Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action Slot Review
The whole game hangs below the water line: sunlight through a rippling surface, bubbles drifting up between the reels, the logo bobbing half-submerged against the deep blue. It’s a pretty patch of water for a game that barely changes anything under it. Pragmatic Play have retuned the numbers on Big Bass Bonanza and softer volatility makes the familiar round friendlier, but it also makes a 2,100x cap feel further away than ever.
The collector round survives intact, with cousins like Big Bass Splash carrying the same DNA. It’s a 5×3 grid with 10 paylines, 96.50% RTP in its standard setting, lower configurations available to operators, low volatility, and a 2,100x win cap. Stakes run from 0.10 to 250 per spin, stretched to 375 with the Ante Bet active.
How the Base Game Pays
Wins pay left to right across the 10 fixed paylines, starting from the leftmost reel. Only the highest combination on each line counts, and line wins from different paylines add together into the total. Every pay value below is a multiple of the total bet, not the line bet, which matters on a 10-line board: a “5x” hit means five times everything you staked on that spin.
-
Float: 200x for five, 20x for four, 5x for three, and 0.5x even for a pair
Fishing rod: 100x for five, 15x for four, 3x for three
Dragonfly: 50x for five, 10x for four, 2x for three
Tackle box: 50x for five, 10x for four, 2x for three
Fish: 20x for five, 5x for four, 1x for three
A and K: 10x for five, 2.5x for four, 0.5x for three
Q, J and 10: 10x for five, 2.5x for four, 0.5x for three
Five floats at the top pay 200x, which sets the tone for what the base game can do on its own. The mid-tier jump is steep, too: a five-symbol royal hit returns just a twentieth of what the float pays at the same length. That gap between the premium symbols and everything else is where the low-volatility feel comes from.
The scatter lands on all five reels and pays nothing by itself. Its only job is the trigger: three or more open the free spins round, and the scatter count at the trigger sets how many spins you start with. The wild appears on all reels during Free Spins and substitutes for everything except the scatter. Outside the feature it doesn’t appear at all, so the base game is pure line hits.
The Money Symbol
Every fish on the reels is also a Money symbol. On each spin it takes a random value, drawn from a fixed set that runs from pocket change to a genuinely large prize:
-
2x the base bet
5x the base bet
10x the base bet
15x the base bet
20x the base bet
25x the base bet
50x the base bet
2,000x the base bet
Those values can’t be collected in the base game. They sit on the screen as bait, so to speak, until a wild arrives during the feature to scoop them up. The fish still pay as regular symbols on winning lines in the meantime, so a fish is never wasted, whichever hat it’s wearing.
Free Spins
Three or more scatters trigger the round, and the awards scale with the trigger:
-
3 scatters: 10 free spins
4 scatters: 15 free spins
5 scatters: 20 free spins
During the round, every wild that lands collects all Money symbol values on screen. Each wild is also held in a running tally until the round ends, and that tally is where the feature builds its head of steam. Every fourth wild collected retriggers the round with 10 more spins and raises the collection multiplier:
-
First retrigger, on the fourth wild: multiplier doubles to 2x
Second retrigger, on the eighth wild: multiplier lifts to 3x
Third retrigger, on the twelfth wild: multiplier jumps to 10x
After the third retrigger, the round can’t retrigger again
The retriggered spins play after the current batch finishes, with the new multiplier applied to them. Reaching the third retrigger takes 12 wilds in a single round, which is the long game this feature is built around.
There’s one extra wrinkle. When exactly one wild is on screen at the end of a spin, fish Money symbols can appear at random positions, giving the next wild something to collect. Special reels are in play throughout the feature. The round also has a hard stop: if a cycle’s total win reaches the cap, the round ends at once and every spin still owed is forfeited in exchange for the payout.
Ante Bet and Bonus Buy
Two options change how you get into the feature. The first is the Ante Bet, a choice of bet multiplier that trades a bigger stake for better trigger odds:
-
10x multiplier: normal play, buy option available
15x multiplier: more scatters on the reels, better natural trigger odds, buy option disabled
The second is a straight purchase. For 100x the current base bet, the round starts immediately, and the triggering spin deals 3, 4 or 5 scatters at random, so there’s no guarantee of the 20-spin tier. A minimum-stake player pays 10 for the privilege; at the top of the bet menu it’s 25,000.
Whichever route you take, the RTP holds at 96.50% across base game, Ante Bet and Bonus Buy alike, so nothing you switch costs you return. Autoplay runs from a simple count picker with an option to auto-skip the feature introduction and end screens, and the space bar or enter starts and stops a spin manually. Small conveniences, but they add up over a long session on a low-volatility board.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7/10
This is a gentle afternoon on a lake you’ve fished before. The base game hands out small line wins while the fish float by carrying money they refuse to pay, and the one real reason to cast off here rather than on the original is the pacing: low volatility means more features, sooner, with less bruising in between.
The retrigger ladder is the strongest piece of the build. Because every wild hoovers up the whole screen’s fish values at once, and the multiplier climbs to 10x by the third retrigger, a late wild into a busy grid is a proper payoff, not a trickle.
The ceiling is the problem, and it’s a real one: 2,100x is a small lake, and on a board this calm you’ll feel it. Chasers of four-figure hits will be bored long before the twelfth wild arrives. For the casual angler after a steady, cheerful session on familiar water, though, this is a comfortable spot to drop a line.
Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action FAQs
-
What is the RTP of Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action?
The RTP is 96.50% in its standard setting, and it stays at 96.50% whether you use the Ante Bet or the Bonus Buy. Operators can run the game at lower RTP settings, so it’s worth checking the figure at your casino before you play. -
Is Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action high volatility?
No, it’s a low volatility slot. Wins tend to arrive more often and in smaller amounts, with the free spins round carrying most of the bigger potential. -
How does the free spins retrigger work in Reel Action?
Wilds that land during the round are collected, and each fourth wild brings 10 extra spins plus a bigger collection multiplier: 2x, then 3x, then 10x. The round locks after that third retrigger, which lands on the twelfth wild. -
Can you buy the bonus on Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action?
Yes, the round can be bought from the base game for 100x your current base bet. The triggering spin then deals 3, 4 or 5 scatters at random, so a purchased round might begin on 10, 15 or 20 spins. -
What does the Ante Bet do?
It raises your bet multiplier to 15x and puts more scatter symbols on the reels, improving the natural chance of triggering free spins. The Bonus Buy is disabled while it’s active, and the RTP stays at 96.50%. -
What is the maximum win on Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action?
The maximum win is capped at 2,100x your bet, in both the base game and free spins. Once a round hits that figure, it ends at once and any spins still remaining are forfeited in exchange for the payout. -
How many paylines does Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action have?
It has 10 fixed paylines on a 5×3 grid, with all wins paying left to right from the leftmost reel. -
When is Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action released?
Big Bass Bonanza: Reel Action’s release date is 27 May 2024.
