Big Bad Wolf Christmas

Big Bad Wolf was one of the first slot releases in 2013 for the development team at Quickspin and was an immediate success. Whereas it could have been a disaster choosing to use a children’s story as a theme there was just the right combination of visuals, features and rewards for players to see far beyond the theme. Since this time, the slot has earnt itself a cult status and is still a huge amount of fun to play. Granted it may not have been the most thrilling slot of the time, but the volatility was not as brutal as it is today. Following in other developers’ footsteps Big Bad Wolf has been transformed into a holiday version, and the result is Big Bad Wolf Christmas Special.

Big Bad Wolf Christmas slot overview

If you are familiar with the first version of this slot you may feel that there is little difference. There are the same wooden frames 5-reels and 25 pay lines, and the barrel full of apples is still sat next to the reels. However, in this version everything is covered in pure white snow and there are dashes of the season which are very in keeping with the season including gift ribbon and so on. One minor change is that the pay line numbers are no longer in use instead there are decorative lights, however with the birds still tweeting in the background the slot still feels familiar. What I will say now that the visual changes are the only new things you will find in this version of the slot.

Regarding the statistic and math models these have been left alone as has the bet range that starts from 25p per spin up to a maximum £100 per spin and this also has a medium volatility and the return to player still sits at an excellent 97.34%. In the previous version the math model was one of the highlights therefore the game play is as it was before.

Big Bad Wolf Christmas Values and Symbols

When it comes to the symbols there are 11 regular symbols, which can create winnings if you land three of the same starting from left to right. There are 5 lower paying symbols which are made up of the usual playing cards, 10 through to Ace and these have intricated snowflakes on them which is very in keeping with the theme.

The final 4 symbols are made up of a soft toy and three piggies who are the stars of the slot and when you land five of the toy or piggies you will be rewarded with 8x – 12x your stake. You can land up to four different wild symbols and have them all in play, however there is one for starters which is represented by the beehive wild and the symbol can substitute for all the symbols to create winning combinations except for the Wolf scatter and Moon symbols. The wild has its own value and will pay out when you have at least two in a row, land five and the reward is a sizeable 40x your bet.

Game Features

Part of the charm in the original version of this slot was the features, not only were there a good amount, but they worked in partnership to enhance other areas of the game. The snowball rolls in this slot start with Swooping reels, which leads into the Pigs Turn Wild, this is followed up by the Free Spins and finally the Blowing Down the House feature.

The Swooping Reels which you will probably know more commonly as cascades, are quite common now but this was not so in 2013. Every win you land will activate the cascade feature which then removes the winning symbols from the grid. The empty positions are then filled with the symbols that drop down from above giving you the chance to land even more wins. The Swooping Reels continue until you land no more winning combinations.

The Pigs Turn Wild feature does as it suggests, and for every 2nd win in a row will turn a pig into a wild, meaning that the 2nd, 4th, and 6th, turn pig 1, 2, and 3, wild. When there are no more wins the piggy wilds revert to their normal character. This feature can make an appearance in both the base game and the free spins.

It is obvious that you are playing the Christmas version as the wolf which is the scatter now wears a Santa hat and if you land three or more of the scatters anywhere on your reels you will be rewarded with 10 free spins and 3x your bet too. If you land three scatters in the bonus feature you have an additional 10 free spins awarded too. When it comes to the free spins the new moon is introduced on your last reel, for you to collect when they land. Once you have collected three, 2 additional spins are added plus a 2x multiplier to any win that you land within this feature.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Quickspin have taken the quickest route to providing a Christmas slot, and apart from some graphical changes everything else remains just the same. Although there will be some people that will be disappointed as this is simply a re-skin although for most, they will be glad of the perfect excuse to blow down the houses with this fabulous re-release. Although there has been 7 years between the original and this new slot the actual gaming experience feels rather contemporary. The swoops or cascades or whatever you wish to call them are still fresh and appear in most of the slots released today.

The interesting thing is that with the Megaways incorporated the cascades should feel more restrictive than it does and the only thing I can see being an issue is only for those chasing big wins as the best you can expect to get here is 1,200x your bet, which I know for me would make for a happy Christmas. I loved testing this slot and the range of options certainly brought a smile to my face. I am a huge Christmas fan, so this slot had me sold for the word go. My rating would be a solid 8.5/10 and I would urge everyone to give this a spin or two.