Credit for this one is split, and the split confuses people constantly. Reel Kingdom designed and built it; Pragmatic Play publishes it. Both statements are true at once, because Reel Kingdom develops inside the Pragmatic stable, so listings under either name describe the same machine. It arrived in December 2020, went wide on the 14th, and has been copied ever since.
The specification, on one screen.
- DeveloperReel Kingdom
- PublisherPragmatic Play
- ReleasedDecember 2020 (wide release 14 December)
- Layout5 reels × 3 rows, 10 fixed paylines
- RTP96.71% headline; certified variants at 95.67%, 94.50% and 94.02%
- VolatilityHigh — 13% hit frequency
- Max win2,100× stake
- Stake range0.10–250 per spin
- Ante bet / bonus buyNeither, in the original release
Fifteen positions, ten lines, one idea
Symbols pay left to right on fixed lines and nothing cascades. All the design effort went into the free spins, where money fish and the Fisherman turn a flat line game into a collection game.
The base game is deliberately plain.
Five reels, three rows, ten lines you can't switch off. Fishing gear and card symbols pay from the left, the wild substitutes, and that's the extent of it. Stakes run from 0.10 to 250 per spin.
With a 13% hit frequency, roughly six spins in seven return nothing at all. That's the lowest of the five titles we review, and it's why the base game feels so silent next to a tumbling grid like Sweet Bonanza.
96.71% is the headline. Yours is probably lower.
The top configuration returns 96.71%, which is generous by mainstream standards. Three reduced builds are certified — 95.67%, 94.50% and 94.02% — and this is the part worth saying plainly: 95.67% is commonly deployed, so a great many players are nowhere near the advertised figure.
The gap between top and bottom is about C$27 per C$1,000 of turnover. Not the twelve-point chasm you'll find on Book of Dead, but real money across a wagering requirement. Open the info panel behind the menu icon and the answer takes ten seconds; our slots hub explains the system.
Free spins turn it into a collection game.
Three, four or five fish scatters award 10, 15 or 20 free spins. From there the rules change completely.
Money symbols land carrying cash values up to 2,000× your stake, and they do nothing on their own. When the Fisherman wild lands, he collects every money symbol visible on the grid at once. Collect four Fishermen and the round retriggers with +10 spins and the collection multiplier steps up.
| Fishermen collected | Collection multiplier | Extra spins |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 1× (no multiplier) | — |
| 4 | 2× | +10 |
| 8 | 3× | +10 |
| 12 | 10× | +10 |
Three upgrades is the maximum, and the jump from 3× to 10× is where the big rounds live. Reaching twelve Fishermen inside one feature is rare, which is exactly why the 2,100× ceiling stays a ceiling.
The limit almost nobody mentions
That multiplier applies only to money-symbol collections — not to line wins. Sitting on 10× does nothing for an ordinary payline paying during the same round. All the value flows through the Fisherman picking up fish, which is why the round is a collection game rather than a multiplied version of the base game.
No buy button, which makes our bonus safer.
The original release carries no ante bet and no feature purchase. That absence genuinely helps while welcome-bonus wagering is running, because a buy button priced at 100× the stake is the quickest way to breach our C$5 per-spin cap and forfeit the balance in one tap.
Slots count in full toward wagering, so this qualifies. The 13% hit rate still makes it hard work across a 20-day clock, since the counter only moves when something pays. Our welcome bonus page shows the turnover maths, and loyalty points accrue at one per C$1 staked regardless.
What we rate, and what to watch.
Working in its favour
- 96.71% at the top is above the mainstream benchmark
- No buy button and no ante — nothing to breach the C$5 cap
- The collection round is genuinely different from a tumbling grid
- A wide 0.10–250 stake range and demo play without an account
Worth knowing first
- 13% hit frequency — the quietest base game of the five
- 95.67% is widely deployed, so check the panel every time
- The multiplier ignores line wins entirely
- 2,100× is the smallest ceiling among our five headline titles
The sequels are separate games
Bigger Bass Bonanza, Big Bass Splash, Big Bass Bonanza 1000 and the Megaways version each carry their own model, multiplier rules and ceiling. Every figure here belongs to the 2020 original — check the title in the game window first.
A collection round builds anticipation on purpose: you can see the money sitting on the grid, waiting for a wild that may not land. That's a strong pull, and it's worth naming. Set deposit and loss caps in your account before you open the game, and on a phone set a session reminder too. Our responsible gambling page covers every control and lists free, confidential helplines province by province. In a crisis, ring or text 9-8-8.
Big Bass Bonanza, answered.
Who actually makes this game?
Reel Kingdom developed it and Pragmatic Play publishes it, so both credits are correct. Reel Kingdom works as a development studio inside the Pragmatic Play stable, which is why databases list the title under either name. It also explains why it plays nothing like Pragmatic's own pay-anywhere tumbling grids.
What return does it run at?
The headline configuration is 96.71%, with certified variants at 95.67%, 94.50% and 94.02%. The 95.67% build is commonly deployed, so plenty of players are not on the advertised number. The game's own information panel states which configuration your session is using, and that is the figure that applies.
How do the free spins start?
Land three, four or five fish scatters and you get 10, 15 or 20 free spins respectively. Inside the round, money symbols carry cash values up to 2,000× your stake, and collecting four Fisherman wilds retriggers the feature with ten more spins while stepping the collection multiplier up a level.
How does the collection multiplier step up?
Every four Fisherman wilds collected during the round moves it on. It reaches 2× after the first four, 3× after the second four and 10× after the third, which is the maximum — three upgrades in total. Each of those steps also retriggers the feature and adds ten further free spins.
Does the multiplier apply to everything?
No, and this catches people out. It applies only to money-symbol collections made by the Fisherman wild. Ordinary payline wins during the same free-spins round are paid at face value, whatever multiplier level you have reached. All of the round's value flows through collecting fish, not through the lines.
What is the maximum win?
2,100 times your stake, the smallest ceiling among the five titles we review. Approaching it means reaching the 10× collection multiplier and then landing a Fisherman wild across a grid loaded with high-value money symbols. It is a mathematical boundary reached very rarely rather than a realistic session target.
Can I buy the bonus round?
Not in the original release, which has neither a feature purchase nor an ante bet. The only way in is landing three or more fish scatters. That works in your favour while welcome-bonus wagering is outstanding, because a buy button would sit far above our C$5 per-spin cap and forfeit the bonus.
Is Big Bass Splash the same game?
No. Big Bass Splash, Bigger Bass Bonanza, Big Bass Bonanza 1000 and the Megaways release are separate titles with their own mathematical models, multiplier rules and maximum wins. Nothing on this page carries across to them, so read the exact title in the game window before applying any figure.
Check which build you're on
Big Bass Bonanza opens in demo without an account, and the live RTP configuration is printed in the paytable — 96.71% or 95.67% makes a real difference.
Open Big Bass Bonanza18+ / 19+ by province. Not available in Ontario. Slots count 100% toward welcome-bonus wagering; C$5 max bet and a 20-day expiry apply for as long as wagering runs. Full terms apply.