Boat Bonanza Down Under

Boat Bonanza Down Under: Slot Overview

Hey players, before launching into the review, could you be so kind as to do an online image search for Edvard Munch's painting 'The Scream' and zoom in on the character's face? That's about the same reaction provoked each time a new fishing slot passes the review desk these days. Of course, we're joking, kind of, and here is another fishing-related slot to add to the list. It's titled Boat Bonanza Down Under from Swedish developer Play'n GO and makes up the third slot in the studio's Boat Bonanza line.

Being 'Down Under' means the play takes place somewhere in the big wide land of Australia. Wherever we are, the sun is shining on clear blue water full of bubbles and aquatic life. In some ways, it is visually close to the other Boat Bonanza; in other ways, Boat Bonanza Down Under makes a break. A small break. The boats above the game grid have been replaced by a sleeping fisherman on a flotation device. That's different, ish.

A transparent game grid is where the symbols appear, landing over 5 reels, each reel possessing 4 positions, and where 12 paylines have been built in. Play'n GO has given the math model a rating of 7 out of 10 for volatility, and the highest possible RTP model has a value of 96.25%. Putting monetary bait on the metaphorical hook means picking a stake of 10 c to $/€50 per spin.

Regular pay symbols lose some of their allure in a fishing/money symbol game, but for the record, they include 10-A card ranks, goggles, flip flops, a tentacle in a can, and a bird on a floaty. Hitting 5 royals pays 10 times the stake while hitting 5 premiums awards 50 to 200 times the stake. The fish money symbols can also create line wins, worth up to 40x the bet for 5 of them, and they have individual prize values of 1x to 50x. Boat Bonanza Down Under doesn't have a wild.

Boat Bonanza Down Under: Slot Features

Catching fish is a must in a game like this, and that's here in the Catch Feature, as is a pick bonus with loads of possible picks and free spins.

Catch Feature

A sleeping fisherman chills out above the reels, moving position on spins or staying where he is. When the fisherman wakes up 1 of 3 things may occur:

• Vertical Fish – collects all prizes beneath the fisherman.
• Surf n Catch – the fisherman collects all prizes on the reels. A multiplier equal to the number of reels which had Catch prizes on them is applied to the total before being awarded.
• Under Reel Collection – a mystery prize Catch is pulled from beneath the reels. These prizes can be cash, a kangaroo sign dud symbol, or, in free spins, only a special scatter that progresses players on the free spins trail.

The Vertical Fish and the Under Reel features can trigger at the same time.

Free Spins

Hitting 3+ scatters awards 10 free spins. During free spins, a 12-position trail is added in. Collecting scatters allows progression along the trail, including from the special scatter generated by the Under Reel Collection feature. At every 2 steps along the trail, players are awarded another pick or additional free spins. Positions 2, 6, and 10 offer picks, while positions 4, 8, and 12 retrigger free spins - +10 each time. Win multipliers for each retrigger stage are x2, x3, and x10. Scatters are only collected if they are on the same reel as the fisherman as part of the Surf n Catch or Under Reel Collection. When reaching the 12th position, no extra free spins will be awarded, and the maximum number of free spins is 50. Multipliers in the feature apply only to Catch wins, not line wins.

Pick Bonus

At the start of free spins, players are presented with a pick bonus that adds 1 of 8 modifiers to the round. Trail progression is able to grant more picks. Each modifier has 2 variations, regular and upgraded. The free spins regular modifiers are: 5 extra free spins, more Catch triggers, more Surf n Catch triggers, more Catch symbols, the lowest paying symbol is removed, at least 1 Catch symbol on each free spin (no win guarantee), Catch Multiplier increased to x2, or 1 random Catch symbol is sticky for 1 spin.

The upgraded modifiers are: 10 extra free spins, more Catch triggers at x2 multiplier, more Surf n Catch triggers at x2 multiplier, more Catch symbols and 2 lowest paying Catch symbols are removed, 3 lowest paying symbols removed, at least 3 Catch symbol on each free spin (no win guarantee), Catch Multiplier increased to x5, or 2 random catch symbol sticky for 1 spin. Only 4 modifiers can be active during free spins, and only 1 type of each specific modifier may be active, so no regular and modified version of the same modifier.

Boat Bonanza Down Under: Slot Verdict

A Big Bass Bonanza meets the Golden Fish Tank spin-off; is that a fair way of summing up Boat Bonanza Down Under? Well, it's one way at least, as players who cast off in this game get numerous ways of reeling in rewards, modifying things, and so on and so forth. Not that they didn't already have numerous ways of doing so already, what with the monumental number of these sorts of slots milling about the online gambling pond. But Boat Bonanza Down Under differs from a lot of them, so, fair dues, he is another way gamblers can get their fish slot fix.

Waking the fisherman up during the base game so he hauls in rewards is all fine and dandy, but it is during Boat Bonanza Down Under's free spins round when the fish finder really starts to detect aquatic activity. Of course, like in real life, just because fish show up on the radar doesn't mean they're all going to fling themselves onto your line or dive into the back of the boat. However, when the hauling in is going well, it could mean that various parts have come together to create an effective and possibly entertaining whole.

Since so many of Boat Bonanza Down Under's goodies have been channelled into its free spins round, it's unfortunate the bonus feature can't be bought because the base game was a bit of drag. The fisherman really liked to slumber, so he didn't catch a whole lot, and line wins did not contribute much, either. In saying that, the first free spins trigger returned the rude awakening amount of 1x the bet. Still, Boat Bonanza Down Under can reach 6,000x in the right conditions, so fishing fanatics might be tempted in for a reel.