Boat Bonanza

Created by the well-established gaming producer Play' n GO, Boat Bonanza has players boarding a seaworthy vessel and journeying into the broad blue ocean to catch some prize-winning fish. Compared to many of this studio's products, this one is relatively simple and relaxing, with a stripped-back theme and board and just a few useful yet not convoluted bonus features. If you want something to play on a rainy Sunday afternoon, this might be just the slot you're looking for. Mechanically, this is a five-reel, three-row game with twelve fixed pay lines and an RTP of 96.21%. This game is available across mobile, tablet and desktop platforms.

Boat Bonanza Overview

The features of this game, as briefly explained, are relatively straightforward. The first one here is called the catch symbols feature. This pertains to the boats that float along the top of the reels in the base game. These need to be in colour and active to work. These boats fish into the reels beneath to bring up cash prizes. The other main feature in this game is the free spins feature, which activates when players simultaneously land three or more of the scatter symbols on the reels. Depending on the number of scatters you land, you can either be given 10, 15 or 20 free spins. In this bonus game, multiplier boats become active. These boats boost the size of cash wins found. When this happens, a re-spin feature begins. All bonus content will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Boat Bonanza Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game, as you will have noticed, is a nautical fishing theme. By the looks of the game, you, as the player, have gotten up early one sunny morning to get down to the docks and push off into the open ocean looking for a great day's fishing. The theme is simple, relaxing and executed with an excellent level of detail. What is also immediately apparent about the visual design of this game is that they have given the board plenty of space. The screen isn't hemmed in by too many elements competing for your eye's attention. This adds to the sense of relaxation you get when playing this slot.

The background for this game is mostly comprised of the vast open ocean. At least the portion of the screen where the playing board is is completely submerged in water. Above this sea line in the distance is the shore, upon which players can see a cityscape, complete with high rises, a pier and even a Ferris wheel. From this image, you could surmise that this could be a variety of British seaside towns such as Brighton, Blackpool, or even Croyd. This distance between the city and the fishing boat's apparent location makes you feel detached from the hustle and bustle of modern life. The playing board for this game is a clever net made of rope that has been divided into 20 even squares.

The symbols are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying icons are the 10, J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. These are all worth the same at 10x the stake for the top combination. The more valuable symbols however are the lobster cage, the fishing rod reel, the seagull and the buoy. The buoy is the most valuable icon, worth 200x the bet for the top combination. The specials for this game are the boat scatter, the blue and green fishes and the golden lobster.

Game Play

Boast Bonanza is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 12 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. The betting range for Boast Bonanza is 20p to £50 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stakes up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen. Volatility for this slot is rated in the high range. The return to player percentage for Boast Bonanza is 96.21%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 5,000x your stake.

Boat Bonanza Features

The first feature included in this game is the catch symbols bonus. This bonus concerns the active boats that can patrol the board above the reels. The greyed-out boats do not do anything as they are not active. These boats catch cash prizes from the playing board below. These can reach up to 1,000x your stake (the fishes and lobsters).

The next feature in this game is the free spins game, triggered when players land three or more of the boat symbols on the reels simultaneously. The more scatters you land to activate the bonus, the more spins the game will reward you. During the free spins round, multiplier boats come into action. These multiply your winnings in this game. If you get a boat to boost your winnings, then the next feature is triggered – the re-spin game.

In the re-spin game, only three different cash symbols can fall. The re-spin keeps going until no more cash symbols appear. When t no more land, you go back to playing your free spins. During the free spins, you might also catch extra spin and multiplier modifier symbols that help improve your free spins' conditions.

Finally, if two active boats land above reel one in the free spins round, the Mega catch feature will be triggered. When this happens, all multiplier values from the boats are combined, and all instant cash prizes on the reels are collected and won. If you've caught a Golden Lobster, they can multiply the total bet by 1,000x.

Conclusion

Fishing has always been a relaxing pastime; however, we dare say it is probably even more relaxing from your own warm home than in the cold sea air. This is a great slot for those who don't want to play anything too complicated but still want a game that has a fun and varied playing experience. Win potential-wise, with a good RTP and top prize, things aren't bad either. As with every Play' n GO product, however, look out for the high volatility. We suggest you to try also Bigger Bass Bonanza from our free slot collection.