Bonanza Megaways Slot
4.0/5

Bonanza Megaways Slot

Play with $25 free play at BetMGM
Pros
  • RTP (Return To Player) 96%
  • Volatility and Variance Very High
  • Great Introduction to Megaways Slots
Cons
  • Hard to trigger Bonus Round
  • Limited Base Game special features
  • Base Game can become repetitive

Bonanza Slot Review and Guide

The Bonanza slot game is one of Big Time Gaming’s (BTG) biggest hits, and it’s not difficult to see why. With 117,649 ways to win and an RTP of 96%, it’s going down as one of the classic slot games.

In the past, slots ruled Vegas supreme. Sure, you might have seen blackjack and poker tables in Hollywood flicks, but slots and jackpots were the name of the game for the general population. And that shouldn’t be surprising. They were simple to play and offered fantastic rewards worth no more than a few minimum bet spins. That kind of popularity didn’t fade away once slots came online. Many developers tried to replicate the success of vintage slots, and thanks to the Bonanza slot game, that genre lives on.

The slot was developed and released by Big Time Gaming (BTG) in 2016, and due to the success of the Megaways system sees them as one of the most successful slot developers around. Available for free and real money, Bonanza blended vintage gameplay with the possibility of huge wins. It also introduced the Megaways engine to the market. While it’s not the first slot that uses it, Bonanza put BTG’s popular and now licensed mechanic firmly on the map and is known as the benchmark for comparing all current Megaways slots!

The Bonanza Megaways slot comes with 117,649 ways to win and an RTP of 96%. It’s a game of very high variance, and as mentioned earlier, it features the Megaways engine. For those unaware, this is a game-changing slot feature that enhances slot gameplay and boosts potential rewards. It’s safe to say that it changed the industry from its core, being used in many slots later.

Of course, it wouldn’t be as popular today if it wasn’t for the Bonanza slot machine. The BTG hit was released in 2016 and paved the way for bigger Megaways adoption resulting in other slot developers now licensing the “Megaways” system to use on their slots.

By blending old-school gameplay with huge and modern new innovative features, Bonanza did something not many other slots could not do.

Where to Play the Bonanza Slot in the US?

The Bonanza Slot is widely available to play in most US licensed casinos. We’d go for the biggest online casinos available to US players if you ask us. These include BetMGM Casino, DraftKings Casino, and FanDuel Casino.

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Visuals, Setup, and Paytable

Bonanza Slot Intro Screen

We’d be lying if we said that Bonanza is a top-shelf slot in terms of the visuals. As a matter of fact, it looks a bit archaic, even with the 3D graphics. Just like all other Megaways slots, it comes with an unorthodox “ways” setup that we can explain as six reels of 7x7x7x7x7x7 (giving the maximum 117,649 ways to win). The 6 standard reels produce a varying number of symbols randomly generated on each spin. A horizontal reel strip containing the Mining Carts adds different symbols and extra possible winning combinations into play.

That shouldn’t stop you from playing Bonanza just like any regular slot. It’s still an online slot at its core, and the mechanics are simple enough to make the gameplay easy to understand. The Bonanza game is packed with features, but things are simple regarding the layout and design. And we wouldn’t make it any other way.

Thanks to the infectious hillbilly sound effects and music, this is a slot that will fully immerse you into the fantastic atmosphere. Bonanza is a mining-themed slot. The reels are set inside a mine that ties in perfectly with the theme of Gold, Jewels, Mining, and prospecting. The top row features mine carts filled with diamonds and gems that can spice your wins up. The 4 symbols carried on the carts will raise your winning chances.

If you are unsure how Bonanza works, you should first try the Bonanza slot demo. It’s free to play in most BTG casinos and will give you an overview of all the features and how they work.

Bonanza Slot Paytable

In terms of payouts, the diamonds pay the most as expected. You get paid 50x your stake for six diamonds on any “way” across the reels, with the blue and red gems paying 7.5x and 2x the bet, respectively, for the same combination.

The sheer number of winning ways on offer here is the key to the most significant wins, with multiple winning ways available when a cluster of matching symbols lands in view. Every mine cart adds a symbol on the reels as it lands above reels 2, 3, 4, and 5 increasing the winning ways and interacting nicely with the Reactions/Avalanche style system.

Bonanza Slot base game - Big Time Gaming

It’s all about reactions in the Bonanza slot, which compliments the Megaways mechanic perfectly. Winning combinations explode on the reels and are then removed from play. New symbols then drop into place, giving the possibility of creating further winning combinations. This tumbling reel mechanic, reaction, and avalanche style system has often been used in slots in titles such as Gonzo’s Quest (NetEnt).

Play the Bonanza Slot on Mobile Devices

BTG’s Bonanza slot is playable on PC, laptops, mobiles, and tablets at most US slot sites. Unlike smartphone fans, it doesn’t discriminate when it comes to mobile OS choices. It runs great on Android phones and iPhones, and iPads too. There is no need to download anything to play Bonanza. Fire up your favorite casino via your favorite browser and play it right away.

And no, you don’t need the latest smartphone. Any phone from the past 4-5 years will do nicely. The same holds true for all mobile-friendly HTML5 slots, like Thunderstruck and Gates of Olympus.

How Does the Bonanza Online Slot Work?

Before you start playing the game, you should set your bet. The stakes go from $0.20 to $20 per spin. That might look pretty low and uninspiring for some players, but keep in mind that this is a Megaways slot game. Not many slot games give you up to 117,649 ways to win.

With that being said, you must understand that this is not your typical slot. The Bonanza slot comes with “ways” to win instead of regular slot paylines. Each reel on its own or with a mining cart can contain up to 7 symbols that influence the chances to win and the overall number of winning ways.

The maximum number is 117,649 ways to win, which is far more than what your grandma’s 3 reel slot in Vegas offers.

Wins are awarded left to right for adjacent symbols regardless of their size. The number of winning ways changes on every spin. Thankfully, the current Megaways in play are displayed above the slot reels with each new spin (See Below).

Let’s take a look at some of the fantastic features available in the Bonanza slot.

Megaways

Megaways Logo

The main highlight of the Bonanza slot game is the Megaways mechanic. Developed by Big Time Gaming (BTG) itself, it’s a unique feature that applies randomly on each spin. To put it simply, every time you spin the reels on Bonanza, the number of ways to win varies on each spin. That’s pretty different from having, say, 20 fixed paylines.

A core feature of the Bonanza Megaways mechanic is the avalanche wins. This feature is known differently depending on the slot and provider. In the Bonanza game, they are called Reactions but are frequently referred to by slot players as “Tumbling Reels” and “Avalanche” mechanics.

Bonanza Slot Reactions feature

Reactions

Every time you hit a winning combination the Reactions feature comes into play. Every winning symbol will be blown to bits on the reels and replaced by new symbols tumbling into view and filling all the gaps created on the reels. These new symbols may also make further new winning combinations, leading to bigger wins. The wins can and will continue as long as new winning combinations keep forming on the reels.

Carts

Look at the top of the reels when you play the Bonanza slot – there should be mining carts attached. This horizontal reel strip carries 4 different random symbols into play, including a special Dynamite Wild substitution symbol that can help create several winning combinations on reels 2-5. The carts are also affected by reactions, so any winning combinations involving these symbols will also see new symbols being introduced into this reel!

Right above the carts is the current Megaways in play. This handy meter calculates the current ways created on the reels on every spin to save you the trouble to save you doing the Math. The more “ways,” the better though, so keep an eye on this Megaways value while playing as it might signal a chance of a big win or a good reaction!

Bonanza Free Spins and Bonus Features

The free spins round in the Bonanza slot comes with an unlimited win multiplier. It isn’t traditionally triggered with standard 3 scatters. Scatters are used, but the four gold scatters symbols need to spell the word GOLD on the reels to trigger the bonus round. Technically you don’t need to spell the word as these scatters can drop in from reaction wins on the reels, but a minimum of 4 Scatters are required to trigger the bonus!

Triggering this bonus round awards you a starting 12 free spins, with each additional scatter adding +5 extra free spins to your starting tally in the bonus round.

Bonanza Slot GOLD Scatters

Be aware that this can be a challenging bonus feature to trigger. The Bonanza slot has an almost meme-worthy reputation for the bonus scatter teases with an accompanying sound effect of heartbeat thudding sound and numerous missing “D” references can be found online. Set your bet size accordingly, and be persistent and patient on this slot, as the sometimes long wait for a bonus trigger granting access to the free spins round is definitely worth it.

When the free spins round begins, the win multiplier in the bonus round starts at 1x. It goes up by 1x with each new reaction win. This multiplier value does not reset on any losing reactions. It is persistent for the entire bonus round, allowing it to reach crazy multiplier values that are applied to all future wins on your remaining free spins!

Bonanza Slot Free Spins Start

During the bonus round, scatters can only appear in the mine carts. For 3 scatters, you get a bonus re-trigger of +5 extra spins, while 4 scatters award you +10 more spins. There’s no limit on the number of free games, or bonus retriggers you can win. With an Unlimited Win Multiplier, combined with extra spins and plenty of Reaction wins, the Multiplier value can quickly reach large values!

While the free spins round in the Bonanza game doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does improve the slot’s winning potential. All the other base game features are active in the bonus round, and thanks to avalanche wins, this is where you can hit the big prizes. With a bit of luck, the max win reward is stated as 12,000x your bet.

Bonanza Slot Free Spins Retrigger

Bonanza RTP and Technical Data

The Bonanza Megaways RTP is 96.0%, which is around the industry average for high variance slots. Anywhere in the range of 95.0% up to 97.0% is perfectly acceptable and wouldn’t cause us any concern. Bonanza sits right in the middle of this range.

When playing this slot machine, consider that this is a high variance slot. It relies on a Reaction style win feature, meaning the base game hit rate can be pretty low. To counter this, of course, in a single spin, you can have all of the successive wins that will come from the reactions and new symbols coming into play.

The Megaways mechanic can be extremely rewarding. Approach your play session with sensibly sized bets in relation to your total bankroll. Bonanza has a bonus round that is notably harder to trigger than most regular online slots (4 Scatters required to trigger), so you need to approach this slot with a patient approach, sensible bets, and have the bankroll to back it up.

Bonanza Megaways Slot Conclusion

Bonanza is one of the all-time slot greats. A mining-themed slot introduced the popular Megaways gameplay mechanic to the masses. While there are bigger and more volatile Megaways-themed slot games out now, Bonanza still stands as a solid benchmark when comparing the vast number of Megaways slots released.

Why? Well, for one, it blends old-school gameplay with modern features properly. It’s a highly volatile slot with plenty of surprises, starting with the reactions. These will continue until there are no winning combinations, which can be rewarding in both the base game and free spins bonus round.

On the other hand, the slot has a few extra features to deliver even bigger payouts. On top of it all, it’s plenty of fun. Whether you play the Bonanza slot in free play mode or spin for real money at online casinos, you’ll have fun with it, and that’s all that matters. For similar games that break away from the standard 5×3 format, why not also check out the superb Sweet Bonanza slot?

FAQ

Which studio released the Bonanza slot online?

Big Time Gaming (BTG) released the Bonanza slot machine in 2016. It’s one of the biggest names on the slot market and the creator of the innovative Megaways mechanic. BTG has released plenty of hits, including Bonanza, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways, Danger: High Voltage, Donuts, Extra Chilli Megaways, and White Rabbit.

What’s the minimum Bonanza gambling stake?

To play Bonanza, you must place a bet first. The minimum is just $0.20 per spin. That’s low enough for new players and smaller deposits and can be raised up to the maximum bet of $20 for high rollers. Make sure to manage your bankroll effectively and utilize some effective slot strategy.

Is the Bonanza Slot available for free?

Yes, it is. The Bonanza slot demo is available to play in all Big Time Gaming casinos, sometimes without the need to register. And yes, it’s playable on mobile devices too.

Does the Bonanza slot have a free spins round?

Yes, the Bonanza slot game has a bonus round of free spins. It starts with 12 free spins whenever 4 scatters land on the reels to spell GOLD. For every extra scatter, you get +5 extra spins. Re-Triggers are also possible during the bonus round.

Is there a jackpot to hit in the Bonanza Slot?

No, the Bonanza game doesn’t have a jackpot to hit. However, you need to keep in mind that the max win potential of 12,000x your bet is more than what most fixed jackpot slots offer. Factor in the Unlimited Win Multiplier in the free spins round also!

Is the Bonanza slot available on mobile devices?

Absolutely. You can play Bonanza on any Android or iOS mobile phone or tablet without downloading any third-party apps.

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