Quick Stats
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Provider | Slingo Originals (Gaming Realms) |
| Game Type | Online Pokie / Video Slot |
| RTP | 94.9% |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Reels / Rows | 5 × 3 |
| Paylines | 20 Fixed |
| Min Bet | $0.20 |
| Max Bet | $50.00 |
| Max Win | 10,000x line bet |
| Features | Wild, Special Wild, Red Hot Re-Spins, Unlimited Free Spins (Lives System) |
| Theme | Mexican Day of the Dead |
| Release Date | 15 November 2018 |
| Platform | Desktop & Mobile |
What Is Pay of the Dead?
Pay of the Dead is a Day of the Dead-themed video pokie from Slingo Originals, the slot arm of UK-based developer Gaming Realms. Despite being distributed under the Slingo brand, this is a conventional 5×3 video pokie — not a bingo-slot hybrid like Slingo’s signature titles. The connection is the developer, not the game format.
The atmosphere is bright and festive rather than morbid. The reels sit against a whitewashed building wall framed by marigold flowers, candles, and roses. Five decorated skull characters fill the high-value symbol positions, and a goofy, skull-masked Chihuahua serves as the wild. The mariachi soundtrack runs throughout. It’s a well-executed theme that leans into colour and character rather than creepiness.
This pokie suits players who enjoy bonus-driven gameplay with a twist. The free spins mechanic — unlimited spins but limited lives — adds genuine tension to every spin. If straightforward, low-complexity play is what you’re after, Pay of the Dead will feel more involved than you expect. If you like mechanics that keep you actively engaged during the bonus, it delivers that well.
RTP and Volatility
The RTP is 94.9%, which is below the current online pokie average of around 96%. In practical terms, the game returns approximately $94.90 for every $100 wagered across millions of spins. That’s a meaningful gap from the industry standard, and it will affect longer sessions. Slingo Originals games as a whole tend to cluster around this figure — it’s a provider-wide characteristic rather than a one-off.
Volatility is medium, meaning Pay of the Dead produces wins at a reasonable frequency without consistently paying large amounts in the base game. The bigger returns come during the free spins round, where the multiplier system can produce sharp upswings — particularly when red candles trigger four lives and a possible 10x multiplier.
Budget your session with the below-average RTP in mind. With a $20 session budget at $0.20 per spin, you have 100 spins to reach the free spins feature. That’s a realistic window for medium volatility, but the low RTP means your bankroll will shrink faster than on higher-paying titles during cold stretches.
Betting Range
Bets range from $0.20 to $50.00 per spin, with all 20 paylines fixed. This is a tighter ceiling than most modern pokies — high rollers looking to stake $100+ per spin won’t find that flexibility here. For casual players and those on a budget, the range is well-suited. At $0.20 per spin, the 10,000x max win works out to $2,000 on the line bet. At $50 per spin, the same win returns $500,000, though the 10,000x figure is the theoretical ceiling, not a realistic expectation per session.
Set your stake before your first spin using the Stake button in the control panel. There is an autoplay option for hands-off sessions.
How to Play Pay of the Dead
- Set your bet. Press the Stake button to choose your total bet per spin. Options range from $0.20 to $50.00, and all 20 paylines are always active.
- Check the paytable. Access the paytable through the game menu before you start — it details symbol values and the exact multipliers attached to each wild and free spins variant.
- Start a spin. Hit the spin button or activate autoplay for a set number of automatic spins.
- What determines a win. Land three or more matching symbols on a payline, starting from the leftmost reel. Only the highest-value win on each line is paid, and wins pay left to right only.
- Watch for the wild symbols. The Chihuahua Wild substitutes for all symbols except the candle scatters. The Special Wild (masked Chihuahua) applies a random multiplier of 2x, 5x, or 10x to all line wins it contributes to.
- How free spins trigger. Land three candle scatter symbols on reels 1, 2, and 3 simultaneously. The colour combination of the candles determines your lives and maximum multiplier in the free spins round.
- If you land two candles. The Red Hot Re-Spins feature activates — you can pay to respin reel 3 in an attempt to land the third scatter. The cost is tied to your current stake.
Try this: Before your first real-money session, load the game in demo mode and trigger the free spins feature to understand how the lives and multiplier system works — it behaves differently from a standard free spins round.
Symbols and Paytable
The five high-value symbols are elaborately decorated skulls in green, purple, orange, blue, and yellow. These sit above the standard card symbols — J, Q, K, and A — which are styled as bones dressed with flowers. At the low end, J and Q pay in the range of 1x to 30x your bet for matching combinations. The five skull characters ramp up from there, with the top-tier skull paying up to 10,000x your line bet for five on a payline.
The standard Chihuahua Wild pays up to 10,000x for five in a line and substitutes for all symbols except the candle scatters. The Special (masked) Chihuahua adds a random multiplier of 2x, 5x, or 10x on top of any line win it helps create — landing this wild on a strong combination produces the game’s sharpest base-game returns.
The three candle variants — red, blue, and mixed — are scatter symbols and do not pay independently. Their function is to trigger the free spins feature.
Bonus Features
Red Hot Re-Spins
Landing exactly two candle scatter symbols on reels 1, 2, and 3 triggers Red Hot Re-Spins. The game freezes the two candles in place and offers you the chance to buy a respin of the remaining reel(s) in hopes of landing the third scatter. The cost of each respin is calculated against your current stake, so this feature can get expensive quickly on higher bets. You choose whether to take the respin or walk away — there is no obligation to buy. This mechanic effectively gives you a semi-buyable path into the free spins round, though there is no guarantee the third candle appears.
Unlimited Free Spins
Landing three candle scatters on reels 1, 2, and 3 triggers the free spins round. The number of spins is genuinely unlimited — the feature continues until you run out of lives. The colour combination of the triggering candles sets both your starting lives and the maximum possible multiplier:
Three Red Candles — 4 lives, multipliers up to 10x. The best possible trigger. Each life lost increases the active multiplier progressively (2x → 3x → 5x → 10x), meaning you want to stay alive as long as possible before the final escalation.
Three Blue Candles — 3 lives, multipliers up to 5x. A solid trigger that still produces meaningful wins during a good run.
Mixed Candles (one of each colour) — 2 lives, multipliers up to 3x (some sources cite 2x; the Slingo Arcade official page confirms up to 3x for this variant). A lower-value trigger, but the free spins run is still unlimited until lives are exhausted.
During every free spin, a ghostly undead female can appear on the reels. When she lands, you lose one life — and the current win multiplier steps up to the next level. So losing lives is a double-edged mechanic: it brings you closer to the end of the feature, but each lost life amplifies what your remaining wins pay. The final moments of a red candle run, where you’re down to your last life with a 10x multiplier active, are the highest-pressure — and highest-potential — spins in the game.
Is Pay of the Dead Worth Playing?
Pros:
- The lives-based free spins mechanic is genuinely inventive — the tension of trading lives for multipliers is more engaging than a standard timed free spins round
- Unlimited free spins duration means a lucky run can extend the feature well beyond what a fixed-spin bonus allows
- Clear visual design and strong theme execution — the Día de los Muertos aesthetic is well-realised without being gimmicky
- Accessible bet range ($0.20 minimum) suits smaller budgets, with a $50 ceiling that works for most casual players
- Mobile play is smooth across iOS and Android, with the layout adapting cleanly to smaller screens
Cons:
- RTP of 94.9% is genuinely low by current standards — your bankroll erodes faster than on 96%+ titles over equivalent sessions
- Max bet of $50 cuts out higher-stakes players entirely
- The free spins feature is the only real bonus mechanic — there are no side rounds, bonus wheels, or pick-me games alongside it
- The Red Hot Re-Spins purchase can drain your balance if you buy repeatedly and miss the third scatter
Pay of the Dead is worth a session for players who enjoy bonus features with mechanical depth and don’t mind the below-average RTP as the price of admission. The unlimited free spins with the lives-and-multiplier twist is one of the more distinctive mechanics in this style of pokie. Go in with a clear budget, treat the Red Hot Re-Spins purchases cautiously, and set your sights on triggering the red candle variant.
Responsible Gambling
Pay of the Dead runs on a certified random number generator (RNG). Every spin outcome is independent — previous results have no bearing on what follows. Set a firm session budget before you play and stick to it. The Red Hot Re-Spins purchase option can escalate costs quickly; treat it as optional rather than a default play. If gambling is affecting you or someone close to you, your local responsible gambling support service is the right place to start.