Big Bass Bonanza Review

Fishing-themed slot games have been around since the mid-2000s, but they’d never really been super popular. It was the launch of Fishin’ Frenzy which changed all that. While other providers jumped on the bandwagon, Pragmatic Play took its time to ensure that when its fishing-inspired slot machine debuted, it would go on to be a success. Just how popular it would be, though, we don’t think they really knew at the time.

Big Bass Bonanza debuted in 2020, and in just a few years, it has already spawned a handful of sequels and spin-offs, some of which include MegaWays games, buy-a-bonus mechanics and more. This original game is notably more basic than its counterparts but no less fun to play. It features five reels and ten paylines and utilises the same fishing-inspired theme that works wonders in its sister slots.

The game itself has ten symbols appearing on those reels, and you’ll need to match three or more from the leftmost reel rightwards to win prizes on paylines. High playing card symbols (10s through Aces) count for smaller wins, stretching from 0.5x up to 10x your bet. Fish symbols, tackle boxes, dragonflies, rods, and hooks are worth far more, with wins rising from 1x up to 200x a bet.

The non-progressive jackpot can be snapped up during the bonus round, where there is a maximum win cap of 2,100x a bet in place. We’ll touch on that briefly, though. As for stakes, you’ve got quite a degree of flexibility going on here. Coin values can range from 0.01 up to 2.50, and as many as ten coins can be utilised per line. Bets are, therefore, going to stretch from 0.10 a turn up to a capped maximum wager of 250.00 a spin. The game rules screen labels Big Bass Bonanza a low volatility game, so wins arrive often and the large ones stay modest. However, with an RTP of 96.71%, it is a fair game.

Big Bass Bonanza Features

Big Bass Bonanza may not be packing as many goodies as its successor, spin-off, sequel, and sister slots, but there’s still plenty for you to enjoy here. There are special symbols and two bonus mechanics to enjoy. Let’s touch on those next, starting with the Pragmatic Play slot’s special symbols.

Special Symbols

There are three special symbols that can pop up on the reels of the Big Bass Bonanza slot. Here’s what each of them brings to the table:

• Wild Symbols: These appear as the fisherman, and mascot of the entire slot series. Wilds have no monetary value of their own, but they replace all save for scatters. Unfortunately, they only pop up during the free spin feature.
• Scatter Symbols: Big Bass Bonanza’s scatters appear as fish (with a baiting hook in its mouth). They can show up on all reels. Three or more (appearing anywhere) are all it takes to initiate a free spin bonus.
• Money Symbols: These icons appear as fish, and they take on random values. They could potentially be worth anything from 2x up to 2,000x your total bet.

Free Spin Bonus

Three, four of five scattered fish symbols will activate a bonus round that offers 10, 15 or 20 free games, respectively. Every time a wild emblem appears on the reels, the fisherman will collect all the money displayed on the fish/money symbols. As mentioned, these could be worth up to 2,000x a stake.

For every four wild symbols you collect, you’ll re-trigger the round with ten additional spins. Moreover, a 2x multiplier is applied for the money symbol collection mechanic. Re-trigger the round a second and then a third time to apply multipliers of 3x and 10, respectively.

At the end of the feature, any money symbol prizes collected by the fisherman will be paid out. Because of the potential for landing truly epic wins in this feature, Pragmatic Play has capped the maximum prize at 2,100x a stake. If that figure is won, the feature ends.

Big Bass Bonanza Bonus Buy Options

While this original version of Big Bass Bonanza doesn’t support buy-a-bonus mechanics, some of its sister slots do. It is worth exploring those options if you fancy trying your luck directly in a bonus round – although the price for doing so can be quite steep.

Big Bass Bonanza Mobile Gameplay

Big Bass Bonanza is perfectly tuned for mobile gameplay. Moreover, you won’t need to download iOS or Android apps to play. The +/- wagering buttons are large enough for finger-and-thumb action on mobile devices, although computer-based users can play just as easily using their browsers. Big Bass Bonanza caters to all sorts.

Summary

Big Bass Bonanza certainly isn’t a bad slot to play – it has spawned half a dozen sequels, after all. The top prize is small for the series, and that is the trade a low volatility game makes: it pays more often and caps what one spin can return. The Big Bass Bonanza slot will almost certainly tick your boxes, and if something feels just a little bit off, you do have several clones and spin-offs to choose from. In fact, let’s look at some of those next.

Related Slots

You can theoretically head for any Big Bass Bonanza slot to get an experience which is largely more of the same, albeit with a few tweaks. However, there are also some similar options from rival providers out there. Here are a couple of recommendations for you:

• Fishin’ Frenzy: Developed by Blueprint Gaming, it wouldn’t be fair to call Fishin’ Frenzy a Big Bass Bonanza clone – it debuted years before it (2014), so if anything, Big Bass Bonanza is based on this game. It offers a large cash prize, and medium variance action, but largely similar gameplay to its more famous counterpart.
• Big Bass Bonanza – MegaWays: Crank up the volatility, throw in up to 46,656 lines over six reels, tumbling mechanics, and a bigger jackpot, and you’ll find more than enough reasons to play the MegaWays version of Big Bass Bonanza. It even appears at the same casinos, so you don’t need to move a muscle.
• Wild Wild Bass: Stakelogic’s Wild Wild Bass offers a similar fishing theme to Big Bass Bonanza but a different gaming style. It features a 3-3-4-4-4-4 setup, cheaper maximum bets, and inventive little bonuses. These include extended ways to win, multiplier reels, and, yes, it has a wild collection mechanic to boot.