Big Bamboo slot review
Released in 2022 by Push Gaming, Big Bamboo is a feature-rich 5×6 slot stacked with mystery symbols, instant prizes, and a maximum win potential of 50,000x your stake.
Set within a tranquil bamboo forest and backed by gentle tones inspired by East Asia, the slot comes with high volatility, 50 paylines, and an RTP of 96.13%. It also includes a built-in Gamble Feature and three separate Free Spins Bonus modes.
Highlights
Big Bamboo slot summary review
Despite its charming yet simple visuals and tranquil music, Big Bamboo is a busy slot packed with bonus elements and three Free Spins modes. With high volatility, the base game can feel a bit dry at times, and long winless runs are quite common.
However, Big Bamboo shines best when its features start linking together. The real heart of the game lies in its Golden Bamboo Feature. This is where most of the slot’s core mechanics and lucrative elements come into play, including bet multipliers and Collector symbols.
While the game mechanics can take some time to wrap your head around, Big Bamboo is a great fit for players who enjoy complex mechanics and escalating bonus potential.
Pros
50,000x max win potential
Unique Golden Bamboo mechanic
Bet multipliers up to 1,000x
Cons
Base game felt flat
High volatility means long winless runs
Steep learning curve for new players
The Big Bamboo comprehensive review
In this Big Bamboo slot review, I’ll walk you through the main elements that shape this game, from its Free Spins modes to its signature Golden Bamboo mechanic. I’ll also cover its varying RTP rates, bonus symbols, payouts, volatility, and overall layout, giving you a clear understanding of how everything comes together.
RTP and volatility
If you never use the Gamble Feature, the Big Bamboo slot RTP sits at 96.13%. However, if you use the Gamble Feature at every opportunity, the RTP bumps up to 96.52%.
Choosing to trigger the Bonus Buy option, with or without the Gamble Feature, also impacts the game’s RTP:
| Bonus Buy Option | RTP (Without Gamble Feature) | RTP (With Gamble Feature) |
|---|---|---|
| No Low Symbols Converted | 96.13% | 96.94% |
| 2 Low Symbols Converted | 96.13% | 96.76% |
| 4 Low Symbols Converted | 96.71% | 96.71% |
| Mystery Free Spins Feature | 96.53% | 96.74% |
Regardless of the bonus mode, the slot retains its high volatility, 5×6 grid layout, and 50 fixed paylines throughout all features. The maximum win potential of 50,000x can realistically only be reached through a rare Golden Bamboo combination within the bonus game.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| RTP | Varies |
| Maximum win | 50,000x |
| Number of paylines | 50 |
| Volatility | High |
For starters, the game’s high volatility totally checks out. During testing, it took me over 45 spins before I even triggered anything worthwhile. So you’ll definitely feel those droughts in the game, especially when waiting for features to trigger naturally.
I also appreciate how the game info button lays out all the marginal differences in RTP depending on the mode. Personally, I always go for the Gamble Feature because you can potentially unlock more free spins and higher bonus tiers.
In the long run, this gives you a slightly better expected value and marginally higher theoretical RTP. Sure, it’s not a guarantee of better results, and you might end up worse off, but it’s worth a shot in my book.
Bonus features
Big Bamboo is home to three bonus games, with each one offering different levels of payout potential depending on how many low symbols are converted.
These bonus modes are color-coded in purple, red, and gold, with the latter carrying the most lucrative potential. However, before breaking those down, it’s important to understand all the bonus symbols and mechanics, including how they interact with Free Spins games.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Bonus features | Wilds, Mystery Bamboo, Scatters, Free spins, Multipliers, Respins, Collector symbols, Instant Prizes, Gamble feature |
| Top features | Golden Bamboo Feature |
| Jackpot | N/A |
Bonus symbols and features explained
The Wild symbol can appear anywhere on the grid during the base game and bonus modes. It substitutes for all paying symbols and is easily identified as a golden-colored WILD.
The Mystery Bamboo Symbol is a key mechanic that reveals one of three things, a paying symbol, a Wild, or a Golden Bamboo icon. These Mystery Bamboo symbols can appear during the base game and Free Spins modes. They can sometimes take over a whole reel or appear on one solitary grid box.
As hinted, the only way to hit a Golden Bamboo icon is via the Mystery Bamboo symbol. When this happens, the Golden Bamboo Feature is unlocked, causing the symbols to spin on their own to reveal one of five prizes:
- Instant Prize Symbols: Can only appear during the Golden Bamboo Feature. Each of these symbols contains a coin with a figure representing your bet multiplier. These multiply your current stake by the value shown on the coin. The ranges are 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x, or 1,000x.
- Multipliers Symbol: Exclusively available during the Golden Bamboo Feature. Increases the value of all Instant Prize Symbols on the grid by 2x, 3x, 5x, or 10x.
- Collector Symbols: Represented by a giant C, this icon only appears during the Golden Bamboo Feature. When it lands, it instantly collects the value of every Instant Prize symbol on the screen, including other Collectors.
Once collected, those prize symbols disappear, freeing up space on the grid for new Golden Bamboo symbols to potentially drop.
- Scatter Symbols: Appear on reels 2 and 3 during the base game and Free Spins round. However, they can appear anywhere if unlocked by the Golden Bamboo Feature. They play an essential role in triggering the Free Spins mode or upgrading your bonus during the round.
- Gamble Scatter: Crucial to determining the Free Spin mode and the amount of free spins allocated to you. They can only appear on reel 4 when reels 2 and 3 contain Scatters. It can also appear during the Golden Bamboo Feature.
Now that you are familiar with bonus symbols and how they function, it’s time to break down Big Bamboo’s three Free Spins Bonus games. All modes can be triggered naturally by landing Scatter symbols on reels 2 and 3, followed by a Gamble Scatter on reel 4 which determines the mode.
If the Gamble Scatter lands on a black segment, no bonus is rewarded and the round ends. To guarantee a Free Spin game, you can use the Bonus Buy option and choose which version you wish to activate at a cost.
Free Spins mode: No Low Symbols Converted
Shown in purple and awarding four to nine free spins, all four low-paying symbols remain active on the grid. Each one appears beside the reels with zero out of four dots filled in.
This makes Mystery Bamboo symbols less likely to trigger, which in turn makes unlocking the Golden Bamboo Feature that much harder.
Regardless, landing Scatters during the round fills these dots in. Once a symbol reaches all four, it gets converted into a Mystery Bamboo icon for the rest of the round. The Bonus Buy cost is 100x your stake.
Free Spins Mode: 2 Low Symbols Converted
Marked in red and awarding seven to nine free spins, this mode starts you off with two low-paying symbols already converted into Mystery Bamboo icons. The remaining two begin at zero out of four dots.
With half the low symbols removed, Mystery Bamboo icons become more frequent, making the Golden Bamboo Feature more likely to trigger. The Bonus Buy cost is 180x your stake.
Free Spins Mode: 4 Low Symbols Converted
Represented by a golden/yellow background and awarding between eight to 10 free spins, this mode begins with all four low-paying symbols already converted into Mystery Bamboo icons.
Not only does this make more room for higher-paying symbols, but also vastly increases your chances of landing multiple Mystery Bamboo symbols and more Golden Bamboo Feature reveals. Extra Scatters mainly extend the round with more free spins. The Bonus Buy cost is 609x your stake.
Gamble Feature and Mystery Free Spins Bonus Buy
Before the start of each Free Spins round, you have the chance to use the Gamble Feature. This essentially gambles your current Free Spins tier and can either reward you with a better bonus tier, or leave you worse off with fewer free spins or no bonus at all. You can gamble a maximum of three times before the round starts.
The Mystery Free Spins is a Bonus Buy option that costs 300x your stake. It can trigger one of the three bonus modes, meaning you might get more (or less) than what you bargained for depending on the mode you unlock.
I feel like Big Bamboo was made for players who consider themselves bonus hunters. While the Free Spins modes create great entertainment, the Golden Bamboo Feature is where the magic really happens. I found it super creative and it adds a lot of excitement to gameplay.
My only real critique is that the base game can feel a little flat. For instance, if it were me, I would have attached low-value multipliers to Wild symbols, which in turn increase in value during the Free Spin game modes.
Overall, the slot has a lot going on, which isn’t bad, but if you are someone who prefers simple game mechanics with decent value and without too many bonus elements, then you might prefer something along the lines of Big Bass Bonanza, powered by Pragmatic Play.
Symbols and paytable
Aside from the wide range of bonus symbols, Big Bamboo features eight paying symbols which are evenly split between low and high-paying symbols. Payouts are awarded for combinations of two, three, four, or five matching symbols across the 50 fixed paylines.
Represented in ascending order of value, the low-paying card icons are made up of blue diamonds, green spades, purple hearts, and red clubs. The remaining higher-paying symbols consist of stylized animal characters with an East Asian aesthetic.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme | Asian |
| Reel layout | 5×6 |
| Highest paying symbol | Panda |
| Adjustable paylines | N/A |
| Visuals | Excellent |
| Sound | Good |
| Mobile quality | Very good |
These include a blue bird, green monkey, brown boar, and the game’s highest paying symbol, the Panda. Two matching symbols of the game’s lowest paying icon (blue diamonds) pay 0.10x your stake. On the other hand, five matching Pandas pay up to 150x your stake.
Don’t let the cute 2D artwork fool you, some of these payout symbols pack some serious weight. Push Gaming has a reputation for premium symbols that pack a punch, and Big Bamboo is no exception.
For perspective, five of Big Bamboo’s highest paying symbols (150x) is comfortably higher than the top-paying symbols of games like The Dog House (x25) or Gates of Olympus (50x) by Pragmatic Play.
The only downside is that all the low card icons share the same payout potential (0.10x, 0.20x, and 0.40x). This is done to accommodate for card conversions during the Free Spins modes, but regardless, it makes the base game feel a little flat at times.
How to play Big Bamboo
After loading Big Bamboo, the game’s interactive elements are neatly located on the right-hand side of the screen. To adjust your bet per spin, simply select the coin icon and choose from 12 preset options. Bets range from a minimum of $0.10 up to $100.
To manually spin the reels, hit the large spin button represented by two circular arrows. Alternatively, the play icon opens up the autoplay menu, offering seven preset options ranging from as low as 10 up to 1,000 auto-spins. Selecting the lightning symbol will also speed up reel animations for faster gameplay.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Min bet | $0.10 |
| Max bet | $100 |
| Autoplay | Available |
| Turbo mode | Available |
| Game history | Available |
The hamburger menu, represented by three horizontal lines, gives you a clear visual breakdown of symbols and payouts. From here, the “?” icon provides a much deeper breakdown of how the game works.
The gear icon leads you to all sound-related settings. You can switch it off entirely, or isolate the music from the sound effects. There’s also a separate shield icon which gives you the lowdown on what happens if the game malfunctions.
Casinos where to play Big Bamboo
Big Bamboo has become one of Push Gaming’s standout titles over the years. With that said, here are some top-rated online casinos where you can expect to find Push Gaming slots, including Big Bamboo:
| Casino Logo | Rating | Bonus | Go-to-casino button | Show more | T&C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
86/100
Expert rating
by Vule P.
85%
Playscore
based on
|
Bonus Money reload up to $500
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Play now players accepted |
|
|
2
|
85/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
86%
Playscore
based on
|
$25 bonus bet + up to $500 in deposit bonuses
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
3
|
88/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
92%
Playscore
based on
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$20 Bonus Dollars + 100% up to $1,000
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Play now players accepted |
|
Visit Borgata.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. NJ only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable site credit, unless otherwise provided in the applicable Terms. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? 1-800-GAMBLER. |
1
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
91%
Playscore
based on
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1.5 million WOW Coins + 35 free Sweepstakes Coins
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Play now players accepted |
|
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2
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94/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
81%
Playscore
based on
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50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
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Play now players accepted |
|
|
3
|
93/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
79%
Playscore
based on
|
50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
4
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Vule P.
79%
Playscore
based on
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500 Gold Coins + 3 FREE Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
5
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
89%
Playscore
based on
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Up to 650,000 Gold Coins + 1,400 Fortune Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
6
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
77%
Playscore
based on
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50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
7
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
81%
Playscore
based on
|
10,000 Gold Coins + 2 Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
8
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
79%
Playscore
based on
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25,000 Gold Coins + 2.5 Spree Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
9
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
87%
Playscore
based on
|
Up to 120,000 Gold Coins + 10 Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
10
|
88/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
86%
Playscore
based on
|
100,000 Crown Coins + 2 FREE Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
Expert verdict
If you’re like me and enjoy understanding the ins and outs of slot mechanics before committing, Big Bamboo may take you a couple of read-throughs to fully grasp.
However, once it all clicked, I gained a newfound respect for how creative slot producers like Push Gaming are. Sure, there’s a lot of moving parts but they all work together seamlessly, with each one having its own distinct role that makes the game feel fresh and new.
My main gripe is that everything seems to hinge on the Golden Bamboo Feature. It’s as if the game hedged all of its bets on that, leaving not much room for anything else. Again, this is not to say that the Free Spins modes aren’t great in their own right.
However, I stand by my claim about how adding low-value multipliers attached to Wilds during the base game would have elevated the experience even further.
FAQs
What is the RTP of Big Bamboo?
Big Bamboo’s RTP varies depending on the game mode, but ranges from 96.13% up to 96.94%.
What is the maximum win potential of Big Bamboo?
The slot offers a maximum win potential of up to 50,000x your stake, achieved through a combination of Golden Bamboo prizes.
What is the Golden Bamboo Feature in Big Bamboo?
The Golden Bamboo Feature is one of the game’s core mechanics and can only be triggered through Mystery Bamboo symbols. Once revealed, this feature will grant you one of five rewards: instant prizes, multipliers, Collectors, Scatters, or Gamble Scatter symbols.
How do I trigger free spins?
You can trigger Free Spins games by landing Scatters on reels 2 and 3, followed by a Gamble Scatter on reel 4, which determines the Free Spin mode.
What is the volatility of Big Bamboo?
Big Bamboo is a high-volatility slot that stays consistent throughout all game modes. This means you can expect less frequent hits but significantly larger payouts on average.
