Big Top Bonanza Megaways

Big Top Bonanza Megaways: Slot Overview

For players who appreciate a bit of Megaways powered gambling, Skywind Group are an interesting one to watch. One minute they're remaking older games before firing off something Asian inspired, then thinking outside the box with unique experiences like Alive! Megaways. Safe to say, there is no telling where the studio will dash off to next, nor what the quality will be. This time they've picked a topic you don't always see in Megaways, if ever actually, the bright lights of a big top circus. The result is Big Top Bonanza Megaways - will it Cirque du Soleil us or be a big 'ol flop?

Well, it starts quite well, and one reason is that Skywind has squeezed a few more symbols onto the grid than usual, so that ways to win max out at 200,704 rather than 117,649. Not a paradigm shift or hugely unique as such, but all the extra symbols on-screen got us curious. It means that up to 7 symbols can land on the 6 main reels, plus there's a 4-position horizontal reel running up top. Behind the grid is a striped tent, bedecked in lights and flags as fits the theme. Skywind hasn't gone overboard with the circus visuals, preferring to let the action on the reels provide the fireworks. It might not have hurt if they'd squeezed more out of the theme, but the restrained design has a charm of its own and lets the game get on with the task of being entertaining.

Like multi-tier seating, there are three ways of approaching Big Top Bonanza Megaways. The first is regularly, by setting bets of 20 p/c to $/€200 per spin and hoping for the best. Alternatively, if the option presents itself, players can activate an ante bet feature which increases the stake by 25% and doubles the chance of winning free spins. Or you can just buy the bonus game for 100x the base bet and cut straight to the main event. There is no mention of whether the default RTP of 96.5% changes between the three options, and volatility is rated as 3 out of 5 throughout as well.

Normal rules apply when it comes to linking up winning combinations - three to six matching symbols in adjacent reels pay left to right when they hit, then trigger a cascade. Starting the paytable off are carny looking J-A royals, balls, and juggling pins, paying out 0.5 to 1.25x the bet for six. Then there are higher value knife boards, top hats, cannons, and automobiles worth 2 to 5 times your stake for six of a kind. Lastly, a ringmaster adorned wild appears on reels 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 and substitutes for any regular paying symbol in the game.

Big Top Bonanza Megaways: Slot Features

Free spins are the main feature around here and are joined by cascading wins, several bonus modifier symbols and their respective abilities.

Cascades

Each winning way is removed by the cascade feature, and gaps are filled with new symbols, which can create another winning combination. Cascades continue like this until no new win hits.

Bonus Modifiers

Three different bonus modifier symbols appear on the horizontal row above main reels 2-5. They are called the Normal, Super, or Mega and have these abilities:

• Normal is the one with the clown on it, which does one of these - reveals a wild symbol beneath it, awards a multiplier of x2, x3, or x5, increases the number of ways, adds 2-6 wilds to reels 2-6, or replaces all Jacks for Queens.
• Super displays a fortune teller and awards one of these – reveals 2 wilds beneath it, awards a multiplier of x5, x8, or x10, increases ways to at least 15,625, adds 3-9 wilds to reels 2-6, replaces all Jacks and Queens for Kings.
• Mega has a strongman on it and awards one of these – replaces all symbols beneath them with wilds, awards a multiplier of x15, x25, or x50, forces Max Ways, adds 5-15 wilds to reels 2-6, replaces Jacks, Queens, and Kings, for Aces.

Free Games

In the base game, landing 4, 5, or 6 scatter symbols awards 10, 13, or 16 free games, respectively. In free spins, each winning cascade adds +1 to a progressive win multiplier, which does not reset between spins. Any multipliers awarded by the Bonus Modifiers are added to the progressive win multiplier. Finally, players can score an extra 3, 6, 9, or 12 free spins during the feature when 3, 4, 5, or 5 scatters are in view.

Big Top Bonanza Megaways: Slot Verdict

We know practically every man, woman, and their dog has licensed Megaways and leapt on the bandwagon by now, diluting the pool by sheer weight of numbers. This does tend to lessen the impact each time a new one is released. However, occasionally games like Big Top Bonanza Megaways come along to pleasantly surprise. Sure, it is no major innovator or next step in the mechanic's evolution. Still, it's a game that turned out to be even greater than the sum of its parts and provided good, solid Megaways powered gaming which reminded us how neat these slots can be.

It's a little bit tricky as to what exactly caused the positive reaction. Maybe the big top setting injected some youthful wonder? Perhaps, but on further dissection, it was a combination of having more ways than usual, numerous game modifiers, and eventually the added win multiplier in free spins. It might sound a little plain on paper, yet in practice, it was quite fun. The strong man Mega Bonus was particularly good. Whether he is forcing max ways or boosting the win multiplier in free spins, he can be extraordinarily helpful at times. The other two Normal and Super modifiers aren't bad either, managing to add a bit of excitement from time to time when they showed up. One factor that is not quite so dazzling is max win, which tops out at the so-so (for Megaways) total of 5,000x the bet.

Big Top Bonanza Megaways was a game that started positively and managed to improve as testing progressed. It doesn't do anything extraordinary and could have offered a larger prize purse, but it does a great job of combining tried and true Megaways mechanics with several useful modifiers to create an all-around satisfying show.