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Fishing comes in many shapes and sizes. The idea most people have involves hanging out on a small boat with friends and family. However, this pokie is based on big-game fishing, where people on motorboats compete to catch the most fish. This is reflected in the game’s visuals, with two boats moving around trying to outdo each other.
Higher-value symbols follow the theme, featuring fishing equipment or things you’d see out at sea, like buoys. However, the less valuable icons are plain playing card royals with no decorations. A fishing boat is the Scatter symbol, while various Catch Icons award cash prizes or add multipliers under the right circumstances.
Play’n GO’s slot takes clear inspiration from Bigger Bass Bonanza’s graphics, especially the backdrops. The developer does put its own spin on things, but it’s clear they’ve taken a few pages out of Pragmatic Play’s book.
In both titles, most of the backdrop is beneath the waves and doesn’t look all that spectacular. Meanwhile, the above-water sections show the skyline of a nearby city and its pristine coastline. Boat Bonanza opts for a bright and sunny day instead of the neon-lit Miami evening you get in the other pokie. It also has visual elements unique to its bonus features, such as the moving boats.
Every more valuable symbol in this game is somehow related to fishing. You’ll come across buoys, fishing reels, seagulls, and crab traps in the playing area, which are attractive and fit well with the theme.
If you’re willing to give both slots a fair go, you’ll find they’re not nearly as similar as they first seem. I can’t deny that Play’n GO borrowed a few elements. That said, the team went out of its way to provide Boat Bonanza with a distinct identity.
The game uses a 5×4 grid and 12 fixed paylines. It has a high variance, which is great news for experienced players and jackpot chasers.
The honour of being the most valuable icon belongs to the buoy, awarding up to 200x. Next up is the fishing reel, granting up to 100x. The seagull and crab trap icons share the same payout of 50x your stake.
You can bet between $0.20 and $50 per spin every round. It’s an acceptable betting range, though I wish the maximum bet was a little higher.
The pokie comes with an RTP of 96.21%, slightly better than average. The 5,000x jackpot is also decent but difficult to achieve, thanks to the steep volatility. During my test run, I was never able to break past the 50x barrier, so don’t expect big wins to just fall into your lap!
Boat Bonanza wisely decided not to overcomplicate its bonus features. Thanks to that, the slot remains approachable without sacrificing the fun factor that’s essential to casino games.
Alongside regular icons, players will also see Catch symbols landing on the reels. These icons have visible rewards on their tile, but you do not get them automatically. Only Catch symbols that appear on the same reel as one of two fishing boats will have their rewards added to your balance. The two ships change position every spin to keep things fair and exciting.
I immensely enjoyed the addition of this bonus feature. It kept me on my toes, as each spin had a chance to provide thrilling rewards.
When 3, 4, or 5 Scatters appear on the reels, 10, 15, or 20 free spins are activated. The two ships now have attached multipliers that boost prizes awarded by Catch icons. Each catch also grants a respin, during which only other Catch symbols can land on the reels.
Alongside existing Catch icons, Boat Bonanza introduces two new symbols, which add extra free spins or increase the boat multiplier. If any bonus feature will get you close to the promised 5,000x jackpot, this is it. However, I found the Free Spins feature a rare treat, only triggering every so often.
The last bonus feature this pokie provides is Mega Catch. It occurs when two boats are active above the same reel and results in all Catch symbols getting caught. Boat multipliers are combined whenever the Mega Catch feature triggers. It’s not all that exciting, but the prizes you can win make it worthwhile.
Kiwis hunting for the next big fishing slot should give Boat Bonanza a shot. While its visuals borrow plenty from Pragmatic Play’s competitor, the team did a great job in making the gameplay feel distinct.
The presence of Catch symbols outside of bonus features goes a long way in spicing up basic gameplay. I greatly enjoyed seeing my spins interrupted with a minor win from this bonus feature. Adding Mega Catch and Free Spins features on top of that kept me stuck to my seat for hours.
That said, there are some areas where this pokie could be better. Considering its high variance, I expected a higher jackpot. A 5,000x the stake is still very good, but not quite at the same level as payouts in the best slots.
Because of that, I’m giving Boat Bonanza a rating of 8.2 out of 10.
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