John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways Slot Review
Dusk over the Nile, and John Hunter is back under the torchlight with more room to dig than he’s ever had. Pragmatic Play‘s most travelled explorer returns to Egypt in John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways, and the Megaways engine changes this game less than its numbers suggest: the wait between bonuses plays exactly as it always did, while the payoff at the end of it grows beyond anything the fixed-grid Books could reach.
The numbers read as you’d expect. RTP sits at 96.00% in normal play, volatility is high, and the round is capped at 10,000x the bet – a bigger ceiling than most Book builds offer. It shares shelf space with Curse of the Werewolf Megaways, Madame Destiny Megaways and Power of Thor Megaways. The question is whether the old tomb needed this many ways in.
How the Base Game Pays
Six reels, each holding up to seven symbols, with the ways count shifting on every spin and shown on a counter above the grid. All symbols pay left to right on adjacent reels from the leftmost. Only the highest win per way counts, and wins on multiple ways are added together.
It’s the standard Megaways arrangement. The wild stands in for every symbol except the scatter and only appears on reels two, three, four and five. The scatter is the Book of Tut itself, and it lands on all reels.
Symbol pays are multiples of the total bet:
- John Hunter (cowboy) – 0.5x, 0.75x, 1x, 2x for 3, 4, 5 and 6 of a kind
- Pharaoh – 0.4x, 0.6x, 0.75x, 1x
- Cat – 0.3x, 0.4x, 0.6x, 0.75x
- Scarab/Amulet – 0.25x, 0.4x, 0.5x, 0.6x
- A, K – 0.2x, 0.3x, 0.4x, 0.5x
- Q, J, 10 – 0.1x, 0.25x, 0.35x, 0.4x
The Special Expanding Symbol
This is the mechanic the whole game turns on. On random spins in the base game, one paying symbol is chosen as the special expanding symbol. The spin resolves normally first, with all winning combinations paid out. Then, if expanding would produce at least one win, the chosen symbol fills every reel it appears on with copies of itself.
The expanded symbol pays anywhere on the screen, left to right, without needing to sit on adjacent reels. On a Megaways grid that’s a real difference. A premium symbol filling three or four full-height reels pays as a screen rather than as lines.
With up to seven rows per reel, the arithmetic runs far past anything the fixed-line paytable suggests. That’s the argument for putting the Megaways engine under a Book format at all. In the originals the expansion was already the peak moment; here the same moment has tens of thousands of ways to land across.
Free Spins
3 or more scatters trigger the round and award 10 free spins, with special reels in play for the duration. The scatters pay on the way in:
- 3 scatters – 3x the base bet
- 4 scatters – 15x the base bet
- 5 scatters – 100x the base bet
- 6 scatters – 500x the base bet
Before the first spin, a special expanding symbol is selected at random, and it stays the round’s symbol for every free spin. No reselection, no upgrade path. Whichever symbol the game hands you is the one the whole round is built around.
That’s where the format’s famous variance comes from: a low royal as the expanding symbol makes for a thin round, a premium one makes for something else entirely.
3 or more scatters during the round retrigger it for 10 additional spins, and there’s no stated limit on how many times that can happen. The round total is awarded once it completes.
Ante Bet and Buy Free Spins
Two ways to reach the round faster, and they can’t be used together. The Ante Bet raises the bet multiplier from 20x to 25x, putting more scatters on the reels and improving the natural trigger chance. It also switches the buy option off, so it’s one route or the other.
The buy costs 100x the current base bet and starts the round immediately, with a twist on the way in: the triggering spin lands 4, 5 or 6 scatters at random. A bought round can therefore open on the 15x or 100x scatter pay before a single free spin has run.
The RTP edges up with each option: 96.01% on the Ante Bet, 96.06% on the buy, against 96.00% in normal play. Neither difference is large enough to steer the choice on its own.
One hard rule governs everything: if a round’s total win reaches 10,000x the bet, the round ends on the spot, the win is paid and any features still running are forfeited.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Playing this is a patient kind of archaeology. Long digs through the base game, small finds along the way, and one reason above all to be here: when the expanding symbol finally fills a grid this size, it pays on a scale the older Book tombs simply couldn’t reach.
That expansion is the game’s best work, because on seven-row reels it stops being a bonus flourish and becomes the whole point. Its worst habit is the symbol draw at the start of free spins – one random pick decides the round’s fate before the first spin has settled, and a low royal makes the next ten spins feel like a courtesy.
For players who love the classic Book ritual and want a bigger vault under it, this tomb rewards the patience. Anyone who wants action between scatters will find the digging slow. Hunter came for the deep chamber, not the surface finds, and so did this game.
John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways FAQs
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What is the RTP of John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
The RTP is 96.00% in normal play. Using the Ante Bet raises it slightly to 96.01%, and buying the free spins round runs at 96.06%. -
How does the Special Expanding Symbol work?
On random base game spins, one paying symbol is chosen at random. After the spin’s wins are paid, that symbol expands to fill every reel it appears on, provided the expansion creates at least one win. It pays left to right anywhere on the screen. -
How do you trigger free spins in John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
Land 3 or more scatter symbols, the Book of Tut, on any reels. 3 scatters award 10 free spins; 4, 5 and 6 scatters also pay 15x, 100x and 500x the base bet respectively. -
Can free spins retrigger in John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
Yes. Landing 3 or more scatters during the round awards 10 additional free spins, and there’s no stated limit on retriggers. -
Can you buy the bonus on John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
Yes. The free spins round can be bought from the base game for 100x the current base bet. The triggering spin then lands 4, 5 or 6 scatters at random. -
What does the Ante Bet do?
It raises the bet multiplier from 20x to 25x, putting more scatter symbols on the reels and increasing the chance of triggering free spins naturally. It disables the buy option while it’s active. -
What is the maximum win on John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
The maximum win is capped at 10,000x the bet. If a round’s total win reaches that figure, the round ends immediately, the win is paid and any remaining features are forfeited. -
Who makes John Hunter and the Book of Tut Megaways?
Pragmatic Play. It’s part of their long-running John Hunter adventure series, which has sent the character to Egypt, Mesoamerica and beyond.
