Deal or No Deal Banker's Bonanza: Slot Overview
Despite being a largely British televisual interest, Continental gamblers are no doubt well aware of the Deal or No Deal phenomenon. If there is one studio we can thank for the TV to slot crossover, it's got to be Blueprint Gaming. Blueprint has taken the show by both hands and squeezed every last drop they can wrangle out of it. Clearly, there is plenty of blood left in the stone, too, because now we've got Deal or No Deal Banker's Bonanza, an online slot that justifies its existence in two ways. One is the use of a Sweet Bonanza style scatter pays system. The second is pretty massive if you're a fan of the show. For the first time, the legendary Noel Edmonds has lent his voice to the game, showing up in the bonus round.
Players who like the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach will be happy with how Blueprint has handled the audio-visuals. A show-inspired throbbing soundtrack beats away in the background, while upfront, players interact with a game grid surrounded by glowing orange lights and a bonus game trail. It's all very familiar, a little same-same, but banker-philes should be pleased with the look.
DONDBB is a medium-high volatile game utilizing a 6-reel, 5-row grid matrix in combination with a scatter pays system rather than ways or lines. Basically, if 8 or more matching symbols are in view anywhere on the board, you've got a winner on your hands, and the cascade feature is triggered. Any device is suitable for taking on the Banker, allowing you to pick a stake from 10 p/c to $/€20 per spin.
Appearing on the reels are nine regular pay symbols split into low pay commons and higher value symbols from the show. Starting things off are cherries, lemons, plums, watermelons, and bells, which are worth 2-8x the bet for 12+ in view. Then we get question mark mugs, letters, seals, and boxes as the premiums, paying 10 to 25 times the stake for 12+ on the grid. No wilds appear at any time, but there are mystery symbols which always transform into the same identical symbol.
Deal or No Deal Banker's Bonanza: Slot Features
Land a win, and the cascade feature removes the winning symbols from the board. Symbols above them fall into the gaps, which can lead to extra wins. When enough repeat cascades occur, the bonus game is triggered.
Bonus Trail
When 6, 8, or 11 consecutive cascades occur on a single base game spin, players gain access to the Deal or No Deal Bonus round, the Super Deal or No Deal Bonus Round, or the Mega Deal or No Deal Bonus Round, respectively.
Once triggered, the screen displays cash prizes on the left side of the screen and free spin prizes on the right. The difference between the three bonus tiers is the lowest one displays cash and free spins prizes, the Super Bonus displays fewer cash prizes, while the Mega Bonus only displays free spins.
Players start by picking one box, which is saved till the end. Then, the round commences by opening the rest of the boxes one by one. Each time a box is opened, it reveals one of the prizes, which is removed from the screen. At set intervals, the Banker calls to make an offer. You can accept the offer and return to the base game or reject it to open another round of boxes. If you go all the way to the end, you open the box you initially picked and take the prize.
Free Spins
In free spins, a golden box multiplier symbol becomes active, bearing values of x2 to x100. After winning cascades end, any multipliers in view are added up and applied to the total cascade win. If 3 or more bonus symbols land during the round, +5 additional free spins are won.
Deal or No Deal Banker's Bonanza: Slot Verdict
It's easy to lose track of how many Deal or No Deal slots Blueprint has released now, and the steamroller continues to power on. If anything, the DOND behemoth appears to be picking up speed, and the partnership between Blueprint and Banijay Brands, the license holder, seems as robust as ever. While the scatter pay system is one of Banker's Bonanza's attractions, bringing Noel Edmonds onboard is near enough a revolution. If there was something missing from previous DOND games, it was the conspicuous Noel sized hole, which Banker's Bonanza has effectively filled. The only way this could be topped is by having Noel's mug inserted into future DOND slots or getting him to guest star on Deal or No Deal Live.
Let's plant our feet back on earth for a bit and go over Banker's Bonanza. It's alright. Nothing special if DOND means little to you. The box opening bonus game can be kind of fun. With a smidge of imagination, you can pretend you're in the hot seat, opening boxes, accepting or rejecting the Banker's offer, and enjoying the suspense. There are issues, though. The main one is the Banker's offers are pretty lame. On the show, contestants wrestled with offers reaching into the thousands of Pounds, making the decision to accept or carry on an extraordinarily tough one. In the slot, the decisions rarely get anywhere near as intense. Because the Banker's offers are often so unappealing, and the cash prizes themselves so low, there is very little incentive not to open all of the boxes. Sure, you get a taste of the show, but bonus rounds generally ended up as a race to the finish line to see what we had in the original box, making the whole procedure feel a bit drawn out and redundant.
In certain gambling circles, another DOND release will be celebrated like a Eurovision after-party, and it won't matter a jot to them what a critic might have to say. Deep down, this is pretty predictable stuff, but the new bits should be received warmly, especially the inclusion of Noel Edmond's dulcet tones.
Deep down, Banker's Bonanza is pretty predictable stuff, but the new bits should be received warmly, especially the inclusion of Noel Edmond's dulcet tones.
