There are 21 Big Bass games developed by Pragmatic Play over the last few years. Some are simply themed variants (Halloween 2 or Day at the Races) while others have a central feature that sets them apart. Out of all of them, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is perhaps the easiest to make sense of. It is the traditional Big Bass experience with the added bonus of the Megaways mechanic first pioneered by Big Time Gaming. Very high volatility, a 6x7 underwater theme, a whopping 46,656 ways to win, and a handsome 96.7% RTP make the Big Bass Bonanza Megaways one of the best online slot games in the world. The game is loaded to the brim with features and mechanics that might take a minute for you to fully comprehend. Our Big Bass Bonanza Megaways review will help you understand all those mechanics and so much more.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is a 6-reel, 2-6 row slot game featuring up to 46,656 ways to win with the Megaways mechanics, developed in partnership with Reel Kingdom. Over time, the Big Bass series has evolved from a Fishin’ Frenzy knockoff to one of the most well-known fishing-collection games and this particular slot game has been instrumental for that journey.
The number of symbols on each reel can vary, creating a dynamic and ever-changing play area. The wagering range allows for flexibility, with stakes starting at £0.20 per spin and going up to £100 per spin (all stakes limited to £5 per spin for UKGC-based casinos).
The game has the Megaways mechanic but differs from it slightly. Typically, you get up to seven rows in Megaways games (a changing number of rows/symbols). Big Bass Bonanza Megaways only goes up to five.
At a glance, this means you get fewer winning formations. But the game’s base RTP is higher than Megaways slots at an impressive 96.7%. This more than makes up for the lost lines because as a high-volatility slot, you will be getting more money back over the long run with cascading reels and free spin rounds—which, in turn, trigger with three Scatter symbols, not four—making it a very interesting game.
The max win in Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is 4,000x your stake, which can be achieved through the Money Symbols and multipliers during the Free Spins round. This is low compared to popular fishing slots, Pragmatic Play’s next Big Bass slots, and many other Megaways slots in general.
Here are the best casinos offering the Big Bass Bonanza Megaways slot game. Check more of our best UK slot sites below:
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways features a fun, fishing-themed design based on the simplicity of the Big Bass games (not Bigger Bass). Complete with colourful fishes and aquatic plants, the reels are set amid the deep blue sea under a bright, sunlit ocean surface. The lively soundtrack, with cheerful tunes and the occasional seagull squawking, adds to the light-hearted fishing adventure vibe.
There are several key symbols in the game, including premium fish-related symbols and the iconic fisherman. The Wild symbol is represented by a fishing net and substitutes for all symbols except the scatter and fisherman. The Scatter symbol is a fish jumping out of the water and triggers the Free Spins feature when three or more land on the reels.
Ten
3 = 0.1x stake / 4 = 0.2x stake / 5 = 0.4x stake / 5 = 0.8x stake
Jack
3 = 0.15x stake / 4 = 0.25x stake / 5 = 0.5x stake / 5 = 0.9x stake
Queen
3 = 0.15x stake / 4 = 0.25x stake / 5 = 0.5x stake / 5 = 1x stake
King
3 = 0.2x stake / 4 = 0.25x stake / 5 = 0.6x stake / 5 = 1x stake
Ace
3 = 0.2x stake / 4 = 0.4x stake / 5 = 0.6x stake / 5 = 1.75x stake
Tackle Box
3 = 0.25x stake / 4 = 0.5x stake / 5 = 0.75x stake / 5 = 2x stake
Dragonfly
3 = 0.25x stake / 4 = 1x stake / 5 = 1.5x stake / 5 = 2x stake
Fishing Rod
3 = 1x stake / 4 = 2x stake / 5 = 2.5x stake / 5 = 7.5x stake
Fishing Float
2 = 2x stake / 3 = 5x stake / 4 = 10x stake / 5 = 25x stake / 5 = 50x stake
Pragmatic Play is well-known to develop mobile-friendly slot games. Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is a good example of how to create an HTML5 slot game that works really well on mobile. It is snappy, offers easy-to-use controls, and a neatly laid out grid.
Multiple bonus features in the game can significantly boost your chances of big wins. Combining wilds, money symbols, and free spins, this slot keeps the action flowing. Let us break these features down:
To trigger the Free Spins round, you need to land 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatter symbols (the fish jumping out of the water) anywhere on the reels. This grants you 10, 15, 20, or 25 free spins, respectively. During the Free Spins, the Fisherman symbol appears on all reels. Every time he lands, he collects all values from the Money symbols (the fish symbols). Collecting 4 Fisherman symbols in the metre retriggers the feature and adds 10 more free spins with an increasing multiplier (2x, 3x, and 10x for each retrigger). The Dynamite and Bazooka features can also activate randomly to add more Money symbols or create winning combinations.
The Dynamite feature can trigger randomly during the Free Spins round if there are 1 or 2 Fisherman symbols on the reels and no Money symbols in view. When activated, the Dynamite feature adds Money symbols to the reels in random positions, increasing your chances of collecting higher values with the Fisherman symbol.
Another random feature, the Bazooka, can trigger when there are 1 or 2 Fisherman symbols but no Money symbols. When the Bazooka activates, all symbols (except the Fisherman) are destroyed, giving you a guaranteed win by clearing the reels and potentially leading to higher payouts.
96.7% RTP, a wide betting range of up to £100 (on UKGC casinos you are hard-capped at just £5), cascading/tumbling symbols, Megaways, and free spin retriggers that can go up to 10x your wager all make Big Bass Bonanza Megaways an excellent slot game by all means. Add to that a fun symbol collection mechanic and an interesting underwater/fishing theme and you have one of the most popular and greatest slots by Pragmatic Play. The only thing keeping it back is the subpar 4,000x max win potential given its high volatility.
The game is developed in partnership with Reel Kingdom.
Rating: 9 (Exceptional)
They have taken the Megaways concept and made it quite interesting. You trigger the free spins with 3 Scatters, not 4. And you have a higher base RTP alongside the very high volatility at the expense of 2-5 additional rows vs. 2-7 additional rows in a typical Megaways slot game. These tweaks look small on paper, but have a profound impact on the gameplay. Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is as good as slot games get, and deserves all the popularity it gets. But of course, there is also the Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways—Pragmatic Play’s next Megaways engine incorporating a Big Bass game that has even more bonuses and a 20,000x max payout potential.
That is the only thing keeping me from rating Big Bass Bonanza Megaways 10/10. Oh, and the fact that Bigger Bass Bonanza has flashier graphics, and developing a game in the Big Bass style while you already have Bigger Bass Bonanza available is a questionable decision.
These are some common questions about Big Bass Bonanza Megaways.