Boat Bonanza Down Under

Boat Bonanza Down Under Slot Review

Slot Provider: Play n Go

RTP: 96.25% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 6,000x

Our Score: 7.8

Play at Magic Red Casino
QUICK LINKS: Game Information | Where To Play | Full Review | Testing Notes | Tips For Players | About The Developer

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Boat Bonanza Down Under

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 28th March 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Boat Bonanza Down Under is the third in the fishing slot series from Play n Go. It is set just off the shore of an Aussie surf beach. A sleeping fisherman, laid back in an inflatable, slides around above the reels, waking occasionally to catch fish with cash values from the reels beneath. There is also a free spins round with 16 pick me modifiers including extra spins, multipliers and extra fish symbols, and a trail feature activated by landing scatters. More scatters gets you more spins and modifier picks. Top win is 6,000x and spins start at 10p.

Boat Bonanza Down Under Game Information

  • Release Date: 18.04.24
  • RTP: 96.25% | 94.25% | 91.25% | 87.25% | 84.25%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 6,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 4
  • Paylines: 12
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Fishing
  • Features: Cash Collects, Multipliers, Free Spins, Pick Me Modifiers, Progress Trail
  • Format: 5-Reel

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Boat Bonanza Down Under

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 250 spins on Boat Bonanza Down Under on Play n Go’s test server prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £1
  • Start balance: £25,000
  • End balance: £24,885
  • Hit Rate: 13.2% (33 winning spins in 250)
  • Biggest Win: 50x
  • Free Spins Round: 1

It seems to be the case with a few of these cash collect fishing slots that they have an insanely low win rate – just 13.2% in this case over 250 spins. The same has happened to me on Big Bass slots a few times too. Usually, to compensate, you get 3 or 4 goes at the free spins round. But in this case, it only dropped once. And as for the Cash Collects, the fisherman barely woke up more than 3 or 4 times over 250 spins, never picking up anything other than an old boot!

50x base game win in Boat Bonanza Down Under
50x win from the base game in testing

So, a warning, it looks like this one is a highly volatile game.

It took a long time but eventually the game kicked out a 50x win from nowhere thanks to 5 top paying premiums on a line. And after 241 spins the free spins round did finally trigger, only to end on a disappointing 22x payout. Along the way I had 2 sticky catch symbols and the fisherman did pull up 3 or 4 low value Catch symbols (1x or 2x) but I didn’t see any extra scatters to progress down the trail, or any big number Catches.

Overall, the balance took a big hit. But that is the way these games go. Be prepared.

What We Liked

  • Chance to earn lots more spins and multipliers on the trail in free spins
  • 16 possible modifiers with extra spins, better odds and sticky symbols
  • Down Under Cash Collect can add up to 50x to your win
  • Uppbeat production with fun soundtrack

What We Didn't like

  • Low RTP at some casinos - check before you play
  • Tough to trigger free spins round

Boat Bonanza Down Under Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 7
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 9

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A very volatile game in testing, but with potential to really go pop if you can progress down the trail and benefit from a host of powerful modifiers!"

Overall Score: 7.8

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

A New Setting For Play n Go’s Fishing Slot, This Time With Shark Bites!

The original Boat Bonanza looked like it was set in a British seaside resort, maybe Brighton. This follow-up, Colossal Catch, looked like a similar setting at night. So it’s nice that Play n Go have increased the budget and taken us on a trip down to Oz for this version, with a more interesting backdrop of a surf beach, mountains and foaming waves. Underneath the surface there are ominous signs of shark activity too in the form of a surfboard with teeth marks. Doesn’t seem to bother our fishman though, who sleeps under an Ozzy-style hat laying back in an inflatable. And just to make sure you know your in Oz, not the UK, a digeridoo appears in the soundtrack. All good then!

Boat Bonanza Down Under by Play n Go
Boat Bonanza Down Under – complete with shark bites!

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Boat Bonanza comes with the customary 5 RTP rates we are used to in Play n Go games. In this instance the numbers are 96.25%, 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.25%. You can find out which rate your casino has chosen by hitting the ‘?’ in the bottom left of the game screen and scrolling down the rules until you see ‘average RTP’. In my experience SOME UK slot sites will take liberties with Play n Go slots and run them at under 90% so check before you spend any money.

The best casino I have found for RTP – and the only one that consistently runs every slot at the maximum RTP rate available – is MrQ from Lindar Media.

Like previous Boat Bonanza slots, this version has a high variance rating so it will be a volatile one. That means what RTP there is will be weighted further towards the free spins round than the base game, and it’s advisable to set a low stake to absorb the losing streaks whilst trying to unlock that bonus feature.

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The top payout available in this game is 6,000x. That is better than the original Boat Bonanza (5,000x) and the follow-up, Boat Bonanza Colossal Catch (3,000x). But if none of these floats your boat then check out our list of Play n Go’s highest maximum win games instead.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

The game configuration is straight-forward enough with 5 reels, 4 rows and 12 paylines to score wins on. You need 3 or more identical symbols to land across a line from left to right, starting at the left most reel, to trigger any win.

Boat Bonanza Down Under Paytable
Paytable with 200x for 5 top paying premiums

You have 9 pay symbols in the table. They are the cards, 10 to Ace, valued at from 1x for 3 10s up to 10x for 5 Aces. The premiums are the snorkel, flip flops, tin can and seagull, valued at from 3x for 3 snorkels up to 200x for 5 seagulls.

There are NO wilds in this game.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 9

There is no shortage of features in Boat Bonanza Down Under. As well as your standard cash collects are free spins with a pick bonus where one of 16 modifiers is awarded each time.

Here is how it works:

Catch Cash Collect 

The one constant in all fishing slots of course is the Cash Collect, initiated by the fisherman who hooks fish to collect the cash prizes.

So, amongst the pay symbols on the reels you will also see fish which display cash values of 2x, 4x, 10x, 20x, 60x or 100x. As well as having a cash value, landing 3, 4 or 5 of these on a payline will also get you a 4x, 10x or 80x payout.

At the same time, above the reels at any time you will see a fisherman dozing in an inflatable ring. With each spin he MAY move to right or left, but he remains above the reel set at all times. When he wakes up, he activates and catches the fish in the reel directly beneath, collecting their cash values as he does.

As well as the standard catch, there are 2 other ways in which the fisherman can collect prizes:

  • Surf n Catch – if a wave appears behind the fisherman he is caught by it and moves across the top of the reels, collecting ALL visible cash values on fish as he does. And, a multiplier is activated with the same value as the number of reels where symbols are collected from. The multiplier is applied to the total win.
  • Catch Symbols Down Under – sometimes when a Catch is triggered, an extra mystery prize is collected from under the reels too. This is either cash of up to 50x, a dud, or (in free spins only) an extra scatter to progress you further down the trail.
Pick Me Feature in Free Spins in Boat Bonanza Down Under
Pick Me Feature before Free Spins

Free Spins With SIXTEEN Modifiers

The shark scatter symbols is need to unlock the bonus round. Three or more landing at once unlocks the bonus. But before the round begins you get to pick modifiers from a shoal of fish that will help you in the round. There are no less than SIXTEEN possible modifiers to collect:

  • 5 more free spins
  • More chances of landing catches
  • More chances of the Surf n Catch triggering
  • More Catch symbols in play
  • Lowest value pay symbol is removed from play
  • At least ONE Catch symbol will drop on each spin
  • The Catch Multiplier increases to 2x
  • 1 randomly chosen Catch symbol is sticky for 1 spin
  • 10 more free spins
  • More chances of Catch triggers at 2x
  • More chances of Surf n Catch triggers at 2x
  • More Catch symbols AND the 2 lowest value ones are removed from play
  • 3 lowest value pay symbols are removed from play
  • At least THREE Catch symbol will drop on each spin
  • Catch Multiplier goes up to 5x
  • Up to 2 randomly chosen Catch symbols are sticky for 1 spin

NOTE: Multipilers in this part of the game ONLY apply to the Catch wins, not standard payline wins.

And … Trail Progression

During the free spins round, you can earn the chance to pick more modifiers and extend the round with more free spins by landing more shark scatters. These are recorded in a trail above the reels.

Every 2 steps on the trail gets you either another 10 spins with a multiplier of up to 10x (positions 4, 8 and 12) or another pick from the shoal of fish (positions 2, 6 and 10).

Free spins max out at 50.

The Final Verdict

This is another fishing game that requires you to go in with eyes open, because it can be fairly brutal. It’s ALL about patience and unlocking the free spins round and hoping for a good run. If that happens, I imagine the gameplay could be electric, with the chance to keep progressing down the trail, extending the round and increasing your multiplier as you go. And that crazy list of modifiers means anything could happen. Of all those extras it looks like the Surf n Catch is one of the best here, so look out for that one, which will grab the value of all fish and give you a win multiplier all in one go. Tasty!

Useful Tips When Playing Boat Bonanza Down Under

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Watch The Fisherman

Watch as he scoots across the top of the reels and wait for him to wake up. This is the moment when those fish symbols become cash wins! It’s a rare event, but he can turn a dead spin into something much bigger!

2. Be Patient – This Is A Very Volatile Game

This slot requires patience and good bankroll management. With such a low hit rate – just 13.2% in testing – it can potentially take a long time before a big win or the bonus round triggers.

3. Check The RTP Before You Spin

Some casinos will run this game at under 90% RTP. Steer clear of them as that number cuts your chances of coming away with a positive balance. And with a volatile slot like this you need all the help you can get!

4. Choose From Our Recommended Slot Sites

We have chosen the sites on this page because they scored well in our reviews and are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. That means your slots play is fair, safe and secure.

Who Made Boat Bonanza Down Under?

  • Name: Play n Go
  • Established: 1997
  • UK License: Remote 021725-R-304911-020
  • Total Games: 200 +
  • Known For: Grid slots, high variance slots, huge range of themes, styles and maths models
  • Popular Slots: Book of Dead, Reactoonz 1 and 2, Troll Hunters 2, Rise of Olympus
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