Bigger Bass Bonanza
Get your fishing gear out because it’s time to go to the coast and do your best to land a big catch of loot in the Big Bass Bonanza pokie, a familiar fishing-themed game delivered by the likes of Pragmatic Play. The absolute highlight of this simple 5 reel, 12 payline pokie is the Free Spins feature which gives you up to 10, 15, or 20 free spins. Make sure to land the fisherman wild symbol and he’ll make sure to collect all the values that are attached to the fish symbols. Collect 4 wilds for a retrigger which also gives you a 2x multiplier. Every retrigger after this one increases that multiplier to 3x and then 10x. Coming with a base RTP of 96,71%, find out more about the game in our in-depth Big Bass Bonanza review.
Bigger Bass Bonanza Review
Launched at the end of 2020 by Pragmatic Play’s partner studio Reel Kingdom, Big Bass Bonanza managed to hit the right note with a bunch of online anglers to become a surprisingly popular pokie game. What is kind of surprising is that it doesn’t do the same things that is offered in other online pokies with a fishing theme. Instead, it comes with a much more involved bonus feature, which could lead to multipliers going up as high as x10 to boost scatter wins, though the max win of 2100x the bet was a bit disappointing. Even so, Big Bass Bonanza quickly reeled in enough players in New Zealand to warrant a part II. This has now resulted in the Bigger Bass Bonanza game, which understandably hasn’t changed most of the gameplay, but has added a few things to make it bigger.
Despite the similar sounding names being confusing, some of the changes are apparent from the very first time you launch the game. This includes an extra row, so Bigger Bass Bonanza’s action now takes place on a 5-reel, 4-row grid with 12 fixed paylines. Also, the background image has been overhauled making sure players aren’t heading somewhere deep in the sea, but are off to a spot nearer to a shoreline filled up with palm trees and colourfully-lit buildings. Hip, funkier sounding, retro 80s style audio replaces the friendly plinking of the original pokie that hit the world in 2020.
Nice to know
| Launched | 16 September 2021 |
| RTP | 96.71%, 95.67%, 94.62% |
| Volatility | High |
| Software | Pragmatic Play |
| Features | Additional Free Spins, Additive symbol, Cash Collector, Free Spins, Scatter Symbols, Wild symbol |
| Theme | Fish |
| Paylines | 12 |
| Grid Layout | 5-4 |
| Min. bet/line | $ 0.12 |
| Max win | x4000 |
| Jackpot | N/A |
Positive points
- ✅ Adequate Base RTP
- ✅ Win Up To 4000x the Bet
- ✅ Better Version of Big Bass Bonanza
Negative points
- ❌ Ranging RTP
- ❌ Very Volatile
Bigger Bass Bonanza
Pragmatic Play is a highly productive provider when it comes to releasing new online pokie games. They are one of the most leading providers in the online casino industry today and they’ve managed to achieve their already legendary status by launching up to 5 new releases per month with a lot of their titles making it to international online casinos. The good thing about it is that they still keep it up when it comes to the quality they deliver which isn’t always obvious to say the very least. Although not known as one of the most innovative studios, Bigger Bass Bonanza is yet another example of how a provider can effectively continue to gain popularity in the world by reshaping a previous release.
How to Play
The action in the Big Bass Bonanza pokie takes place on a grid of 5 reels, 4 rows and 12 paylines. Land 3 matching symbols on 1 of the game’s 12 paylines, starting from the leftmost reel and you’ll make yourself a winner. You can try and net a big win at stake levels that range from between $ 0.12 and $ 240 per spin. The autoplay feature is available in NZ if wanted. You can choose between 10 and 1,000 autospins.
There are some other options for quick and turbo spin modes too which you might want to try out. The payout levels in Bigger Bass Bonanza are shown in cash amounts and change as you lower or raise your bet level. This keeps everything simple to keep making sure you stay informed about the money you’re playing with. Depending on your online casino this may or may not be in New Zealand dollars. We nonetheless recommend you to go to your account and set your loss and session limits before you make your first online wager.
Symbol Wins
With once again a fishing game theme, there is a simple, sort of cartoonish touch to the design in the Big Bass Bonanza pokie. The graphics are simply drawn, but this is in line with the first part of the game that had the same look and feel. With a natural feel and the jaunty backing track found in the background, it all suits the game very well. Set against an underwater background, the blue reels are filled in with coloured A to 10 royals symbols and a selection of higher value symbols that are all angling-related. When it comes to the high values we have a fish, a tackle box, a dragonfly and a fishing road. Out of these, the boat is definitely the most profitable symbol. Make sure to land 5 of these on a payline and you’ll make a win that sums up to 200x your total bet. The funny fisherman himself is the wild symbol and lands in the bonus round only, substituting for all symbols except the scatter.
| Symbol | Payout for 3 | Payout for 4 | Payout for 5 |
| 10 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| J | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| Q | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| K | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| A | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| Money Shoal | 3, 4 or 5 = 1, 5x the bet or total money value amount | ||
| Box | 2 | 10 | 50 |
| Float | 2 | 10 | 50 |
| Rod | 3 | 15 | 100 |
| Boat | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 5, 20 or 200x bet | ||
| Scatter | 3+ scatters triggers the free spins feature | ||
| Wild | Substitutes for all symbols except scatter | ||
Bonus Features
The features have remained exactly the same as in the original, which means that there are no extra features besides the free spins round. During the free spins round there are money symbols, wild symbols and a multiplier in the game.
Bigger Bass Bonanza Free Spins
The Bigger Bass Bonanza free spins round can be activated as soon as you collect 3 or more scatters on the playing field. How many free spins you win depends on the number of scatters that appear in the playing field:
- 3 scatters will give you 10 free spins.
- 4 scatters will give you 15 free spins.
- 5 scatters will give you 20 free spins.
There are several differences between the free spins round and the base game though. Firstly, money symbols appear on the playing field during the free spins round. These money symbols all have a random money value linked to them. In order to collect those money symbols, you need a wild symbol. And the wild symbols are the second difference with the base game, because these wild symbols only appear during the free spins.
Of course, the wilds can replace any regular symbol to create winning combinations, but these symbols have another function. When there is a wild symbol and 1 or more money symbols on the playing field at the same time, the fisherman on the wild symbol will reel in all money symbols. This gives you the values of all money symbols that appear on the playing field at the same time as a wild symbol. The highest value belongs to the Fish Scatter and amounts to 4,000x your bet.
At the topside of the playing field you’ll see another metre during the free spins round. If you land a wild symbol on the grid, it will be collected on that metre above the playing field. With 4, 8 and 12 collected wild symbols you get an extra bonus:
- 4 wild symbols: you get 10 extra free spins and a multiplier of x2.
- 8 wild symbols: you get an additional 10 free spins and a multiplier of x3.
- 12 wild symbols: 10 extra free spins and a x10 multiplier.
When you have won a multiplier and you once again get a number of money symbols and a wild symbol on the playing field again, all values of the money symbols are multiplied by the multiplier you have at that moment. This is limited to 3 times, and when you run out of free spins, the bonus round is over making sure you return to the base game.
Payout Metrics
The Big Bass Bonanza RTP comes at a convenient percentage of 96.71% which is very high for an online pokie, even for today’s standards that have basically led to the thought that everything below 96% is considered low. This Pragmatic Play pokie game is also in the high range when it comes to variance. On a scale of 1 to 5, we would put the variance at a score of 4. The max win in Bigger Bass Bonanza from a single spin is 4000x the total bet. This will come in the free spins feature which is thanks to the potential 12x multiplier. The betting limits have been changed to match the number of paylines, starting at a minimum of $0,12 and going up in odd levels until topping out at $240 per spin.
Summary
Bigger Bass Bonanza surely delivers on the premise of the name, as we’re happy to let you know that it’s indeed bigger, bolder, and a lot more volatile in the sequel. We’re not quite sure though why Reel Kingdom and Pragmatic Play have decided to choose for palm trees in the background below the ocean surface, instead of just sticking to subsea flora and fauna. Punters in New Zealand usually come to these kinds of pokie games to find themselves a nostalgic and relaxing time that eventually might just give them a big catch, not to forget the tempting nightlife strip found in the backdrop.
Most of the features in Bigger Bass Bonanza are the same as in the original game, but it is now also possible to win the actual cash values of the fish in the base game which makes it a lot more interesting to continue to play and try your luck. Additionally, a fourth row has been added to the 5 reels grid, leading to 12 paylines (instead of 10), whilst the max potential has been doubled. The difficult to catch 4,000x fish does mean that you can expect plenty of dead spins, with sometimes measly wins, often found in the base game. Then again, the bonus round is not necessarily a guarantee for bigger payouts either. Being a Pragmatic Play title and a part II of a successful game, Bigger Bass Bonanza has managed to find its way to a lot of casino lobbies which doesn’t come as a surprise.
