Book Of Xmas Reloaded Slot Review
Pine silhouettes lit from below in hot pink, a candy-cane rope framing the reels, snow flecks drifting through a magenta sky: this is Christmas reimagined as neon. Book Of Xmas Reloaded wears that skin confidently, but the bolder choice sits underneath it. The bonus round hands its expanding mechanic to a wheel of medium symbols only, and the game’s own paytable screen groups Santa, Snowman, Deer and Cocoa/Treats together under that heading.
It’s a deliberately narrow build. Spinomenal have put the whole game on a 5×3 grid with just five paylines, running at 93.35% RTP, well below the modern benchmark, and left a single Book symbol to carry every feature. The paytable’s ceiling is five Santas at 200,000x the total bet. It sits in the same festive family as Book Of Xmas Jingle Bells, alongside Book Of Elves and Holidays Joker Xmas from the same studio’s seasonal shelf.
The Base Game and Its Five Lines
Five paylines on a 5×3 grid is a small playing field by any standard, and it shapes everything about how this game feels spin to spin. All symbols pay left to right from the leftmost reel. Only the highest win on each line is paid, and wins are multiplied by the bet per line.
With five lines and a leftmost-reel rule, there’s no scatter-pays cushion and no cluster safety net. A spin either aligns on one of the five line diagrams or it doesn’t. That’s the entire base rulebook, and the paytable below does the rest of the talking.
The Wild is a Book that also serves as the scatter, counting as any symbol. Land three or more scattered Books anywhere on the slot and they pay on top of triggering the round:
- 3 scattered Books – 2x the total bet, plus 10 free spins
- 4 scattered Books – 25x the total bet, plus 10 free spins
- 5 scattered Books – 250x the total bet, plus 10 free spins
The bet per line during free spins stays the same as the game that triggered them, so nothing changes financially between the two modes. The paytable runs from Santa at the top down to the card royals, and it’s a steep drop. Values below are multiples of the total bet:
- Santa – 2: 200x, 3: 2,000x, 4: 20,000x, 5: 200,000x
- Snowman – 2: 100x, 3: 1,000x, 4: 10,000x, 5: 100,000x
- Deer / Cocoa & Treats – 2: 100x, 3: 200x, 4: 2,000x, 5: 20,000x
- A / K – 3: 100x, 4: 800x, 5: 3,000x
- Q / J / 10 – 3: 100x, 4: 500x, 5: 2,000x
Those Santa numbers are striking on a five-line game. Five of him returns 200,000x the total bet, which is the kind of figure that keeps a sparse grid interesting. From Santa down to the Deer tier, the drop is a factor of ten at the three-, four- and five-of-a-kind levels, and a factor of two for a pair.
The royals fall away even faster: a full A-K line pays 3,000x against the Deer tier’s best of 20,000x. Below the premiums, the medium tier matters more here than it does in most book slots, for a reason the free spins section gets to.
The wheel consists of medium symbols only, and the paytable’s own screen groups Santa, Snowman, Deer and Cocoa/Treats together as those medium symbols. The five-Santa line stands as the game’s practical ceiling, and it’s a ceiling most five-line games never approach.
Free Spins and the Expanding Symbol
Landing three or more scattered Books awards 10 free spins. Before the round begins, a wheel appears made up of the medium symbols only. Spin it, and whichever symbol it lands on becomes the expanding symbol for the whole round.
The wheel restriction is a real design choice. The wheel is made up of the medium symbols only, and whichever symbol it lands on gets the round’s defining mechanic.
During the free spins, after each spin’s result is determined, the expanding symbol stretches to form new paylines in addition to the existing ones. Four conditions govern the expansion:
- The symbol expands only when the expansion will result in a win
- Payouts follow the standard symbol values across all active lines
- Winning symbols don’t need to sit on consecutive reels
- Expanded wins count separately from the original slot result
That last point is the one to hold onto. A good board pays twice on a single spin: once as a regular line win, then again as an expanded win stacked on top. It’s where the round’s real money lives.
Retrigger
The round can retrigger, awarding an additional 10 free spins on top of whatever remains. The same expanding symbol carries over, so a late retrigger extends the exact conditions of the round rather than resetting them.
Ten more spins on a favourable symbol is a meaningful extension. Ten more on a poor one simply delays the end.
Buying the Bonus
A BUY FEATURE button sits in the interface, letting players skip straight to the free spins round rather than waiting on scattered Books. The purchase triggers the same sequence as a natural trigger: the medium-symbol wheel spins, the expanding symbol is chosen, and 10 free spins begin at the bet level in play.
Because the round’s outcome rides on a single wheel spin and a mid-tier symbol, the buy is a purchase of potential rather than a guaranteed premium payout. The double-payment rule on expanded wins is what it’s really buying, and a retrigger or two on a full board is where it would pay off.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 6.4/10
Five lines make this a quiet, deliberate game. Wins arrive rarely enough that each one registers, and the pink-lit snow outside the reels gives the waiting somewhere pleasant to happen. That spareness is the reason to choose it: a book slot with nothing bolted on, wrapped in one of the more distinctive winter skins around.
The free spins round is the strength, and it’s a real one. Because an expanded win pays separately from the base result, a full board of the chosen symbol pays twice on a single spin, and a retrigger simply stretches those conditions further. The weakness is the return itself: 93.35% RTP sits well below where festive book games usually land, and no amount of pink snow makes that up.
It suits players who enjoy a lean, patient book slot and like their December in magenta. Anyone who watches the return figures closely will be happier elsewhere on the seasonal shelf. For the rest, this is easy fireside company, snow still falling and the reel frame glowing away.
Book Of Xmas Reloaded FAQs
-
How do you trigger free spins in Book Of Xmas Reloaded?
Land three or more scattered Book symbols anywhere on the reels. The Books double as the wild, so they pay 2x, 25x or 250x the total bet for three, four or five, and award 10 free spins. -
How does the expanding symbol work in the free spins?
Before the round starts, a wheel of medium symbols is spun to choose one expanding symbol. During free spins it expands to form new paylines after each result, but only when the expansion creates a win, and expanded wins pay separately from the original result. -
Can the free spins retrigger in Book Of Xmas Reloaded?
Yes. The round can retrigger and award an additional 10 free spins, with the same expanding symbol carrying over. -
Which symbols can become the expanding symbol?
Only the medium symbols appear on the wheel, so premium symbols like Santa and Snowman are never selected. The wheel is spun once at the start of the round. -
Do the expanding symbols need to be on consecutive reels?
No. The expanding symbol pays across all active lines regardless of whether the symbols of the winning combination sit on consecutive reels, which is what makes full boards pay so well. -
What is the RTP of Book Of Xmas Reloaded?
The RTP is 93.35%, which is below the typical range for modern online slots. -
Can you buy the bonus on Book Of Xmas Reloaded?
Yes, a BUY FEATURE button is available in the game interface, which takes you straight to the free spins round, including the medium-symbol wheel. -
Who makes Book Of Xmas Reloaded?
Spinomenal. It forms part of their seasonal book-slot range, which also includes Book Of Xmas Jingle Bells.
