Big Bass Bonanza review
Pragmatic Play released Big Bass Bonanza with partner studio Reel Kingdom on 14 December 2020. It launched the huge Big Bass fishing series. The idea will be familiar from classic fishing slots, where fish carry cash prizes in free spins and a fisherman Wild collects them. The twist is a fisherman counter that extends the bonus and adds multipliers. The game was built by Reel Kingdom, a partner studio, with Pragmatic Play handling release and distribution. The first game has a lower ceiling than its sequels, but it shows the core mechanic in its purest form.
The 5×3, 10-payline grid is set underwater, with fish swimming past and a cheerful fisherman as the hero. The premiums are drawn as fishing gear and wildlife: a float, a rod and reel, a tackle box, a dragonfly and a fish. The scatter shows a fish leaping out of the water. You won’t see the fisherman during normal play at all; he only turns up in the bonus, and his arrival changes the pace of the round straight away.
Line pays and money fish
Line wins in normal play count from the left. The cheap end of the paytable is card ranks 10 to A.
| Symbol | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Float | 0.5x | 5x | 20x | 200x |
| Rod and reel | — | 3x | 15x | 100x |
| Dragonfly | — | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Tackle box | — | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Fish | — | 1x | 5x | 20x |
| 10, J, Q, K, A | — | 0.5x | 2.5x | 10x |
Values are multiples of the total bet. Only the float pays for a pair. The leaping-fish scatter has no pay of its own; there are no tumbles or base multipliers. Fish carry money values in the bonus, up to 2,000x; the full scale and value weights are undisclosed. Outside it, fish pay only as regular line symbols.
Collecting fish and three retriggers
Three, four and five scatters give 10, 15 and 20 free spins respectively. Regular lines pay first, then each fisherman separately collects all visible fish values. Several fishermen each collect the same set; without one, money values are not collected. If a fisherman lands with no fish, the game may add them randomly, without a guarantee.
The fisherman also substitutes in lines. Every one counts on the meter, even without a catch. The ladder multiplier applies only to collected cash, not line pays. Each new group of four fishermen must land before the current spins run out.
| Fishermen collected | Spins added | Multiplier on the catch |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | +10 | x2 |
| 8 | +10 | x3 |
| 12 | +10 | x10 |
There are no further extensions after the third step. Maximum length with three, four or five scatters is 40, 45 or 50 spins. An example without a frequency claim: two fishermen and one 3x fish give 6x before the ladder multiplier; a fisherman without fish can advance the meter without collecting cash. An early extension leaves more attempts for further accumulation, without determining the outcome.
RTP, limit and the series
RTP is 96.71%, volatility high and the overall limit 2,100x. Server data report a maximum occurrence of about 1:3,880,481 rounds. Bonus frequency is unspecified. A multiplied money fish can exceed the limit before capping, without establishing the frequent or sole route to the maximum. The precise termination order at the cap is not separately stated.
September 2021’s Bigger Bass Bonanza moves to a palm-lined harbour: 5×4, 12 lines and a 4,000x top fish and maximum. June 2022’s Big Bass Splash returns to 5×3 and ten lines, raises the top fish and maximum to 5,000x, adds up to five pre-bonus modifiers and help with two scatters; the angler rides a red monster truck. Both retain the original RTP. Bonanza vs Splash comparison compares the original and Splash.
27 March 2023’s Big Bass Hold & Spinner has a 10,000x maximum; November 2021’s Big Bass Bonanza Megaways has 4,000x. Blueprint’s Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways moves the older money-fish collector idea to six Megaways reels. The Dog House uses early sticky kennel Wilds: 96.51% RTP, high volatility, a 6,750x maximum and no buy. Gates of Olympus combines 96.50% RTP and a 5,000x maximum with a 100x buy and accumulating multiplier; Sweet Bonanza has 96.48%, medium risk, 21,175x and a 100x buy with multiplier bombs.
