Big Bam Book
By Push Gaming
Big Bam Book by Push Gaming is a follow-up to Asian-themed Big Bamboo. It has 5 reels, a 10,000x max win and solid default RTP of 96.31%. Like the original, it’s highly volatile. Mystery bamboo symbols in the base game reveal matching symbols, coins worth up to 100x or scatters that trigger the powerful free spins round with 4 multiplier levels that max out at 10x.
In this review find out all about Big Bam Book, how to play and what happened when we spun the reels in our test session.
| Game Name | Big Bam Book |
|---|---|
| Developer | Push Gaming |
| Theme(s) | Animals, Jungle |
| Release Date | 29.08.24 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Reels | 5 |
| Paylines | 10 |
| Volatility | High |
| RTP Rate | 96.31% | 94.42% | 88.58% | 85.74% |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Min Bet | £0.10 |
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Review Scorecard
What Our Reviewer Says …
Less charismatic or powerful than Big Bamboo, but a fun slot nonetheless!
What We Like
- Awesome tiered free spins round with progressive multipliers
- Fun and relaxing production style
- Mystery Bamboos can reveal big instant win coin prizes
- High pay table values
What We Didn't Like
- Low RTP at some slot sites
- Mystery Bamboos were rare in testing
Theme and Design
Big Bamboo was the slot that first introduced us to this series and it was a big hit. Big Bam Book is the next in the trilogy (after Boss Bear) and the Asian theme is back. This time, there are a whole bunch of warrior animals who can help you out with your wins. The characters feel almost straight out of Kung Fu Panda, with a cartoon edge.
The background is beautiful, featuring ornate temples and imposing mountains, all set against a purple and pink sunset. It’s a beautiful slot to look at and great fun to play too!
RTP and Variance
Big Bam Book has high variance, so those on a tight budget should tread carefully. You’re likely to land bigger wins, but also experience long dry spells in between.
In terms of RTP, the default is 96.31% which is pretty decent. However, watch out for slot sites where the game runs at the lower options of 94.42%, 88.58%, and 85.74%. These are much less inviting and to be avoided. In our own experience the best place to play Push Gaming slots for a good RTP is MrQ from Lindar Media who always run these games at optimum rates.
Maximum Win
With a top payout of 10,000x your stake Big Bam Book has a large prize that’s well worth risking some high volatility. Of course, there are some slots out there with huge sums on offer, but a decent RTP and a max win of this size is a strong combination.
If you want to go for bigger wins you can check out our list of Push Gaming slots with the highest max payouts.
Symbols and Paytable
Big Bam-Book’s game features a 5-reel, 3-row setup with 10 paylines. Wins are awarded for landing three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel. However, in the free spins round, wins can be made from non-adjacent symbols.
The game includes 10 pay symbols in total, in addition to wilds and scatter symbols. The lower-value symbols are represented by the card suits: diamonds, spades, clubs, and hearts. A line of five of these pays between 5x and 10x the bet. The medium-value symbols are weapons: a katana, throwing stars, and nunchucks, which pay 25x the bet for five of a kind. The premium symbols include wolves, monkeys, and pandas. Landing five of these pays between 100x and 500x the bet. The top-paying symbol, the panda, also pays 1x the bet for just two of a kind.
Wild symbols can substitute for all symbols except Mystery Bamboo, Instant Prize, and Scatter symbols. Wilds also pay up to 500 times the bet for a line of five.
Features and Gameplay
The bamboo symbols are powerful in this game, but so too are the benefits of the free spins round. Let’s take a look at how each of the features works individually.
Mystery Bamboo Symbol
The mystery bamboo symbol has multiple functions, in the same way you’d expect to see in a book slot. If you land three or more of these symbols in the base game or free spins round then it triggers the mystery bamboo expansion. This causes the symbols to expand and fill every real that they land on.
Once expanded, the mystery bamboo symbols either reveal matching pay symbols or wilds. If they don’t, then they’ll covert to golden mystery bamboo symbols, which we’ll cover below.
Golden Mystery Bamboo Symbol
If your standard mystery bamboo symbol converts into a golden mystery bamboo symbol then the mechanics totally change. These symbols either reveal instant prizes worth between 1x and 100x the bet or they can reveal scatter symbols.
Free Spins
If you land 3, 4, or 5 scatters, you start the free spins round with 8, 12, or 15 free spins respectively. For 3 or 4 scatters the multiplier meter starts at 1x and for 5 it starts at 2x. Whenever a scatter symbol lands this is added to the multiplier reel. It takes 4 scatters to nudge the meter to the next level, with the prizes as shown below.
- Level 1: 2x multiplier and 5 free spins
- Level 2: 3x multiplier and 5 free spins
- Level 3: 5x multiplier and 5 free spins
- Level 4: 10x multiplier and 5 free spins
This multiplier is applied to any wins, and any instant prizes. Any symbols revealed by mystery bamboo pay on all 10 paylines, regardless of position.
Push Bet
There are three push bets you can use in Big Bam Book. They each have their own function and their own price, as shown below.
- Scatters: cost 20% extra per spin, increase the chance of landing scatter symbols.
- Mystery Symbols: cost 20% extra per spin, increase the chance of landing Mystery Bamboo symbols
- Mysteries and Scatters: cost 40% extra per spin, increase the chance of landing Mystery Bamboo symbols and scatters.
Final Verdict
Big Bam Book is a welcome addition to this series of games. The graphics are flawless, with interesting animal warriors making up the high value symbols. Whilst it doesn't match that of Big Bamboo, the top payout of 10,000x is still good, especially when paired with a player friendly RTP. Just remember that the volatility is going to make for tough sessions at times.
Overall, the mechanics of the game are fun, and fans of 'reveals' will enjoy the format. The free spins round doesn’t add much in terms of gameplay but the four multiplier levels will make for some thrilling wins, particularly for the rare few who make it to 10x.
So in short, it's not Big Bamboo, but Big Bam Book still has something to offer!
Testing Notes
Test spins and results analysis by Mark Wadie.
Results from 250 spins for free on Big Bam Book on Push Gaming’s test servers.
- Stake Size: 1
- Start balance: 1,000
- End balance: 859.80
- Hit Rate: 16.8% (42 winning spins in 250)
- Biggest Win: 30x
- Bonus Round: 0
I played 250 spins on Big Bam Book to see how it plays. For me it’s not on the same level as Big Bamboo. The visuals aren’t quite as slick, the gameplay is less sophisticated and the max win has dropped sharply. However, the relaxing vibe is still strong and your friendly panda is always a welcome sight!
Over 250 spins the win rate was disappointingly low at just 16.8% and I burned down the balance fast without triggering any significant wins along the way. In the base game the big event you’re looking for is 3 Mystery Bamboos on one spin that expand to reveal identical symbols, coins or scatters. I had many near misses before eventually landing 3 after 91 spins. They revealed coins and a win of 30x which isn’t bad. The feature only triggered once more - so just 2 times in 250 spins – and the second time produced a fat ZERO! The free spins round never triggered at all.
What do we learn from that? This is a volatile slot and it can produce disappointing sessions like that so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions too quickly. The free spins round – outlined further down this review – looks like it has big potential and could be lots of fun thanks to the tiered format and progressive multipliers. However, for me Big Bam Book doesn’t quite have the charm of other Push slots, or the variety of base game features in slots like Big Bamboo or the Razor series, to carry you through those tougher times.
Keep reading our review to find out more about the game.
Who Made Big Bam Book?
- Name: Push Gaming
- UK License: 54984
- Total Games: 30 +
- Known For: High variance grid slots, smart artwork, high max win slots
- Popular Slots: Big Bamboo, Mad Cars, Razor Returns, Fat Rabbit
