Fishing-themed slots have invaded the industry in the past few years. In my opinion, most of them are boring because they follow the same visual and gameplay design. From out of the blue, you get a slot such as Boat Bonanza Down Under that shakes up the whole niche. Developed by Play’n GO, you can expect a top-notch release in both the visual and gameplay departments.

This highly volatile slot game has an RTP of 96.25% and 12 fixed lines. That looks eerily similar to Slingo games, but there’s no connection between the two. This slot brings three different ways to score prizes in the base game and a bonus round with all kinds of modifiers and picks. You can also earn extra spins and multiplier upgrades that will take you close to the maximum projected wins.

All of this comes in a very attractive and fun package to play. You can try the slot for free, and although it’s not complicated at all, I can highly recommend the demo. You should always try slots for free before you play for real money. For a preview of all the features, check out my Boat Bonanza Down Under slot review below.

As is the case with most Play’n GO slots, you can expect detailed and sharp visuals in Boat Bonanza Down Under. The graphics and animations are on a whole different level. Reels are set down under the waves, as the name suggests. The slot has adopted cartoonish visuals with funny crabs and fish under the sea and a relaxed fisherman atop the reels.

It features Play’n GO’s classic layout and design with controls beneath the reels. Everything’s within reach from there. You can access the guide to check the paytable and features and see technical information about the game itself. The classic country soundtrack and fun sound effects create an immersive experience no player can stay immune to.

To start playing the Boat Bonanza Down Under slot, you will need to choose a bet first. By default, it’s set at $2 per spin, but you can choose from 10c to $50 per spin. I’ve set it at $1 for starters because it perfectly reflects what the symbols pay regularly.

The math model is straightforward and high, as is almost always the case with Play’n GO slots. You win by matching three or more symbols on one of the active paylines. The funny duck pays the most – 200x for five on a line. A can of tentacle lures is second to it, followed by flip flops, a diving mask, and card royals. Any combination of cash fish symbols also pays. They somewhat substitute for the wilds as any of their combinations pays anywhere, regardless of position. The final symbol is a sharp-toothed shark scatter.

This slot doesn’t follow the traditional fishing niche. Take a good look at the fisherman above the reels – in order for him to start fishing, he needs to be awake. This happens randomly, and once he’s woken up, he’ll activate one out of three features.

• Under Reel Collection: the fisherman will pull up a mystery prize from beneath the waves. This can either be duds or cash symbols. On rare occasions, he can pull a scatter up that fills up the multiplier trail and progress bar.
• Surf’n’Catch: collects all the fish cash symbols and multiplies them depending on the value of each reel with fish symbols.
• Vertical Fish: collects all cash fish on the reel beneath.

This feature is more than enough to spice up the base game. There’s a bonus round on top of it all, and for it, you need the shark scatters.

The bonus round is where the best action takes place in the Boat Bonanza Down Under online slot. It triggers from 3+ scatters, for which you receive ten free spins. Before the bonus starts, you get a bunch of fish added to the reels. This awards one out of eight modifiers that can make the bonus more exciting.

The modifiers include five extra spins, multipliers, multiplier upgrades, more catch symbols, low-value symbol removals, guaranteed catch symbols, or a randomly chosen catch symbol that turns sticky.

To make things fair, you can only have one modifier active per free spin. However, you can land up to four on the reels for the duration of the bonus round. Scatters are collected during the bonus and fill up the multiplier trail. For every 2^nd step, you get two extra spins and an extra modifier.

On steps 4, 8, and 12, you get ten extra spins. On steps 2, 6, and 10, you get extra modifiers. Fish prize multipliers are also updated, and you can get up to 50 extra spins during the bonus.

I can honestly say my experience with Boat Bonanza Down Under for real money was as exciting as it gets. The base game was plenty of fun for me, which doesn’t always happen, and it’s all thanks to the fisherman. When he wakes up from his naps, he can stir up the waves below, awarding great modifiers that deliver some nice wins.

Things went even better in the bonus round, especially since I reached high up the trail. I ended up with dozens of extra spins and several modifiers active per spin, hitting wins that would justify buying the bonus round if there was such a feature.

The Boat Bonanza Down Under slot RTP is set to 96.25%, which is solid for a highly volatile slot. You can win a maximum of 6,000x the bet in the bonus round.

Boat Bonanza Down Under may take visual inspiration from other fishing-themed slot games, but in terms of gameplay, it’s as different as it gets. The random features and up to eight modifiers in the bonus round were more than enough for me. What makes it even more impressive is the fun and lighthearted nature. This is a slot designed for fun and decent rewards, and as such, it more than deserves a try at legit online casinos.

If you’re looking at alternatives, there’s plenty to pick from. You can go for Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways by Blueprint Gaming and its Christmas edition. You can also pick Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass Bonanza and all of its sequels and spin-offs.