The shortlist for the 2023 iGB Affiliate Awards has been announced and I’m particularly curious to see who will walk away with the prestigious Game of the Year Award!
Although the judges will have the final say over the other 20 categories, the public will blow the final whistle to decide which slot deserves this top spot. Voting is still open, so do your part, say your say, and go vote for your favorite Game of the Year!
The awards ceremony will take place on 9 February 2023 at the Troxy in London, and if you don’t already know, Bitcoin Casino Kings also aced a spot on the shortlist for Best Crypto Affiliate!
Of course, I’ll be voting too, but I’d like it to be a calculated vote, so I’ll dig deep into every one of the 10 slots on this list.
Today I’ll explore John Hunter & The Book Of The Fallen, Fishin’ Pots Of Gold, Secret Of Dead, Gonzo’s Gold, Fishin’ Frenzy: The Big Catch Megaways, and next week I’ll have fun with the rest.
So, stay tuned!
iGB 2023 Game of the Year Shortlist
- John Hunter & The Book Of The Fallen (Pragmatic Play)
- Fishin’ Pots Of Gold (Gameburger Studios)
- Secret Of Dead (Play’n Go)
- Gonzo’s Gold (NetEnt)
- Fishin’ Frenzy: The Big Catch Megaways (Blueprint Gaming)
- Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect (Playtech)
- Links Of Ra (Slingshot Studios)
- Solar Queen Megaways (Playson)
- Dragon King Legend Of The Seas (Red Tiger)
- Return To Paris (Betsoft Gaming)
John Hunter & The Book Of The Fallen (Pragmatic Play)
Book of Fallen is a newish slot from Pragmatic Play that (once again) features John Hunter on an adventure, looking for exciting places to explore where unique and valuable treasures are waiting.
We’ve seen him before in John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches, John Hunter, and the Mayan Gods, as well as John Hunter and the Book of Tut but in this version, players can win up to 5000x the bet.
It is a 5-reels, 3-row, 10-pay line slot with betting options ranging from 0.10 to 100, plus it has a pretty decent RTP of 96.5%. But, as always, the magic lies in the features, and I must say, they are quite unique.

John Hunter & The Book Of The Fallen from Pragmatic Play
Wild Symbol and Scatter Symbol
The Book showing the Horus eye is both the wild and scatter symbol and landing 3, 4, or 5 pays x2, x20, or x300 your bet respectively.
Free Spins
When you land 3 or more scatter symbols, the Free Spins (10) feature is automatically activated but before you can start spinning the reels, you need to choose a special expanding symbol.
You can choose any symbol but bare in mind that the higher-paying symbols will land less frequently but will pay significantly more than the lower-paying symbols that might land more often.
What makes this feature even cooler is that, if you happen to land 3 scatter during the bonus round, you’ll receive 10 Free Spins again, and there is no limit as to how many Free Spins can be activated during this feature.
Super Spin Ante Bet
This feature is similar to a bonus buy and gives you 1 Free Spin when making a payment of 10x your bet. Like in the Free Spins feature, you will also need to select an expanding symbol but here, winnings are based on x1 your bet and not x10.
Bonus Buy
If you have no patience and want the 10 Free Spins feature right away, you can buy this feature by paying 100x your bet.
Quick Facts
- Title: Book of Fallen
- Developer: Pragmatic Play
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96.5%
- Max Win: 5000x
- Volatility: High
- Min/Max Bet: €0.1/€100
- Release Date: Nov 25, 2021
- Where to play: Fairspin Casino
You can check it out at Fairspin Casino! And, if you join by clicking on this link, you’ll get a No Deposit Bonus: 200 TFS with no limitation and wager free! Code: FAIRBCK
Fishin’ Pots Of Gold (Gameburger Studios)
The Fishing Frenzy theme is nothing new and although there are myriad releases inspired by this theme, Gameburger Studios decided to take inspiration from it, and blend in an Irish theme.
The results sees a little leprechaun, super excited cast the reel. And, speaking of reels, in this slot you’ll find 5, where there are 3 rows, and 10 paylines, making it an easy-to-play, traditional classic slot.
As in Book Of The Fallen, you can win up to x5000 your stake but this time, the bet range is rather small – 0.10 – 40. It does have 3 jackpots, however, and a pretty cool Free Spins feature with expanding reels and an Accumulation Trail.

Fishin’ Pots Of Gold from Gameburger Studios
Jackpots and Bonuses
When you land the Leprechaun on reel 5, at the same time as any fish symbol, the cash prize that is attached to the fish symbol will be paid to you. And, the same rule applies to the jackpot symbol, with the Mega Jackpot symbol obviously being the one you want to trigger.
You can also trigger 10, 15, or 20 Free Spins when landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters where the reels expand from 3 rows to 5 rows, while the Accumulation Trail becomes active.
During this feature Collect Symbols accumulate making the values of the cash values attached to the fish symbols higher, the more you collect.
Quick Facts
- Title: Fishin’ Pots Of Gold
- Developer: Gameburger Studios
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96.47%
- Max Win: 5000x
- Volatility: Medium
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€40
- Release Date: Jan 01, 2022
Secret Of Dead (Play’n Go)
Just when we thought that Ancient Egyptian-themed slots are something of the past, Play’n Go came out to release another one of their long line of ‘book’ of slots titled Secret of Dead.
It mixes the elements of Scroll of Dead and Legacy of Dead and has a very recognizable look, reminding you of the very first edition of the Book of Dead.
In Secret of Dead, however, there is no Rich Wilde, nor his daughter cat and although all the symbols are pretty much inspired by the ancient past, like in its predecessors, this slot has six reels instead of the usual 5.
It’s fairly volatile with an RTP of 96.2%, bets range from 1 – 100, and the max win is a whopping 10,000x your stake.

Secret Of Dead from Play’n Go
Slot Features
If you’ve played any ‘book of’ slot before, you’ll most likely be acquainted with the concept of these slots but instead of a book symbol, you’ll be met with Ankhs that are both the wild and the scatter.
Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 Ankhs triggers 8, 10, 12, or 15 Free Spins plus a payout of x1, x10, x50, or x250 your bet.
During the Free Spins, a randomly chosen special expanding symbol will expand to cover all positions on the reels when it lands and what makes this expanding symbol so spectacular is that it pays all active paylines from any position, which means that they don’t need to be adjacent to create winning lines.
Now, if you land 3 or more scatters during the bonus round, not one but two things happen – you’ll get 5 additional spins, plus another pay symbol that is randomly chosen to be an expander as well.
Last but not least, Secret of Dead has a Gamble Feature that gives you the option to multiply your prize by choosing the correct color, face-down or suit card that will see you possibly double or quadruple your winnings. You can gamble up to 5 times, to a maximum win of 2500 coins.
Quick Facts
- Title: Secret of Dead
- Developer: Play’n GO
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96.2%
- Max Win: 10,000x
- Volatility: High
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€100
- Release Date: Feb 24, 2022
- Where to play: Abo Casino
You can play Secret of Dead at Abo Casino and if you haven’t signed up yet, you’ll be eligible for the Welcome Package of 3BTC + 300 free spins
Gonzo’s Gold (NetEnt)
Gonzo, the hatted explorer, needs little introduction. We first met this cheerful chap back in 2013, with the release of Gonzo’s Quest, one of the greatest combinations of charm, features, and playability that NetEnt has ever produced.
And, although it is as popular as ever, it is of course a bit dated, which is why I’m delighted to see Gonzo’s Gold. Yes, we had the Megaways reboot by 2020 and the live version, Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt, but these were released by Red Tiger and Evolution so it’s great to see a revamp of this popular slot by NetEnt themselves.
But, I’m a bit disappointed to be honest because it kind of feels like a stripped-back version and there is no sign of Gonzo’s comedic performances on the side, that we saw in the past. He does show up on the 5 x 5 grid as a symbol but his absence is conspicuous in the empty, misty, dull background.
Gonzo’s Gold: Slot Features
The best chance of hitting gold in the game is by landing 3 or more temple scatter symbols. Landing 3, 4, or 5 gives you 10 Free Spins plus a payout of x2, x20, or x200 your bet.
Like in the other games on this list, there is a special expanding symbol but this time you get to pick it yourself, and when 2 or more adjacent expanding symbols land, they expand to cover an entire row or reel, resulting in an additional cluster win.
The temple scatter stays on the reels during the bonus feature and if you happen to land 3 or more, an additional 10 spins are awarded plus the payout mentioned above.
And, that’s pretty much it.

Gonzo’s Gold from NetEnt
Quick Facts
- Title: Gonzo’s Gold
- Developer: NetEnt
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 5
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96.11%
- Max Win: 5000x
- Volatility: Medium
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€200
- Release Date: Oct 14, 2021
- Where to play: Bitstarz
You can check out Gonzo’s Gold at Bitstarz and if you sign up by clicking here, 100 Free Spins will be yours without the need to make any deposit!
Fishin’ Frenzy: The Big Catch Megaways (Blueprint Gaming)
Another Fishin Frenzy theme slot made it to the shortlist, this time by Blueprint Gaming and although several developers under the Blueprint umbrella have released their own version, Big Catch Megaways comes courtesy of the studio that started it all – Real Time Gaming.
It also follows all the original features, in almost all regards, except for a tweak made to the Free Spins collection.
Playing Big Catch Megaways feels all too familiar except for the new soundtrack jazzing up the gameplay. The empty reef and blue sky background are still intact and the old-school payline indicators on the side of the reels also remain.
It comes with 5 reels and 10 paylines, has an RTP of 96.12% and has stakes offering 0.10 – 100 per spin, which again is pretty much what we saw in the original.
Let’s look at the features.

Fishin’ Frenzy: The Big Catch Megaways from Blueprint Gaming
The Big Catch Megaways Features
You’ll need at least 3 of a kind to haul in a line win such as the 10-A card symbols, tackle box, lifesaver, and a fishing rod with the pelican symbols being an exception, paying out when 2 or more are landed.
If you land 5 of a kind, you’ll trigger rather good values ranging from 50x – 200x your stake for landing 5 pelican symbols on the reels. The fish symbols also have a value added to them that turns into collectible instant cash prizes when the Free Spins Bonus feature is triggered and the wild is the fisherman symbol that pays out 0.1 to 500x your stake for landing 2 – 5.
To activate 10, 15, or 20 Free Spins, you’ll need to land 3, 4, or 5 scatters (the fishing boat) and during the Free Spins, the fish symbols have cash values worth 2 – 50 times your stake.
When the fisherman and the fish land on the same spin, he reels in the fish symbols to collect your winnings but what’s new to this feature, is that the fish/cash symbols are collected on a meter to the left of the screen. If you manage to collect 4 fishermen, the lowest fish symbol values are upgraded and 5 additional Free Spins are awarded.
Quick Facts
- Title: The Big Catch Megaways
- Developer: Blueprint Gaming
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96.12%
- Max Win: 50,000x
- Volatility: Medium
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€100
- Release Date: Jun 24, 2021
- Where to play: Roobet Casino
Roobet Welcome Bonus: 70 Spins worth $80
Final Thoughts
That was fun! Next week I’ll explore the remaining 5 slots on the iGB Affiliate Game of the Year Shortlist, and then choose my ultimate favorite slot before I’ll cast my vote.
So, stay tuned!
Leave a Reply