In short: In Austria's regulated builds, Lord of the Ocean and Book of Ra deluxe are the same game with different pictures. Nine paytable rows, the scatter table, both multiplication bases and the published return all match.
Put the two rulebooks side by side and the differences stop being mathematical. Austria's state operator publishes binding conditions for both slots, and row by row they agree on everything except what the symbols are called.
The first paytable screen of the ocean build, where the mermaid pays 20.00 for five and a panel headed SUBSTITUTES FOR lists all nine paying symbols. Source: our own screenshot.
What Austria's State Operator Publishes for All Three
Line in the rulebook
Book of Ra
Book of Ra deluxe
Lord of the Ocean
Paylines
9
10
10
Top symbol, five on a line
5,000
5,000
5,000
Second symbol, five on a line
2,000
2,000
2,000
Two symbols at the 750 tier
750
750
750
Ace and King, five on a line
150
150
150
Scatter, five on screen
200x total bet
200x total bet
200x total bet
Free games on three scatters
10
10
10
Stake per line
0.01 to 5.00
0.01 to 5.00
0.01 to 5.00
Return published in Austria
ca. 94.2%
ca. 94.2%
ca. 94.2%
Wild and scatter
the book
the book
the gate
Alternatives in Detail
Why look for a replacement: The original runs nine lines rather than ten, so one shape in the newer grid has no equivalent here. Austria publishes the same ca. 94.2% return for it as for both newer builds, which means the missing line costs coverage without buying anything back. And the theme is the whole of the choice: the maths gives nobody a reason to move.
Lord of the Ocean
The ocean-themed build of the same maths, and the game this site is about.
Better than Book of Ra
Ten lines instead of nine, so every shape in the grid is playable
the gate doubles as wild and scatter exactly as the book does, on the same 2x, 20x and 200x scatter table
Novomatic rates the swing 5 out of 5 on its own published scale
Weaker
Published returns scatter from 88.21% to 95.10% depending on which licence a casino bought
two of the five British sites carrying it publish no figure at all
no laboratory certificate names the title
Book of Ra Deluxe
Novomatic's ten-line rebuild of its own earlier title, and the version most players now mean by the name.
Better than Book of Ra
Ten lines against the original's nine, on the same 0.01 to 5.00 a line
identical symbol values, so the extra line costs nothing in payout terms
Weaker
Nothing in the published maths improves beyond that tenth line
Austria lists the same ca. 94.2% return as the nine-line version
Ocean Magic, the Sibling Build
A separate release that keeps the ocean paytable and rewrites the free-games rule.
Better than Book of Ra
Every re-trigger adds another expanding symbol, up to nine in one round
Austria publishes about 95% for it, above the ca. 94.2% the same operator lists for both book titles
Weaker
The stake ceiling halves to 2.50 a line
a symbol expands only when two or three of it land
Admiral Casino publishes 92.00% for it in Britain
Why Austria Settles the Argument
One regulator publishes a rulebook for both games, which is what makes the comparison checkable instead of impressionistic. Austria's state operator has to print binding game conditions for every title it runs. Book of Ra and the ocean build each have a document with the same fields in the same order.
We opened both and read them side by side.
Everywhere else the comparison falls apart, because one site quotes a figure for one game and another site quotes a different figure for the other. Here the two sit in the same format, filed by the same company, under the same licence. That removes almost every reason the numbers might differ for causes outside the games themselves.
Nine Rows That Match Exactly
Every symbol tier pays the same in both rulebooks. Five of the top symbol returns 5,000 on the line bet in each game. The second tier returns 2,000, the two mid symbols return 750 apiece, Ace and King return 150, and the three card symbols return 100.
The scatter table matches too: 2x, 20x and 200x of the whole stake for three, four and five.
So does everything around the table. Both games pay the nine ordinary symbols from the line bet and the scatter from the total bet. Both award ten free games on three scatters. Both draw one ordinary symbol at random to expand for the round, and both publish a stake grid of 0.01 to 5.00 a line. Austria lists the same average payout for each, about 94.2%.
Where the Gate Replaces the Book
The wild and the scatter are one symbol in both games, and only the artwork changes. In Book of Ra that symbol is a book. Here it is a gate, and it substitutes for all nine paying symbols exactly as the book does.
The ocean grid before a spin, with Poseidon in the centre and the circular gate low on the fourth reel. Source: our own screenshot.
Swap the pictures and the two games become the same machine.
A scarab becomes a treasure chest. A mummy becomes a mermaid. The explorer at the top of the table becomes Poseidon, and the Egyptian tomb becomes a sunken temple. We went looking for a mechanical difference behind the theme and found one, which is in the next section, and it is smaller than most players expect.
What Changes Between the Two Games
Role in the paytable
Book of Ra
Lord of the Ocean
Top symbol, 5,000 a line
explorer
Poseidon
Second symbol, 2,000 a line
mummy
mermaid
First symbol at the 750 tier
scarab
treasure chest
Second symbol at the 750 tier
statue
statue
Wild and scatter in one
the book
the gate
Volatility in the maker's catalogue
volatility5
volatility5
Figures current as of ; the operator's live terms prevail.
The One Real Difference
Against the original Book of Ra there is a single difference that shows up in the maths, and it is the tenth payline. The original runs nine. The ocean build runs ten, as does Book of Ra deluxe.
The win-lines screen of the ocean build, with ten numbered diagrams on a five-by-three grid. Source: our own screenshot.
That extra line costs a tenth more per spin at the same line stake and covers one more shape on the grid. It leaves the published return where it was, at about 94.2% for all three.
Everything else people cite as a difference turns out to be decoration.
What Our Own Screen Confirmed
Our paytable came off the client rather than out of a document, and it agreed with Austria row for row. We opened the game on the maker's own server on 8 October, set a 0.10 stake across ten lines, and paged through all four paytable screens.
At that stake each line carried 0.01. The client printed Poseidon at 50.00 for five, the mermaid at 20.00, the chest and the statue at 7.50 apiece, Ace and King at 1.50, and Queen, Jack and Ten at 1.00. Divide by the line bet and you land on 5,000, 2,000, 750, 150 and 100, which is the Austrian table exactly.
The maker's own catalogue adds a quieter confirmation. Book of Ra, Book of Ra deluxe, Book of Ra Magic, Book of Ra deluxe 6 and this title all carry a volatility rating of 5 in Greentube's game records. That is the top of its own scale.
One honest limit belongs here. What we checked is the Austrian regulated build of each game, and returns elsewhere move: British and German licensees publish anything from 88.21% to 95.10% for the ocean title. The paytables match in the documents we read; the payout percentage attached to them is a property of the licence your casino bought.
Which One to Open
Pick on theme, because the maths will not pick for you. If you prefer the Egyptian set and nine lines are enough, the original does everything the newer titles do for a tenth less per spin.
If you want the tenth line, Book of Ra deluxe and the ocean build are interchangeable on every published figure we could compare.
We would steer anyone to whichever of them their own casino publishes a return for. That sounds obvious, and it is the step most players skip. Of the five British sites carrying the ocean title, two print nothing at all, and the three that do print two different figures.
Key Terms Used on This Page
Scatter table
The three figures a book or a gate pays from anywhere on screen. Both games publish 2x, 20x and 200x the total bet.
Line bet
The stake carried by one active line. Nine symbols pay from it, while the scatter pays from the total bet instead.
Deluxe
Novomatic's ten-line rebuild of its own nine-line original. The ocean title shipped with ten lines from the start.
Binding game conditions
The per-game rulebook Austria's state operator must publish. It is the document that lets all three titles be compared row by row.
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