Well, well, well, It appears that Play’n GO also has a proclivity for fishing-themed slots. Boat Bonanza Down Under takes you on a fishing trip to Australia.
The fishing fun plays out on a grid with 5 reels, 4 rows, and 12 paylines. RTP ranges start with the best one of 96.25% down to 84.25%. The jackpot is 6,000x your stake and the volatility a 7/10.
The special features include a Catch Feature, Free Spins, and a Pick Bonus. Get out your fishing pole it’s time to reel in those big wins.
Graphics, Sound, and Symbols Boat Bonanza Down Under
There’s a bit of originality going on with the ocean serving as the backdrop for the reels. A shark bit a chunk out of the surfboard and the slot sports cartoon graphics.
The audio track of the Play’n GO slot is hilarious as well. The top symbols on the reels are the seagull, goggles, flip flops, tentacle in a can, and the shark scatter. The low symbols are the cards from 10 to Ace.
The premium symbol pays up to 200x your stake for 5 on the reels. Unfortunately, there’s no wild symbol.
Gameplay and Features
Catch Feature
The fisherman napping moves across the reels with each spin. When he wakes up he offers one of the following:
The Vertical Fish below the fisherman collects cash prizes.
The Surf n Catch collects the cash prizes along with multiplier wins.
The Under Reel Collect awards a mystery cash prize such as a kangaroo, cash, or free spins.
Free Spins
The free spins feature is where you want to be but it’s not easy to trigger the bonus round. The testing phase gave us an indication that it triggers 1 in 120 spins.
Three scatters at any position on the reels award 10 free spins along with a 12th-position trail. Every scatter you collect allows you to progress on the trail.
You’ll receive extra free spins or extra picks for every two steps you progress on the trail. You’ll receive extra picks on trails 2, 6, and 10 whilst positions 4, 8, and 12 award more free spins.
Each trigger not only awards extra free spins, but multipliers of 2x, 3x up to 10x. Moreover, the scatters must land on the same reel as the fisherman. Otherwise, you won’t collect them.
The maximum free spins you can play with is 50 and the 12th trail doesn’t award free spins.
Pick Bonus
Before the free spins feature commences the slot drops 8 Modifiers in the form of a Pick Bonus. You’ll play with an upgraded or a normal modifier. During the free spins feature a maximum of four modifiers can pitch. The Modifier offers the following:
Normal Modifier
5 Extra Free Spins
Catch Triggers
Surf and Catch Triggers stick to the reels for one spin
Catch Symbols with 2x multiplier
Removal of the low-value symbols
Upgraded Modifier
Awards 10 extra free spins
Catch triggers with a 2x multiplier
Extra Catch symbols
Removes two of the lowest Catch symbols
Drops a minimum of 3 Catch Symbols on a free spin
The Catch symbols remain sticky for 1 spin.
Catch multiplier increases to 5x
Paytable
What We Like About Boat Bonanza Down Under
The Modifiers in the free spins could result in decent wins of up to 6,000x the stake. Moreover, each free spin benefits from a minimum multiplier of 2x.
Playing for stakes of $2 per spin across 50 didn’t deliver the payouts we hoped for. We still lost $20 after a session of 50 spins. That indicates that the negative house advantage of the slot is steep.
To maximize your profits you can play for higher stakes or the maximum. As such, it then becomes a case of hitting it hard and fast and getting out.
Verdict: Boat Bonanza Down Under Slot
The trick to win money is to wake the slumbering fisherman. Australia is a popular hunting ground for great white sharks. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to snooze while you’re fishing.
Especially with RTPs as low as 84.25% will find you spinning in shark-infested waters. It all comes down to the free spins feature with its Modifiers.
Triggering the free spins feature is a slog and there’s no buy option for a quick trigger. Disappointingly we lost money playing the slot and we bumped into a 1x multiplier.
That right there is one of the main caveats we have with the slot. Payouts can be mint if you hit a multiplier of 2x and load up on a decent multiplier. Not a bad slot from Play’n GO, it’s just there are too many variables at play to our liking.
Mystery Genie Fortunes of the Lamp is a better choice since it offers stacked wilds in the free spins. The value of the wilds also adds up guaranteeing you decent wins.
