Big Bamboo

Big Bamboo Overview

Developed by the exciting and progressive studio Push Gaming, Big Bamboo is an Asian-themed game with a huge top potential win, a high-quality aesthetic appeal and an RTP of 96.13%. Big Bamboo also has some of the best bonus feature content to grace a Push Gaming slot in some time. The game will take you deep into a bamboo forest where various captivating and exotic animals await. These include a graceful bluebird, the serene green monkey, and the king of the bamboo forest – the cuddly and sedentary giant panda. Look no further than Big Bamboo if you’re looking for a novel and multifaceted game with great win potential.

The feature content of Big Bamboo starts with the mystery bamboo feature, which concerns the presence of the Mystery Bamboo symbols. When these land, all mystery symbols transform into the same randomly chosen paying symbol, including specials to help form wins and trigger other bonuses. Next on the feature list is the Golden Bamboo feature, triggered when a mystery symbol changes into a golden bamboo icon. These golden bamboo icons spin and reveal one of three prizes. This game also has a gamble feature, a free spins game, and a bonus buy option. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is the beautiful and hallowed habitat of the giant panda. The giant panda, which most of us recognise as the black and white bear, is native to the bamboo forests of southwest China. The forested area provides them with their primary food source -Bamboo and plenty of cover to shelter from the elements. The providers have also thrown in a few other Asian animals to give the game a more rounded feel, rather than focusing purely on the panda. It is a charming theme and one that induces a calming and relaxed environment to spin the reels.

The background for this game is the dark and deep bamboo forest in which the impressively cute pandas live. The long and thin poles of the Bamboo surround the playing board; however, they haven’t been made too dense to make the screen feel claustrophobic. For anyone interested, bamboo is the fastest growing plant on this planet and an incredible producer of oxygen. It was also the first plant to re-grow after the atomic blast in Hiroshima in 1945.

Unsurprisingly, the playing board has been fashioned from bamboo poles and blends effortlessly with its surroundings.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols comprise the four card suits – the diamond, spade, heart and club. These all payout at the same rate – 0.4x the stake for the top combination. The more valuable symbols are the various animals you will see on the board. These are the bird, the monkey, the warthog and the giant panda. The panda is the most valuable, worth 150x the stake for the top combination. The specials start with the gong wild, followed by the mystery bamboo icon, the golden bamboo icon, the instant prize symbol, the multiplier icon, the collector, the gamble scatter, and finally, the Yin Yang bonus scatter.

Game Play

Big Bamboo is played on a 5-reel, 6-row machine with 50 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 Big Bamboo is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake 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 Big Bamboo is 96.13%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 50,000x your stake.

Features

The mystery bamboo feature is the first feature we will cover in this review. It is triggered when mystery bamboo symbols fall onto the board. When these symbols fall, they all transform into the same symbol to help create wins or activate other bonus features.
The golden bamboo feature is next on the feature list, activated when the mystery symbols reveal a golden bamboo icon. Every golden bamboo icon will then spin and reveal one of three prizes. These are as follows:

An instant prize: A stake multiplier from 1x to 5,000 x stake.
A multiplier: A multiplier boosts the instant prize or collector symbols up to 10x.
The collector prize: A collector symbol collects all instant prizes.
Scatter symbols may also appear. When the gamble scatters appear, they spin and reveals several spins with some mystery bamboo symbols.

The gamble feature is activated when one of the gamble scatters lands and trigger one of the free spins prizes, as explained above. When the gamble wheel spins, it will provide chances to win a better free spins option. However, you may also not win anything.
The next feature is the free spins game activated via the Golden bamboo feature. You may start the feature will lots of spins with low-value symbols or a few spins and high-value symbols. Scatters will also appear in the free spins. When they do, they are collected in the low symbols meter next to the reels. Gamble scatters are also collected like this.
Collected symbols award more spins and multipliers, helping you increase the value of your free spins game.
This game also has a bonus buy option; however it is not available in the UK.

Conclusion

With loads of feature content, a high quality aesthetic, and a fun gaming experience, Big Bamboo hits many criteria for a great slot game. The win potential is also pretty impressive, with an awesome top win and a decent RTP rating. If you’re into cuddly pandas and winning some tidy little prizes, you’ll love this game.