Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity

Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity: Slot Overview

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, better known as H. P. Lovecraft, has been acknowledged as the father of cosmic horror, having penned classics such as At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and the biggie The Call of Cthulhu. Lovecraft's widespread influence can be felt in mediums such as books, movies, board games, and online slots. Sometimes, the influence is subtle; other times, it is more obvious, and Play'n GO's slot Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity is of the latter variety. A follow up to the 2019 release Tome of Madness, starring alongside Rich in this game is Yog-Sothoth, an eyeballed cosmic entity, one of the Outer Gods, and a central part of the Cthulhu Mythos. 'Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth.'

After encountering a salt 'n pepper-haired Rich Wilde in Rich Wilde and the Wandering City, our protagonist looks like he's mysteriously rewound the clock a few years to become a younger version of himself. Rich occupies the right side of the screen, next to the gaming grid in a candle-lit room, where, on the whole, Play'n GO has put the Lovecraftian theme to nice use, especially in the Damnation Free Spin, where Yog-Sothoth may appear. Then again, it wouldn't have been terrible if the studio had leaned harder into the theme, maybe borrowing inspiration from Print Studio's Darkness, perhaps, but what we've got is fine.

Symbols drop onto a 5x5 grid, achieving wins when 4 or more matching symbols are connected vertically and/or horizontally. Winning symbols are removed and new ones drop down to fill the reels. The game continues to cascade until no winning clusters can be formed. Out the back, a medium volatile (6 out of 10) math model runs the show, and the regular RTP of the several possible return configurations is 96.2%. When ready to take on the insanity, a bet of 10 c to $/€100 may be set.

Tome of Insanity's pay symbols are grouped into gems and items. Four gems are the lower-value pay symbols, while the items - potion bottles, severed tentacles, pocket watches, and cyclopean skulls, are the highs. Four symbol clusters pay 0.1 to 2 times the bet, whereas 10+ sized clusters are worth 3 to 100 times the bet.

Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity: Slot Features

Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity is a cluster-paying cascading wins game, where winning symbols charge a meter, which triggers features at various stages. The ultimate aim is the Damnation Spin, where Yog-Sothoth may appear in a wild symbol capacity.

Wilds

All of the wilds substitute for all symbols. Book Wilds may trigger portal effects, while the Multiplier Wild brings multipliers of x2, x3, x4, or x5 in the base game or x2, x3, x5, or x10 in the bonus game. When more than one Multiplier Wild is present in a winning cluster, only the highest multiplier is applied. Multiplier Wild and Yog-Sothoth Wild values are multiplied. Yog-Sothoth Wild is a 2x2 wild that walks 3 times on the grid.

All-Seeing Eyes

An All-Seeing Eye may be created in the base game, while Damnation Free Spin offers 12 regular and 6 special eyes. They sit on the grid below regular symbols. In the base game, opening an All-Seeing Eye occurs by forming a win on its location on the grid, awarding 2-4 book wilds. These wilds are added when no more wins are formed.

Portal

All winning symbols charge the Portal meter: 8 charges award 2-4 Book Wilds while 16 charges award another 2-4 Book Wilds - winning with these triggers Harvest. Harvest destroys symbols in spots 2 symbols away in all diagonal directions, and all spots 3 symbols away in all horizontal and vertical directions, if possible. Get 30 charges to be awarded 2-4 Book Wilds, and winning with these triggers Abomination. Abomination upgrades a gem to a ritual item. Make it all the way to 48 charges to win the Damnation Free Spin.

Damnation Free Spin

After 48 charges are reached, a Damnation Free spin is guaranteed with 3 Portal features, but the Portal can be overcharged to get an extra Portal feature for each 4 additional winning symbols, up to a maximum of 7. One random Portal feature is triggered when no wins appear after a cascade until all are used up. Damnation Spins conclude when all Portal effects have been played out. In the Damnation Free Spin, opening every All-Seeing Eyes summons the Yog-Sothoth Wild, while additionally opening 4, 5, or 6 All Seeing Multiplier Eyes applies x2, x3, x4 multipliers to it.

Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity: Slot Verdict

Rich Wilde had been conspicuous by his absence, having not seen him for a while, and it felt like the baton had been passed since the original Tome of Madness slot came out in 2019. However, Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity shows there is life left in the bold adventurer, and as he looks as youthfully rejuvenated as ever, there might be a decent amount of gas left in the tank yet.

When moving onto the game, firstly, if you like Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity is a must-see. If this slot morphs into a trilogy of Lovecraftian-related slots, that would be no bad thing. The Mythos has proven to be extraordinarily fruitful, and a deeper and darker move into stories would be a thrill for fans. Mechanically, by this point, Play'n GO could make a slot that charges a meter with winning symbols behind its back by now, after having designed some of the most popular examples of this type of game in the business. Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity is another playable example. In several ways, it brought to mind the heavy metal release Lordi Masters of Rock, in atmosphere, charge collection, and 1, yes 1 free spin when the meter has reached full capacity.

If Yog-Sothoth is 'the key and guardian of the gate' as the writings say, then Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity is the gate to some pretty sweet cluster paying action for fans of Lovecraftian lore, where it is possible to win up to 5,000 times the bet.