Christmas Bonanza

A lot of people think the original Bonanza slot by Big Time Gaming was the first-ever Megaways, but it’s not. That honour went to Big Time Gaming’s DragonBorn Megaways. Bonanza Megaways, however, was the first slot to use all the bonus features we’re now so used to. And it more or less set the industry standard for further Megaways releases like Wheel of Fortune Megaways. 

Christmas Bonanza takes the whole gold mining theme of the original and adds a Christmas twist. Actually, all that means is that the mine entrance that holds the 6 reel grid now has snow scattered around it, and the premium gem symbols have been replaced by pressies wrapped with ribbons.  

The 6-reel grid still lands between 2 and 7 symbols per reel on every spin, creating a max of 117,649 ways to win. The 9-A card royals pay a maximum of 0.8 to 1.75 times the stake for a six-of-a-kind combo. The green, blue, red, and purple gift-wrapped present premiums award 2 to 50x the bet for six-of-a-kind. 

For feature symbols, we have a Wild, which is a bunch of sticks of dynamite. This can only land on the horizontal reel above the main grid to help form winning combinations. 

The Scatter(s) are the letters G-O-L-D, and will trigger the Free Spins when the right combination lands to spell out Gold on the grid. 

As I said above, Bonanza set the industry standard for most Megaways slots which have followed. So, the bonuses are now pretty familiar. But at the time of its release, they were considered pretty groundbreaking.  

The first, of course, is the Cascade. This appeared on a few slots before BGT released their revolutionary mechanic, but has now become a classic Megaways feature. After a win, all the symbols involved disappear, with the remaining symbols falling into their place, and new ones tumbling in from the top of the grid. And the process repeats as long as new winning combos keep being formed. This can lead to multiple wins for the cost of just one spin and is one of the reasons symbol values are so low compared to regular slots. 

Landing the right gold square symbols are the scatters to spell put G. O. L. D triggers 12 free spins. Any additional Scatters that land on the triggering spin adds five extra Free Spins to the original 12. More Free Spins can be won during the round with 3 or 4 scatter symbols landing on one spin awarding +5 or +10 extra, respectively. 

The win potential of the Free Spins is increased significantly by another Megaways classic feature: an unlimited win multiplier. One of the main benefits of free spins is the unlimited multiplier, starting at x1. This increases by +1 for each cascade win, with no limit as to how high it can go. And it doesn't reset between spins!

Christmas Bonanza is basically the original game in a slightly Christmassy skin. You can play it and enjoy the seasonal atmosphere without getting overwhelmed by all the festive cheer. Just keep in mind that it shares the high volatility of the original, so never bet more than you can afford to lose. Try it out at Gala Spins. Good Luck!