Bonanza Pokie Game Review

By Eve Luneborg

Updated January 25, 2024

The Bonanza online pokie game is one of the most played games at Australian online casinos, although it’s by far not among the latest releases at most casinos. What keeps on attracting players to this pokie is the potential for big wins, which more often than not are found in the game’s bonus round. To find out what else awaits in the very first Megaways pokie to ever be released – read our complete detailed Bonanza pokie review.

Features

Reels/Rows

6/3

Payline

117649

Payout Ratio (RYP)

96%

Stake (Min/Max)

0.2/500

Game Developer

Big Time Gaming

Bonus Feature

Yes

Table of Contents

THIS IS THE BONANZA MEGAWAYS POKIE

Bonanza is an online pokie that revolutionized the online pokie industry back in 2016. The unique, and until then unseen, game mechanic Megaways quickly found its way into players’ hearts. A whopping 117,649 ways to win was unheard of until Bonanza saw the light of day. No wonder it captivated casino enthusiasts around the world.

In addition to the Megaways mechanic, the Bonanza pokie has more to offer. Great graphics, engaging audio, and a fantastic bonus game awaits. You simply must try out the free spins bonus that offers unlimited multipliers!

BONANZA – A POKIE BY BIG TIME GAMING

The creator of the Bonanza pokie is Big Time Gaming. This is an Australian game provider, and the release of Bonanza in 2016 was a sort of breakthrough for them. The launch of Bonanza was also a launch of the game mechanic Megaways, which has proved to be one of the greatest online casino game inventions in recent years.

Big Time Gaming has since licensed out the Megaways mechanic to a long list of other game providers, and they also use the mechanic frequently in their own games. If you’d like to try some other online pokies developed by Big Time Gaming, you should try out White Rabbit, Book of Gods, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, or Outlaws.

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THIS IS HOW YOU PLAY THE BONANZA POKIE GAME

Playing Bonanza is as easy as can be. The only thing you need to do is set your bet and then press play. If you wish, you can also activate auto-spins. That’s all there is to it.

If you choose to activate auto-spins, you need to select the number of spins you wish to be played automatically, and also other perimeters for when the auto-spins should stop. You have to choose a loss limit and a single win limit. Also, note that auto-spins will automatically stop if you trigger the free spins bonus game.

GET TO KNOW THE MEGAWAYS MECHANICS IN BONANZA

The mechanics used in Bonanza is Megaways. And, this pokie was actually the very first Megaways pokie ever made. The game consists of six main columns, and each of them can show between 2 and 7 symbols. Then, above the four middle columns, there are four extra symbols that slide in on mining carts. These carts ensure that you always have between 3 and 8 symbols on the four middle columns.

Bonanza Megaways pokie does not use paylines. To get a win, you need to have matching symbols on adjacent columns, starting from the leftmost column. Since the symbols often come stacked, you have a great chance to get multiple winning combinations at once.

How many winning combinations you can get per spin depends on how many symbols the columns show. The maximum number of ways you can win is 117,649! This number is obtained if each of the main columns shows seven symbols.

Lastly, we need to mention that Bonanza is also a cascading pokie. The winning symbols in a combination will explode, and then new ones fill up the columns again from the top. With this feature, you can win over and over again in the same spin.

CHOOSE YOUR BET IN THE BONANZA VIDEO POKIE

The available bets on the Bonanza pokie by Big Time Gaming aren’t very flexible. The minimum bet is 20c, which makes it feasible even for casual players. The maximum bet, on the other hand, is $5. This is considered low for an online pokie. So high rollers might find the betting range a bit too restrictive. Nevertheless, 99% of all players should find a suitable bet for their bankroll and strategy.

BONANZA’S SYMBOLS AND PAYTABLE

There are 11 symbols in the Bonanza pokie, and 10 of them are normal paying symbols. Four are high-value and six are low-value. The low-value symbols are the typical playing card symbols, which are 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A. As for the high-value Bonanza symbols, let’s have a closer look:

Wild

The wild substitutes every symbol, except the scatter.

Scatter

The letters G, O, L, and D are the ones you’re looking to get, as when you spell out GOLD in one spin, you trigger the free spins bonus game. The +5 symbol awards an extra 5 free spins. These symbols are scatters, so it doesn’t matter where in the game they land.

Diamond

The purple diamond is the best symbol in the game and the only one that pays out when you have a combination of only two of them. You’ll win 2x, 5x, 10x, 25x or 50x your bet from the diamond when you get a combination of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, respectively.

Ruby

The red ruby is the second-highest payer in Bonanza. It will reward you 1x, 2x, 2.5x, or 7.5x your bet when you get 3, 4, 5, or 6 of them.

Sapphire

The blue sapphire needs at least a combination of three to reward a win, and what you’ll get is 0.25x, 1x, 1.5x, or 2x your bet, depending on how many of them you have in a winning combination.

Emerald

The least valuable of the gemstones in the Bonanza pokie is the emerald. When you get a combination of 3, 4, 5, or 6 of them, you’ll win 0.25x, 0.5x, 0.75x, or 2x your bet.

When looking at the paytable, it can sometimes seem that the symbols don’t pay much. But keep in mind that symbols often come stacked with multiple of the same ones and that you have up to 117,649 possible ways to win. That means that it’s actually almost unlikely to only get one winning combination at a time. So when you win, you most often win multiple prizes at once.

FEATURES YOU’LL GET IN THE BONANZA POKIE

As for special features, the Megaways mechanic itself is considered to be a feature. Or at least when Bonanza was released back in 2019. Nowadays, this feature can be found in many slots from various game providers. But, Bonanza also has something else to offer, and that’s the bonus game with unlimited multipliers!

BONANZA FREE SPINS WITH ACCUMULATING MULTIPLIERS

When you get the symbols G, O, L, and D in one spin, you’re rewarded with 12 free spins. If you also get the +5 symbol, you’ll get five extra spins on top of that.

The free spins bonus game is played more or less like the main game, with one major exception. Every time you win, you get a +1x multiplier, and these accumulate throughout the free spins. And, the multipliers are not just rewarded at the end of a game round, but also for every cascading win you get. So if you’re lucky, you can get x20, x30, or even more. In fact, there is no limit to how high the multiplier can get.

In addition, you should look out for the gold bars that can appear in the mining carts in the top reel. When you get three of them, you’ll get five extra free spins. And of course, the multipliers you’ve already collected in your first spins are carried over into the extra spins as well.

With a great combination of many matching symbols and a high multiplier, you can get a massive win in your Bonanza free spins!

Bonanza pokie free spins feature

GRAPHICS AND SOUND IN THE BONANZA POKIE

In the Bonanza pokie by Big Time Gaming the audio and graphics are inspired by the gold rush in the Wild West. The pokie has the typical music we associate with cowboys and gunslingers, and we have to admit that it’s quite fetching, at least in the beginning. Since the music starts anew for every spin, it does get repetitive in the long run.

You can easily recognize the gold mining theme in the graphics. The game is set on the backdrop of a rocky hill, and you can even see mine shafts and waggons in the game. Not to mention that all symbols are placed within blocks of stone.

Overall, Bonanza is a beautifully made online pokie that’s truly immersive.

STRATEGIES FOR THE BONANZA POKIE GAME

Want to win as much as possible while playing Bonanza? Then let’s find out what kind of strategies are best suited for this game.

TIPS FOR WINNING WHILE PLAYING BONANZA

In terms of strategy, the only one that can be helpful is to optimize your bankroll management. There aren’t any choices or settings you can make or change to impact the result of a game round. Bonanza is, after all, an online pokie that’s running on a random number generator. This means that all results are completely random and it’s purely up to luck if you win or not.

But, by managing your bankroll, you can take the volatility of the game into account, and adjust your bets based on the likelihood of a win hitting frequently or rarely. This determines how volatile your bankroll is likely to be while playing.

THE BONANZA GAME RTP AND VOLATILITY

The theoretical return to player percentage in Bonanza is 96%. This is within what’s considered standard for online pokies, and thus good. What you need to keep in mind, though, is that this percentage will never be correct for you or your game session. This percentage is calculated over millions of spins and is the accumulated RTP for the game.

As for the volatility, this is set to medium. That means you’ll get both small and big wins, and the wins themselves will happen often enough. Basically, your bankroll is not likely to make too big jumps up or down. That being said, the volatility for the bonus game is high. You can be unlucky and win next to nothing, but you can also get massive wins. It all depends on how many multipliers you collect and how big of a winning combination you manage to get.

BONANZA ON YOUR MOBILE

Bonanza is completely mobile-optimised, thanks to HTML5. The game will automatically adjust to fit your screen, even when you’re on a small mobile. This ensures that the usability of the pokie is maintained no matter which type of unit you’re playing on. This works just as well on an iPhone as it does form an Android, as it’s independent of the operating system you’re on.

Some casinos may offer Bonanza in their casino app, but at most Australian online casinos you’ll be playing on the casino’s website. This pokie will load directly in your browser window, and you won’t need any additional or special software to play.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE BONANZA POKIE GAME

Bonanza is a gem of a pokie, and it’s been one of our favourites for years. Once the pokie was released, it was the Megaways mechanics we got attracted to, but even now when that feature is found in many pokies, we can’t get enough of Bonanza. The mix of a great theme and graphics along with the potential for massive wins is what keeps us coming back again and again.

Obviously, the main feature we eagerly await is the bonus game, although it triggers less often than what we’re used to from other video pokies. Nevertheless, it’s almost always worth the wait. The unlimited multipliers are simply irresistible.

Bonanza Pokie FAQ

Can I play the Bonanza pokie for free?

Yes, all Australian online casinos that offer the Bonanza pokie will let you play it for free. All you need to do is start it in demo mode. This can be done either before you log into your account, or by selecting the free-play mode. You can play Bonanza for free for as long as you’d like, and that lets you try out the bonus features and get a good grasp of how this game works.

Is there a bonus game in the Bonanza pokie?

Yes, the bonus game offered in Bonanza rewards free spins, and you’ll get at least 12 of them. During the free spins, all wins will give you a multiplier, which accumulates throughout the bonus. There is no limit to how high a multiplier you can get, and if you’re lucky you’ll get a massive win from a high multiplier and multiple big winning combinations.

What is the betting range in Bonanza?

The betting range in the online pokie Bonanza starts at 20c per spin and goes up to $5 per spin. High rollers might find the maximum bet a bit restrictive, but most casual players will be happy with the 20c betting option.

What is the RTP in the Bonanza pokie?

The RTP in the Bonanza pokie by Big Time Gaming is 96%. This is the theoretical return to player percentage, although it won’t be accurate on a per-player basis. When assessing the potential to win in an online pokie, it’s important to also consider the volatility. Bonanza is a medium volatility pokie.

Who made the online pokie Bonanza?

The creator of Bonanza, and thus the first Megaways pokie, is Big Time Gaming. This is an Australian game provider, although they are now owned by the industry giant Evolution. Big Time Gaming created Bonanza back in 2016.

Eve Luneborg

Sub-editor & Casino Content Maestro

Eve Luneborg has been a dynamic presence in the online casino industry since 2014, starting at a burgeoning casino in Malta that has now become a leading gambling site. Initially a support agent, she progressed to handling payments and training new staff on processing withdrawals and KYC documents.

In 2016, Eve transitioned from casino operations to become a writer in the iGaming industry.