Gold Strike Bonanza

Gold Strike Bonanza: Slot Overview

Gold Strike Bonanza is a slot developed by Blueprint Gaming exclusively for LeoVegas. It seems to be a case of, if you can't beat 'em and don't want to join 'em, why not copy them? It pulls together a couple of older games, one being Pragmatic Play's hit Big Bass Bonanza, which achieved a very respectable ninth place in 2021 Bigwinboard's Game of the Year Awards. Since you can't really have a leader without followers, it's no surprise to see slots emerging off the back of Big Bass Bonanza. The game in question here is Gold Strike Bonanza, which includes collector symbols, money symbols, and a bonus game where free spins and win multiplier upgrades can be won via a separate collection mechanic.

One thing glaringly different between the two games is that Gold Strike Bonanza leaves the sea far behind, swapping the fish and glistening water for a far drier substitute. Located in a rocky gorge, Gold Strike Bonanza follows in the classic mining slot tradition. It definitely looks classic too with a land-based feel to it. Maybe old is a better word for it due to things like the way paylines are numbered along the sides of the game grid. The overall graphic standard is cheerfully low, on purpose, no doubt given Blueprint's design talents. The emphasis here seems to be on bringing back memories of Fishin' Frenzy as much as Big Bass Bonanza.

Gold Strike Bonanza is available to play on anything from smartphones, tablets to desktops. Users can get the pickaxe a-swinging by selecting a stake from 10 p/c per spin, rising to $/€10 at the most. Theoretically, you can expect a return to player value of 95% while the math model rocks at a medium/high setting.

Played on a 5-reel, 3-row grid, a total of 10 paylines snake their way across the game area like veins of ore in a rockface. Hitting three or more matching symbols from the lefthand side of the grid makes a winning combo, or just two of the dog symbols are sufficient. A five-symbol combo made up of these dog symbols is worth an impressive 200x the bet, dropping to 20-50x the bet for any gold symbol, moonshine bottles, lamps, and pickaxe/shovels. At the bottom end, worth up to 10x the bet for five of a kind are 10-J card rank tiles.

Gold Strike Bonanza: Slot Features

Decent symbol values provide the thrills in the base game until three or more dynamite scatter symbols land to trigger free spins. The number of free spins you get is 10, 15, or 20 when 3, 4, or 5 scatters are in view. In free spins, the prospector symbol makes its entrance. The prospector is wild, so it replaces any regular pay symbol to help complete wins.

More importantly perhaps, is the way the prospector collects gold nugget symbols. When gold nugget symbols land, they display a cash value of 2 to 2,000x the bet. If any are in view at the same time as a prospector symbol, all of the cash prizes are collected and awarded to the player.

Hold your horses pardner, there's more. Each time a prospector symbol lands, it is collected on a meter running along the top of the reels. Collecting enough of them awards additional free spins and multipliers.

• Collecting 4 prospector wilds awards +10 additional free spins and an x2 multiplier.
• Collecting 4 more prospector wilds awards +10 additional free spins and an x4 multiplier.
• Collecting another 4 prospector wilds awards +15 additional free spins and an x10 multiplier.

Note that the multiplier applies to any gold nugget symbols the prospector collects, not any line wins. In addition, there is a chance the prospector randomly triggers one of these modifiers during free spins:

• Gold Rush – gold symbols are held in place and reels respin. If at least 1 extra gold symbol land, another respin will occur.
• Big Blast Bonanza – the prospector throws dynamite on random reel positions, changing them into gold symbols.

Gold Strike Bonanza: Slot Verdict

If you expect to find novelty when you fire up a new game, maybe be transported somewhere you've never been before, then it would be better to give Gold Strike Bonanza a miss. Practically everything from its ubiquitous mining theme, old fashioned appearance, and recycled features are unoriginal to an almost distracting level. It kind of made us wonder why you'd bother playing this and not the progenitor slots that came up with the ideas in the first place. It might not have been so noticeable if Blueprint had used the Big Bass Bonanza concepts with an interesting theme. But here we are, pickaxing for gold, one more time, with a bushy-bearded prospector all plaid and overalls. Gee, this guy gets around.

There really isn't much to dissect in terms of gameplay. Gold Strike Bonanza certainly has the retro vibes the studio was going for, making it basically Fishin' Frenzy with nuggets. Solid symbol values are appreciated in the base game, and the bonus is where players get a chance to start reeling in the gold money symbols. To be fair, when you get down to it, the entertainment is just as good here as it has been elsewhere, and a prospector pulling in precious metal symbols does make logical sense. The game comes with Blueprints standard 50,000x win cap but the actual potential is no doubt far below that. However, the gold nugget symbols are higher here than they usually are - that 2,000x one in particular. It is also possible to win a larger number of free spins, plus you get an x4 on the second trigger rather than an x3.

If you're partial to a traditional money symbol collection slot where everything feels familiar, then Gold Strike Bonanza should well suffice. Yet, there is a stack of these slots floating around now, and Gold Strike Bonanza's tweaks struggle to set the game apart from the bunch.