Big Bucks Bandits Slot Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Big Bucks Bandits Review

Reel Play from ‘Down Under’ is back in the Megaways engine saddle, and Big Bucks Bandits is the third game in their series so far. Their two previous efforts have had a mixed reception in the community, not least since they both lack a proper free spins bonus round and are generally light on features in the base game. We were excited to see if the Australian developer had decided to up their game with this release, and our 200 spins test run revealed a few changes.

The game plays out with the same potential number of paylines as the 2 predecessor games, namely 117,649 megaways, and you also find a top reel here, in addition to the 6 regular reels. The number of symbols will vary between 2 and 7 per row, and you can place bets between 20p and £25 per spin across all platforms and devices. The base game is pretty much stripped from bonus features, which is per usual from this developer, but you will benefit from Cascading wins and a sheriff badge wild symbol.

The visuals are nicely done on this game too, and the reels are set in the Grand Canyon. The pace of the game is a bit slow and limping at times, and we really missed a turbo play option here. The big highlight is the Jackpot Heist Respins, which gives you 3 free respins that reset on every win. The idea is to collect sticky money bags with cash values attached, or land one of the 4 fixed jackpots for wins up to 1,000x. The max win of 8,641x is nothing new either, but here you can gamble it in a fierce showdown for wins up to 10,000x your stake.

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What are the bonus features?

The base game does not really offer all that much in terms of bonus features, but you do have a golden sheriff star wild that will step in for all regular symbols. This can help you form winning combos, and the megaways mechanic makes sure that each spin is somewhat unique. You will seldom get the same number of paylines and symbols per reel here, and at most you can play with a 7x7 grid and 117,649 ways to win.

There is also the usual Reactions feature (also called Avalanche or Cascading feature in some games), and it simply means that you get a new winning chance every time you land a winning combo. The winning symbols are removed from the reels, and new symbols will drop down from above to fill the empty positions.

This goes on as long as you keep winning, and that’s pretty much it for the base game.

Free spins in Big Bucks Bandits

This is not really a classic free spins feature in the strictest sense of the word, as it comes with 3 respins that are reset as long as you win. However, the Jackpot Respins Bank Heist feature is the closest you’ll get to a bonus round in this game, and for all intents and purposes it plays out more or less like a free spins round.

It’s close enough for horseshoes at least, and you need to land at least 6 money bag symbols on the same spin to trigger it. The triggering money bags become sticky on the reels, and you'll see 3 bullets stacked up on the left-hand side. These are your 3 “lives” in this feature, and the bullet count is reset to 3 again as long as you keep winning.

You can only land more money bags in this bonus round, or blank symbols of no value. Each money bag comes with a different cash prize attached between 1x and 30x, and all money bags you land becomes sticky for the duration of the feature. You can also land trophy jackpot money bags, and there are 4 different fixed jackpots that can be won this way. These are as follows:

• Bronze trophy equals a jackpot of 10x your stake.
• Silver trophy equals a jackpot of 50x your stake.
• Gold trophy equals a jackpot of 250x your stake.
• Platinum trophy equals the Grand Jackpot of 1,000x your stake.

When all 3 bullets/lives have been used up, the free spins round ends. However, we are not quite finished yet.

You will now be taken to a Double Cross Gamble feature, and it plays out like a duel between the Clint Eastwood lookalike and the Masked Bandit. The stylish feature intro is clearly a tribute to the lengthy dual scene in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, although “the ugly” character is missing here.

Anyway, the Double Cross feature is more or less an elaborate version of the classic gamble feature. You can walk away with what you got from the bonus round, or you can risk it all here. A Wheel of Fortune will spin, and landing a green segment makes you a winner. You can gamble up to 5 times, and winning moves you up a multiplier ladder where 5x is the highest possible value. Losing moves you down the same ladder, and you’ll lose it all if you hit the bottom of the scale.

How to play

Big Bucks Bandits is not a very hard game to get into, and if you’ve played a megaways engine game before, you’ll probably understand how it works immediately.

Still, we will walk you through everything you should know here. Newbies and “megaways virgins” might wanna pay close attention, while grizzled veteran punters can get away with skimming through this part.

You can start by clicking the hamburger menu down in the right-hand side corner, as this opens up all the menus in the game for you. These are stacked to the right, but you might have to squint your eyes a bit to see them. The icons are semi-transparent you see, and you’ll start by opening the “info” icon at the very top of the stack.

bonus games

Here you can scroll through the game’s paytable, and read all about the different symbols and features. The paytable is not dynamic, which means that it will not update according to your chosen bet level. The Clint Eastwood “man with no-name” lookalike is the highest value symbol by far here, and 6 of him on a payline gives you 100x your stake.

The game rules are found at the bottom of the info section, and you can also read up on the megaways there. Next up, you can click the coin stack icon to choose your bet level between 20p and £25 per spin.

The gear icon takes you into the game settings, where you can turn on/off the music or all sound, and also toggle on left hand mode play.

Finally, you can set up the autoplay feature with between 10 and 100 autospins, and there are no advanced options here for when the feature shall stop. Depending on your jurisdiction, you can also buy the bonus round in this game. It will set you back 60x your stake, but it might just be worth it if you win big.

Where to play Big Bucks Bandits?

The above was all about how to play this game. Now, we’ll move on to where you can play Big Bucks Bandits slot and get the most bang for your buck. We have plenty of good options for you here, but you need to decide something first. Do you want to play the demo game for free before you start playing for real, or do you feel comfortable getting right down to brass tacks. Whatever you prefer, we’ll assist you as best we can.

Play for real money

Anyone who’s played a bit of online casino knows that the real excitement comes only when there is something of value at stake. Still, you should always try to get the best possible deal you can get when you play a new game. We scan all the casinos every day to make the best offers available to you. If you simply follow the link to the top of this page, you will find plenty of welcome bonuses and casinos to choose from, and you can get going with Big Bucks Bandits right away.

Play free demo version

Anyone who’s new to the megaways engine, or to online slots in general, should definitely try out the free demo game first. In fact, a lot of players prefer to do this with new games even if they have many years of casino experience under their belt. It makes sense to see if you like a game before you risk anything from your own pocket, and we just happen to have the demo version installed at the very top of this page. Follow the link up there, and check out Big Bucks Bandits demo game immediately.

The 200 Spins Big Bucks Bandits Experience

On our unofficial “oddly satisfying” gameplay scale, Big Bucks Bandits is a 3 out of 10. We love how symbols are removed to the sound of a whip cracking, but we don’t like how the symbols are suspended in the air for a prolonged period of time before they finally drop. Combine that with spins that drag on twice the necessary length (even if you hit the stop button with all your might), and you have yourself a poorly paced game.

A fast play option would have been really appreciated here, but there is no such thing on the version we played at least. Still, we looked forward to taking this western themed slot for a 200 spins test ride, as we loaded up the autoplay feature with our first 100 spins. Our strict policy is always to remain as objective as possible, and never judge a game without proper vetting.

The base game is not all that exciting here, and the buy option becomes more tempting the longer it drags on. There are no base game features to look forward to, and landing 6 money bags on the same spin is far from easy. You will often land at least 1, and this is accompanied by a melody that can easily be mistaken for a win, not least combined with the cash value you see attached.

Big win

The more money bags you land, the stronger the melody becomes. This adds a dramatic effect, but it gets old pretty quickly. Our biggest base game win was 6x in 200 spins, which should tell you a thing or two about how volatile this game really is. We had only dead spins, minute wins and a couple of wins above 4x to show for ourselves, and we did not trigger the bonus round organically even once in our session.

For this reason, we decided to purchase it for 60x our stake. We landed a decent bunch of triggering money bags, but all the values were between 1x and 3x. The feature itself is not all that exciting, as there is no progressive multiplier to beef things up here.

We landed some additional money bags here and there, the biggest one being worth 5x, and it all summed up to a loss of 16x (i.e. a 44x win minus the 60x we paid). We decided to gamble our winnings (cause why the heck not), and we lost it all after a few rounds on the Wheel of Fortune without feeling too much about it either way.

Review Summary

Big Bucks Bandits Megaways left us with a feeling of “so what” in the end. A base game that lacks excitement can be forgiven if the bonus round is worth the grind. However, this is not really the case here at all. The bonus game can easily be over almost before it’s started, and even if it drags on for a long time you can be left with a measly haul below 50x.

It’s also true that this game is very similar to the 2 other Reel Play Megaways titles, namely Hypernova and Atlantis. Perhaps you could call this trio the “good, bad and the ugly”, but the truth is that all the games are visually pleasing, but lacking in other departments. Big Bucks is more volatile though, and comes with a slightly higher potential due to the gamble feature. Then again, who wants to risk anything there, if you finally win something worthwhile.

Pros

• Reactions feature and wild symbol
• Sticky cash symbols bonus round with 4 jackpots
• High volatility and 10,000x max win potential

Cons

• Very similar to Reel Play’s 2 other megaways titles
• No bonus features in the base game
• The bonus round lacks punch and excitement

If you enjoy Big Bucks Bandits you should also try:

Well, if you truly like this game, you should probably try the 2 other similar megaways games from Reel Play. We mentioned these above already, and we’ll talk about them in more detail here. We will also recommend a far better western title towards the end, if you feel the same way we do about Big Bucks Bandits.

Hypernova Megaways - is the first Megaways release from Reel Play, and it seems to be visually inspired by Starburst. It takes you on a journey into deep space, where gemstones abound and riches can be won. There is a Jackpot Respins feature in this game too, and it plays out quite similarly to the game at hand.

Atlantis Megaways - is again a very similar game to the first Reel Play Megaways engine game we presented above. Some would even call it a reskin, as we in fact do in our review of it. Well, at least you have the choice of 3 very different themes now, if you do like these games. The max win is 8,641x your stake here too, and the highlight is the Jackpot Respins feature.

Deadwood - is nothing short of a lesson in how to make a super exciting bonus round that really makes up for all the base game grinding. We’ve played this game quite extensively, and the Shoot Out bonus round is just an epic explosion of wins on top of each other. You also have 2 other solid free spins features here, and this is a gritty western masterpiece from NoLimit City.

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