certified in Curacao, Romania and Croatia, not in Great Britain, which is why you will not find this game in a UK licensed casino lobby.
Is Book of Sam available at UK casinos?
No. Chilli Games holds certifications for Curacao, Romania and Croatia and does not appear on the Gambling Commission’s list of licensed software suppliers, so no British licensed site can carry the game. It turns up in Brazilian and Eastern European lobbies instead. If you are in Great Britain and want this exact format, the alternatives listed on this page are all available from GB licensed studios.
Our Verdict on Book of Sam
There is a good game buried in Book of Sam and a frustrating amount of missing information sitting on top of it. Thirty lines and two of a kind pays make it one of the gentler book slots to sit with, the expanding symbol rule is the proper version rather than a diluted one, and the artwork is a small delight. Against that, the return is 95.3% when the competition is at 96, the bonus is ten spins with nothing layered on top, the studio has never published a maximum win, and no British player can legally load it anyway. If you find it in a lobby that carries Chilli Games, it is worth a session and you will not feel bled dry by it. If you are reading this from Britain and want the same shape of game, Book of Ra Deluxe and Book of Gold: Symbol Choice will both give it to you with a better return and a number attached to the ceiling.
SlotsLike rating: 6/10