Hand of Anubis is the Egyptian cluster-pays slot released by Hacksaw Gaming in April 2022, and it has stayed in rotation since as one of the studio's signature high-volatility titles. Instead of paylines, wins form when enough matching symbols touch in a cluster; every win clears off the board and fresh symbols cascade down to fill the gaps, so a single spin can chain into several. Wrapped around that is the part players remember — a red Soul Orb that acts as a progressive multiplier wild — plus two very different bonus rounds and a top prize of 10,000× your stake.
This page is the hub for everything we cover on Hand of Anubis: the cluster-pays mechanic in detail, the 96.24% RTP and what the very high volatility really means, the full feature set, an honest verdict, and where the game is worth playing. If you want to try it without spending anything first, the free demo runs in the browser with no registration.
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What is Hand of Anubis?
Hand of Anubis is a video slot, but it does not look or play like a classic reels-and-paylines machine. It uses a cluster-pays grid: rather than lining symbols up left to right, you win by landing groups of the same symbol adjacent to each other on the board. The setting is the Egyptian underworld — Anubis presides over the top of the paytable, alongside an Ankh, the Eye of Horus, a scarab and a pharaoh mask, with coloured gems filling out the low end.
What gives the game its rhythm is the cascade. When a cluster pays, those symbols are removed and the ones above drop down to replace them, with new symbols falling in from the top. If the new arrangement makes another cluster, it pays again, and the chain continues until no new win forms. One paid spin can therefore turn into a run of consecutive wins — and, crucially, it is during those cascades that the game's multiplier feature does its work. For a step-by-step walkthrough of the board, see our how it works guide.
How the game works
The centrepiece is the Soul Orb, a red wild that substitutes for paying symbols and carries a progressive multiplier. Each time the Soul Orb takes part in a winning cluster, it grows: it gains +1× for every symbol in that cluster, and it keeps that boosted value as the cascades continue. Because cluster wins and cascades feed the multiplier and the multiplier feeds the next win, the upside compounds — which is exactly why the biggest results in Hand of Anubis come from extended sequences rather than a single lucky drop.
From the base game you can reach two distinct bonuses. The first is the Underworld free spins round, the game's headline feature, where the multiplier mechanics get room to build across a series of free spins. The second is Judgment, a hold & win-style round driven by special symbols that lock in place. They are very different in feel, and reaching either is the rare, high-value moment the base game is building toward. Both are broken down properly on the features page.
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Hand of Anubis
The pillar (Apr 2022): Hacksaw Gaming's Egyptian cluster-pays slot — cascading wins, progressive multiplier wilds (the Soul Orb gains +1× for every symbol in its cluster), an Underworld free-spins round and a Judgment hold & win, with a 10,000× max win.
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Hand of Anubis is a standalone game — there is no sequel and no "version 2", so anything you read elsewhere about a follow-up is a different slot. If you enjoy the studio's style, though, Hacksaw Gaming has a deep catalogue of other high-volatility, mechanic-led titles. We introduce the studio and a few of its other popular slots — by name and theme only — on the dedicated Hacksaw Gaming hub.
Symbols and paytable
The paytable splits cleanly into premiums and low symbols. Anubis sits at the top, followed by the Ankh, the Eye of Horus, the scarab and the pharaoh mask; the purple, blue and green gems pay the least and appear most often. Two symbols do the heavy lifting outside the standard table: the Pyramid scatter, which triggers the free-spins round, and the Soul Orb wild, which substitutes and carries the progressive multiplier described above. Because this is a cluster-pays game, what matters is how many matching symbols you can group together, not where they land on a line.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Cluster-pays board with cascading wins — one spin can chain into several
- Progressive multiplier wilds: the Soul Orb gains +1× for every symbol in its cluster
- Two distinct bonuses — Underworld free spins and the Judgment hold & win
- 10,000× max win on a 96.24% default RTP
- Free demo, no registration
Cons
- Very high volatility (5/5) — long dry spells between features are normal
- Default RTP (96.24%) can be served in lower configs (94.32 / 92.28 / 88.41%) — check the casino
- The big multipliers depend on the bonus rounds, which are rare to trigger
The free demo
The quickest way to get a feel for the cluster board, the cascades and the very high volatility is to play the game for nothing first. The free demo runs in your browser with play-money credits — no registration and no deposit — and behaves like the real thing, which makes it a sensible place to learn the rhythm before you stake anything.
RTP, volatility and the numbers
Hand of Anubis ships with a default RTP of 96.24%, which is a solid figure for the genre — but it is not the only configuration. Hacksaw makes the game available in several lower setups (94.32%, 92.28% and 88.41%), and it is the operator that chooses which one to run, so the return you get depends on where you play. It is rated very high volatility (5/5), the maximum end of the scale, and the top win is capped at 10,000× your bet. Taken together that profile means long, flat stretches punctuated by the occasional big hit — rewarding when a feature lands, punishing on a cold run. Our RTP & volatility page explains what those numbers mean for real sessions and how to check the figure before you play.
Where to play
Hand of Anubis is carried widely, but availability and the exact setup — the RTP configuration in particular — vary from casino to casino. The non-negotiables are a valid licence, the genuine Hacksaw Gaming build of the game, and a clean payout record. We keep a shortlist of suitable operators on the casinos page, with the criteria we use to judge them, and a ranked version on the best casinos hub. 18+, and play only where it is legal in your country.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is Hand of Anubis a high volatility slot? Yes. It is rated very high volatility, 5 out of 5 — the top of the scale. In practice that means runs of dead spins are normal and the large wins come from the bonus rounds, so a bankroll that can ride out the dry spells matters more here than on a low-variance game.
What is the maximum win on Hand of Anubis? The maximum win is 10,000× your bet. Reaching it requires the multiplier mechanics and a bonus round to come together, which is rare by design, so treat the figure as a ceiling rather than an expectation.
What is the RTP of Hand of Anubis? The default RTP is 96.24%, but Hacksaw also supplies the game in lower configurations of 94.32%, 92.28% and 88.41%. The operator decides which one to run, so always check the figure in the game's info panel — our RTP page covers how.
What does the Soul Orb do? The Soul Orb is a red wild that substitutes for paying symbols and carries a progressive multiplier. Every time it joins a winning cluster it gains +1× for each symbol in that cluster, and it keeps the boosted value through the cascades, so it can grow quickly during a long chain.
Does Hand of Anubis have free spins? Yes. The Pyramid scatter triggers the Underworld free-spins round, and there is a separate Judgment hold & win bonus as well. Both are explained on the features page.
Can I play Hand of Anubis for free? Yes. There is a free demo that runs in the browser with no registration and no deposit, so you can learn the mechanics risk-free before staking real money. See the demo page.
Who makes Hand of Anubis? Hacksaw Gaming, a studio known for high-volatility, mechanic-led slots. The game was released in April 2022. More on the studio is on the Hacksaw Gaming hub.