Ankh of Anubis is Play’n GO’s 2019 visit to an Egypt that looks slightly out of this world: pyramids and high-tech towers stand beneath a huge planet hanging over the horizon, which gives the familiar theme a science-fiction feel. The reels are set out 3-4-4-4-3 for 576 ways to win from left to right, and the jackal-headed god Anubis is the wild.
What lifts it above the studio’s many Book of Dead cousins is the free spins round, where every Ankh that lands is saved towards extra wilds. The default version returns 96.20%, and the 15,000x top win was the biggest Play’n GO had put in any slot when this one came out.
Free demo
Which Symbols Pay the Most
A win needs matching symbols on neighbouring reels, starting from the leftmost one. With three positions on the outer reels and four on each of the middle three, 3 × 4 × 4 × 4 × 3 comes to 576 ways, so there are no fixed lines to keep track of.
The low end is the usual J, Q, K and A. Above them come bracelets, crowns, scarab beetles and the Ankh itself, the richest of the regular symbols at 5 times the stake for five in a row. Anubis stands in for every regular symbol and pays 10 times the total stake when five of him line up on their own. The pyramid is the scatter and sits outside the ways altogether.
Anubis Wilds During Ordinary Spins
Any base game spin can wake Anubis. When he does, wild symbols are dropped onto the reels while they are still turning, and each one can stand one, two, three or four symbols tall. Play’n GO is open that the feature does not promise a win, but on a ways game a single tall wild on a middle reel joins every left-to-right route that passes through it, which is how an ordinary-looking spin turns into a decent one.
Free Spins and the Five-Ankh Meter
Three or more pyramids anywhere on the reels start the free spins, and each extra pyramid makes the round longer:
| Pyramids landed | Free spins to start | Spins added when they land again in the round |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 4 | 15 | 4 |
| 5 | 20 | 5 |
There is no limit to how many times a round can extend itself.
Inside the round the Ankh does a second job. Every one that lands goes into a meter, and the count is carried from one free spin to the next instead of starting again. Once five are in, Anubis Wilds switch on: extra wilds drop in as that spin finishes, and the result is paid with them in place. The meter empties only when the free spins finish, and the round also closes early if it reaches the 15,000x top win.
Five RTP Versions, Five Different Costs
96.20% is the version Play’n GO lists first, but a casino can pick one of four lower settings instead. The reels, the features and the top win look identical in all five; the only difference is how much of each stake the game holds back over time:
| RTP version | Kept from every £100 staked | Kept over 500 spins at £1 |
|---|---|---|
| 96.20% | £3.80 | £19 |
| 94.20% | £5.80 | £29 |
| 91.20% | £8.80 | £44 |
| 87.20% | £12.80 | £64 |
| 84.20% | £15.80 | £79 |
At 84.20% those 500 spins cost more than four times what they cost at 96.20%, a wider spread than most slots allow. Each casino’s copy of the game shows its version in the rules screen, so a few seconds there settles which one is running. Both columns describe the long run only; a single 500-spin session can finish well above or well below them.
How Far the Top Win Goes at UK Stakes
15,000 times the bet is three times the 5,000x ceiling shared by Book of Dead and by Legacy of Dead. In pounds it depends on the stake: a £1 spin tops out at £15,000, the £2 limit that applies to under-25s puts the ceiling at £30,000, and the £5 limit for everyone older takes it to £75,000. Away from UK casinos the game accepts anything from 0.10 to 100 a spin in euros or dollars.
Ankh of Anubis Next to Book of Dead and Hand of Anubis
The nearest relatives come from the same studio. Legacy of Dead and the older Book of Dead both play on 10 lines with one symbol that expands across the reels in free spins, both stop at 5,000x, and our reviews list them at 96.58% and 96.21%. Ankh of Anubis trades the expanding symbol for wilds that are added to the reels, spreads its wins over 576 ways, and swings a little less than Book of Dead while still counting as high volatility. The book-mechanic slots page gathers the expanding-symbol games in one place.
For the same god from another studio, Hacksaw Gaming’s Hand of Anubis pays in clusters instead of ways, is listed at 96.24% and goes up to 10,000x. More of the studio’s games are on the Play’n GO slots page, while our list of high-volatility slots puts Ankh of Anubis among the other big-swing games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ten, fifteen or twenty, for three, four or five pyramid scatters. Landing three, four or five more during the round adds three, four or five spins, and the extensions have no cap.
Anubis Wilds switch on in the free spins: extra wilds are placed on the reels at the end of the spin before it pays. The Ankh count is kept between spins and resets only when the round ends.
The default is 96.20%, and the game also comes in 94.20%, 91.20%, 87.20% and 84.20% versions. Each casino picks one, and its rules screen for the game says which.
No. The free spins come only from pyramids landing on the reels, at UK casinos and everywhere else.
Yes. The demo near the start of this review needs no sign-up and no money, and its play credits can never be cashed out, which makes it a handy way to watch the Ankh meter fill before deciding anything.
Keeping the Hunt for Pyramids in Proportion
An Ankh meter that fills up spin by spin is built to make the next one feel important, and that is exactly when a limit chosen before the session starts does its job. Accounts at UK-licensed casinos carry deposit caps, session-length reminders and short time-outs in their settings, ready to switch on at any point.
One free sign-up with GamStop shuts the door on all UK-licensed gambling at once. For a conversation instead, ring 0808 8020 133: that free line is staffed day and night by GamCare, which also offers online chat. Nobody under 18 may play Ankh of Anubis.
