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If you’ve played any slot in the last few years, you already know the bearded fisherman. With Big Bass Splash, Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom take us back to the water for the fifth time. But does this version bring enough new tackle to the box, or is it just the same old fishing trip?
The Ultimate Base Game Tease
The core tension of Big Bass Splash is staring at cash on the screen that you absolutely cannot touch.
Played across a standard 5×3 grid with 10 paylines, the base game is a long wait. You’ll constantly see fish symbols land with juicy cash values attached, ranging from 2x all the way up to 5,000x your bet. But in the base game, these are just regular symbols. They’ll pay up to 20x for five-of-a-kind, but those printed cash values? Strictly off-limits.
Because the Fisherman Wild (the only symbol that can collect that cash) doesn’t exist in the base game, you have to brace yourself for a grind. During my session, I hit a cold streak of ten dead spins in a row. At one point, six fish landed together carrying 46x in cash values, and the spin paid nothing. The rules rate it medium volatility, but you need to know going in that the base game is designed to tease you.
Getting the Fisherman on the Reels
Everything in this slot revolves around triggering the Free Spins. You need 3, 4, or 5 scatters to get 10, 15, or 20 free spins. (If you’re impatient, there’s a Buy Free Spins option for 100x your stake).
I will give the game credit for a nice “near-miss” feature: if you land two scatters in the base game, they can sometimes trigger a respin, or a random hook will pull a third scatter onto the board. It didn’t save me during my session, but it’s a great touch that keeps the anticipation high.
The Pre-Bonus Modifiers
What actually sets Splash apart from the original Big Bass Bonanza is the modifier reveal before the free spins start. The game draws between zero and five modifiers at random, and they apply to that round only. You can get:
- More Fish: Extra cash symbols added to the reels.
- More Fisherman: Higher chance of landing the collect wild.
- More Dynamites, Hooks and Bazookas: Increased chance of random features.
- Start From Level 2: A head start on the multiplier trail.
- +2 Spins: Extra spins added to your total.
Once the round begins, the Fisherman finally shows up. Every time he lands, he reels in all the cash values on the board. Land two Fishermen? They both collect the entire board, doubling your money.
The Multiplier Trail and “Save” Features
The goal during the bonus is to collect Fishermen. Every fourth wild you collect adds +10 spins to your total and upgrades your cash multiplier (from 1x, to 2x, to 3x, and finally 10x). Just keep in mind that this multiplier only applies to the fish you catch, not standard line wins.
Because this mechanic requires two specific things to land at once (Fish + Fisherman), the game includes three random features that can step in on a mismatched spin:
- The Dynamite: If a Fisherman lands with no fish, dynamite can explode and add random fish to the screen.
- The Bazooka: If a Fisherman lands with no fish, a bazooka can turn every symbol except the Fishermen into something else, with no promise that fish come of it.
- The Hook: If fish land but no Fisherman is in sight, a hook can drag a reel up to reveal one.
These features are a lifesaver when you’re bricking a bonus round, though they aren’t guaranteed to trigger every time you need them.
Hitting the 5,000x Cap
With a solid default RTP of 96.71%, Splash bumps the max win up to 5,000x your bet (a nice upgrade from the original game’s 2,100x).
However, be aware that this 5,000x is a hard cap. If you hit it, the bonus round ends instantly and any remaining spins are forfeited. While the standard paytable offers decent hits (like 200x for a line of monster trucks), you aren’t playing this game for line wins.
The dream scenario, and the entire reason to play Big Bass Splash, is reaching the end of that multiplier trail. You are chasing that moment late in the free spins where the multiplier sits at 10x, a Fisherman lands, and he reels in a 500x fish to instantly hit the game’s max win cap.
Is it frustrating when the base game refuses to pay out? Yes. But Big Bass Splash is incredibly fair about what it is: a medium-volatility, bonus-centric slot. By adding the pre-round modifiers and bumping up the max win, Pragmatic Play has taken a familiar, beloved formula and made it just punchy enough to justify another trip to the lake. Just make sure you have the bankroll to survive the dry spells.
