Updated
Lisa Michaels
Have a great day on the water in the Big Bass Bonanza online slot by Pragmatic Play. This feature-filled game has a peaceful fishing theme, with tackle boxes, floats, and prize-carrying fish showing up as some of the symbols on the bubbly reels below the surface of a crystal-clear lake. There’s only one bonus feature to deliver the game’s top prize of $525k, so Big Bass Bonanza doesn’t stand out too much among all the fishing-themed slots, with titles like Wild Catch providing feature-packed action.
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Big Bass Bonanza benefits from simple controls arranged conveniently at the bottom of the screen. Use the Spin button to set the reels in motion or the Autoplay feature to program automated spins.
Press the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons around the Spin button to increase or decrease your stake, respectively. Tap the ‘i’ button to open the paytable, which lists the symbol values and covers the bonuses.
As there are no extra game mechanics, you only need to worry about landing three or more matching symbols on a payline to get winning combos.
As you’d expect, most Big Bass Bonanza symbols fit the fishing theme. I appreciated the level of detail in the symbols, especially the dragonfly and fishing rod. There’s a great variety of colors in the symbols, too.
The 10, J, Q, K, and A pay 10x your stake for five on a payline. The fish pays 20x, the tackle box and dragonfly pay 50x, and the fishing reel pays 100x. At the top of the paytable, the float pays 200x.
The Wild fisherman symbol appears on all reels, but only in the Free Spins feature. The Scatter symbol triggers the bonus round.
Like in most other 5x3 slots, Big Bass Bonanza pays out for three or more matching symbols on a payline. The Wild can help you line up winning combos by standing in for paying symbols (not the Scatter).
I was initially disappointed that Big Bass Bonanza only has one bonus feature, but the Free Spins round has more depth than expected. The Money symbol comes into play during it, which can help you reel in more wins.
You must land 3, 4, or 5 Scatter symbols to get 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively.
During free spins, the fisherman Wild symbol can appear. This substitutes for all regular symbols but does another helpful job. Fish symbols with cash values land throughout the feature. When these symbols land on the same spin as the fisherman, he will collect all the prize values in view.
When they land, the fisherman’s Wilds will also be collected in meters above the reels. Every four Wilds you gather will bring you ten extra free spins and an added multiplier.
The first trigger comes with a 2x multiplier. The second one rewards you with a 3x multiplier, and the fourth and final trigger will get you a 10x multiplier.
When a single fisherman Wild lands on a spin, there’s also a chance that a random number of fish symbols will appear. The collect feature may be familiar to you, as it’s used in many ways in online slot games. For example, collecting special symbols in Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx rewards you with respins.
Big Bass Bonanza can award a top prize of 2,100x your bet. That’s not a vast max win for a slot in the medium-high volatility range, but it’s not awful, either. The bonus feature can play a big part in helping you win the bigger payouts on offer.
With an RTP of 96.57%, your chances of getting a good bet return are theoretically fair. The game has a medium-high variance, so you should have a more-or-less equal balance of winning and losing spins.
In my experience, Big Bass Bonanza took around five or six wins to start paying out. My first winning spin was worth $5.00 (played with a $1.00 bet), followed by a $3.00 win. However, I had to play through over a dozen more spins before I won again (another $5.00).
I like Big Bass Bonanza’s visuals and sound a lot. The game takes place underwater, with a stream of bubbles separating the reels and a hint of the surface at the top of the screen. The symbols look great, with eye-catching colors and large size.
I also enjoyed the relaxing music, which is a good match for the laid-back fishing theme.
It would be best if you didn’t go on a fishing trip without all the right gear, and you also probably shouldn’t attempt a new slot game without playing the free demo first.
The Big Bass Bonanza demo has a generous starting balance of $100k in virtual credit. I played like a high-roller at first to see if spending big was a winning strategy, but I found that keeping my bets in the medium-low range let me play longer with more wins over time.
The fishing theme is popular in the world of slots. You can choose from plenty of games featuring different types of fish, bonus features, and prizes.
For example, Alaskan Fishing transports you to the U.S.’s northernmost state to play for a wide range of cash prizes and a free spins bonus. Fishing Floats Connectify Pays offers a top win of 5,000x your bet (or $250K) and a Pick Bonus and Free Spins feature.
Another fishing-themed slot to check out is Bass Cash X Up, with a generous max win of 15,000x your bet, a Cash Collect feature, free spins, the X UP bonus, and more.
I started this session by setting my bet amount to $4 per spin and immediately rolled three scatters, awarding me ten free spins. During the free spins, getting a big win of $88, which in slots to get a win early, is a massive advantage to how you play. I then set my bet amount to $2.70, hoping to hit the scatter again and gain some smaller wins. After a very close call with just that, unfortunately, I did not shoot. But I cruised through the remainder of the 25 spins to success for this session. The game has a simple and playful design that engages with nostalgia.
Results:The game itself is exciting, and I enjoyed the value slot symbols as they give the game a significant edge, mainly when you’ve managed to hit the free spins. There seems to be plenty of potential, although if you are looking for a modern, flashy, and upbeat slot, this probably isn’t the game for you.
Objective:25 spins to maximize my game time and entertainment value. To do this, I adjust my bet sizes/paylines to maximize my playing experience. If I hit any bonus features and walk away with more than I started, that’s a success.
Note:Because the results are always completely random, we use the demo simulation of the game, which mimics the real money experience. We always recommend you start in demo mode to learn and understand the game before you play for real money.
Playing the Big Bass Bonanza slot left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is an excellent game with a solid bonus feature that includes an exciting combination of multiplier Wilds and symbol collecting.
On the other hand, the base game can get boring with no modifiers or random features to spice things up. Whatever faults this game has, you can’t deny that the top possible prize of $525k makes you want to give it a spin.
Lisa started off as a croupier at her local casino. However she found her niche in writing and has subsequently used her real-world gambling experiences to help produce and review the many online slots that are released monthly. Lisa also contributes to keeping you up to date with Canadian newsworthy stories.
