Merlin’s Grimoire Slot Review

Merlin's Grimoire: Slot Overview

As someone who plays a lot of Play'n GO titles, I warmed to Merlin's Grimoire straight away. The slot sends you into an overgrown forest where a young Merlin hunts for an ancient book of spells. The action runs on a 5x3 grid set in carved stone, framed by ivy and shrooms, with 243 ways to win in the base game and a calm, mystical soundtrack that sits well with long sessions.

On the numbers side, Merlin's Grimoire is pitched at very high volatility, so I expect long dry patches broken by explosive sequences when things line up. The default RTP sits around 96.2%, which is fine for this kind of high-risk 'book' slot. Stakes start at 10p a spin and go up to £5 in most lobbies, while the official max win circles the 30,000x mark, with quoted caps of 31,104x your bet.

Theme & Symbols in Merlin's Grimoire

I like how the paytable in Merlin's Grimoire sticks to the magical theme without feeling cluttered. Low pays are six mysterious tokens that glow in different colours, paying up to around 0.8–1x your stake for five of a kind. High-paying icons include scrolls, potion bottles, a chunky gem and Merlin himself; land full five-of-a-kind hits with premiums and you are looking at roughly 2.5–4x your bet.

The Grimoire symbol does double duty as wild and scatter, which fits the 'book of' style nicely. In regular play it steps in for any paying symbol, keeping ways-based wins flowing when the grid looks half dead. Once free spins land, one standard icon is picked as a special expanding symbol; that choice really matters, and from experience I always cross my fingers for Merlin or at least one of the stronger premiums.

Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Scatter, Wild
	5	x4
	4	x1.6
	3	x0.8
	2	x0.4
	5	x4
	4	x1.6
	3	x0.8
	2	x0.4
	5	x3
	4	x1.2
	3	x0.6
	2	x0.3
	5	x2.5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	2	x0.2
	5	x2.5
	4	x1
	3	x0.5
	2	x0.2
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x1
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.3
	5	x0.8
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x0.8
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2
	5	x0.8
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.2

Merlin's Grimoire: Slot Features

I see Merlin's Grimoire as a hybrid between classic book-style slots and modern ways games. Wins land by hitting matching symbols from left to right on adjacent reels, starting with 243 ways on the standard 5x3 layout. The two headline mechanics are Splitting Symbols and the special expanding symbol in free spins. When they combine, the game stops feeling like a simple earner and turns into a high-octane grind with real hit potential.

In the base game, Thunderbolt icons hover above the three central reels. On random spins one, two or all three light up, and any symbol landing on a lit reel splits into two. That pushes the ways to win up from 243 towards a stated ceiling of 1,944 in normal play. I find these split spins add tension, as even low-paying symbols can pile up into hefty screens when several middle reels double.

Three or more Grimoire scatters launch the bonus round with 10 free spins and an upfront cash prize, scaling from around 0.8x to 4x your stake depending on how many books land. From a 'feel' point of view, the slot sits close to old-school book games: bonus rounds do not drop all that often, but when they appear the combination of expanding symbols and splits gives you a genuine shot at high multiples.

Splitting Symbols in Merlin's Grimoire

For me the Splitting Symbols mechanic is where Merlin's Grimoire really comes alive. During free spins, every reel can carry an active Thunderbolt, so any of the five reels might start doubling symbols. Get several reels lit at once and you can reach 7,776 ways to win. Now throw in expanding symbols on top of those splits and a single spin can shower the screen with matching icons counted twice per position.

Free Spins in Merlin's Grimoire

I have had my biggest swings in Merlin's Grimoire during the free spins feature. You trigger it with 3, 4 or 5 Grimoire scatters, which award the flat 10 spins plus the small scatter win. Before the round starts, one regular symbol is chosen to act as the expanding symbol. When enough of that icon land to form a win, they expand to cover their reels and pay scatter-style from any positions.

Because wins use a ways engine and not fixed lines, expanding symbols feel more volatile than in many other book slots. The dream setup is a premium, active splits on all five reels and a full screen of that symbol, which the maths team pegs at up to 31,104x stake if Merlin fills everything. I have not seen anything near that, of course, but the game still throws in sharp hits when things sync.

Merlin's Grimoire: Slot Verdict

As a long-time fan of high-volatility fantasy slots, I rate Merlin's Grimoire as one of Play'n GO's stronger Merlin outings. The base game can feel sparse, yet the random splits help keep it from becoming a total slog between bonuses. When free spins land with a good symbol choice, the mix of expanding symbols and splitting reels gives proper sweat value. It is not a casual earner, but for adrenaline chasers it hits the spot.

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