Christmas Big Bass Bonanza: how Santa collects the fish
Christmas Big Bass Bonanza puts Santa in charge of collecting fish values across a 5-reel, 3-row slot with 10 paylines.
Three Scatters start 10 free spins; collecting Wilds can extend the feature and lift Money collection to 2x, 3x and 10x. The interesting detail is the timing: each higher multiplier belongs to a newly awarded batch of spins.
The festive float, fishing rod, sleigh and tackle box make this a recognisable winter edition. Its published theoretical RTP is 96.71%, and the round ceiling is 2,100x the total bet. A higher collection multiplier makes the fish more valuable inside that ceiling. It does not increase the ceiling itself.
Three fish symbols open Santa's free spins
The fish marked SCATTER can appear on any reel. Count the Scatters across the screen: three award 10 free spins, four award 15 and five award 20. They trigger the feature wherever they sit, without following one of the ordinary winning lines.
Santa is the Wild. He appears on all reels during the free-spins feature and substitutes for ordinary paying symbols, with Scatter excluded. He also collects the values of the Money fish on that spin. That gives him two jobs: help complete line wins and take the visible fish values.
3 Scatters
- Initial free spins
- 10
4 Scatters
- Initial free spins
- 15
5 Scatters
- Initial free spins
- 20
The feature uses special reels. Its Wild counter counts the Wild symbols that land during the whole feature. Four Wilds collected over separate spins still reach the first retrigger threshold; collecting them all on one screen is not required.
The fourth Wild queues a stronger batch
Every fourth collected Wild adds 10 more free spins. The first retrigger gives those extra spins a 2x Money collection multiplier, the second gives 3x, and the third gives 10x. There are at most three retriggers.
The awarded spins wait until the preceding batch has finished. If you reach the fourth Wild with spins still left in the initial batch, those remaining initial spins keep the initial collection value. The 2x multiplier starts with the first retriggered batch. The same next-batch rule applies when moving to 3x and then 10x.
With five triggering Scatters and all three retriggers, the scheduled feature length is 20 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 50 spins. This is the largest scheduled total from those awards, not an expectation that a feature will reach 50 spins. Reaching the win cap ends the round early and forfeits the remaining feature.
Each Santa collects the whole fish total
The ordinary fish also act as Money symbols. Each spin gives them random values, which can be collected during free spins. Every Santa on the screen collects all those values. With two Santas, the same visible fish total is collected twice; the active retrigger multiplier then applies to Money collection.
When exactly one Wild is visible, extra Money fish can randomly appear at the end of the free spin. This is another opportunity for that collector to take fish values. There is no published numerical probability here that makes this a predictable event.
The Czech configuration lists fish values of 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x or 2,000x the total bet. This list belongs to that configuration. A 2,000x fish is one symbol value; the 2,100x figure is the cap for the entire round, including collections and line wins. Multiplying a large fish by several collectors or a later batch multiplier still leaves the round subject to the cap.
Line wins use one tenth of the total bet
Ordinary wins follow the ten paylines from the leftmost reel, continuing through adjacent reels. A matching run that begins on reel two does not become a paying run by itself. Where a line could qualify for more than one award, only its highest win is paid. Winning lines then add together.
The paytable uses multiples of the bet per line. At a normal 1-unit total bet across ten lines, the line bet is 0.10 units. Five Christmas floats pay 2,000 line bets, giving 2,000 x 0.10 = 200 units on that line. Calling that a 2,000x total-bet line win would overstate it tenfold.
Every number in these cards multiplies the line bet. No award means that symbol count has no printed payout.
Christmas fishing float
2 matching: 5x line bet
- 3 matching
- 50x
- 4 matching
- 200x
- 5 matching
- 2,000x
Christmas fishing rod
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 30x
- 4 matching
- 150x
- 5 matching
- 1,000x
Santa sleigh
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 20x
- 4 matching
- 100x
- 5 matching
- 500x
Christmas tackle box
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 20x
- 4 matching
- 100x
- 5 matching
- 500x
Festive fish
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 10x
- 4 matching
- 50x
- 5 matching
- 200x
A
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 25x
- 5 matching
- 100x
K
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 25x
- 5 matching
- 100x
Q
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 25x
- 5 matching
- 100x
J
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 25x
- 5 matching
- 100x
10
2 matching: No award
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 25x
- 5 matching
- 100x
The float is the paying symbol with a two-symbol award. All five card symbols share the same payouts, so three A symbols and three 10 symbols each pay five line bets. The fish's line award follows this paytable; its randomly assigned Money value is a separate collection calculation in the feature.
Follow the ten line paths across the grid
Each path names one position on each of the five reels. Top means the upper row, middle means the centre row and bottom means the lower row. The first three paths stay on one row. The remaining paths bend across the three rows.
Line 1
Middle, middle, middle, middle, middle.
Line 2
Top, top, top, top, top.
Line 3
Bottom, bottom, bottom, bottom, bottom.
Line 4
Top, middle, bottom, middle, top.
Line 5
Middle, bottom, bottom, bottom, middle.
Line 6
Bottom, middle, top, middle, bottom.
Line 7
Top, middle, middle, middle, top.
Line 8
Bottom, bottom, middle, top, top.
Line 9
Top, top, middle, bottom, bottom.
Line 10
Bottom, middle, middle, middle, top.
Follow the complete path when checking a line win. Scatter triggers and Santa's Money collection use their own rules across the screen; they do not need a run along these paths.
The 2,100x cap can finish a feature with spins left
The maximum round win is 2,100 times the total bet. Once the round reaches it, the game awards up to that cap and ends the remaining features. A 10x collection batch can therefore finish before its spin counter reaches zero.
At a hypothetical 0.50-unit stake, the cap is 0.50 x 2,100 = 1,050 units. That calculation converts the multiplier into the currency of the stake. It gives neither a hit probability nor a forecast for a session.
Christmas Big Bass Bonanza is labelled high volatility. The feature asks you to collect Wilds, build extra batches and encounter valuable fish; the headline maximum says how far one round may go. It says nothing about how many paid spins will pass before a feature, or how often Santa will reach the 10x batch.
RTP and stake limits belong to the game configuration
96.71% theoretical RTP appears in both the provider catalogue and the English game help. The Czech configurations also include 95.67% and 94.62%. These are alternative return settings, so the title alone does not tell you which setting a particular casino uses.
English help, dollar display
- Theoretical RTP
- 96.71%
- Stake limits
- $0.10 to $250
- Win ceiling
- 2,100x total bet
Czech configuration 1
- Theoretical RTP
- 96.71%
- Stake limits
- Maximum CZK 230
- Win ceiling
- CZK 483,000
Czech configuration 2
- Theoretical RTP
- 95.67%
- Stake limits
- Maximum CZK 230
- Win ceiling
- CZK 483,000
Czech configuration 3
- Theoretical RTP
- 94.62%
- Stake limits
- Maximum CZK 230
- Win ceiling
- CZK 483,000
The English help prints the dollar sign without an ISO currency designation. Its $0.10 to $250 range cannot be relabelled as EUR or PLN limits. The Czech maximum amounts belong to CZK play; CZK 230 x 2,100 gives the printed CZK 483,000 ceiling. A minimum Czech stake is not specified in these parameters.
RTP describes a theoretical return across very large amounts of play. A mathematical illustration at 96.71% gives 10,000 units of cumulative stakes x 0.9671 = 9,671 units of theoretical return. Cumulative stakes can reuse money already returned on earlier spins; they are not a deposit amount. The percentage is also not the chance that one spin wins, and it cannot predict the amount returned during your session.
In the game's Information screen, read the RTP for the version you have opened. The bet menu shows both the line settings and the current total stake. Read that total stake before applying a fish value or the round cap, especially when the display has been switched to coins.
The guide to checking a slot's RTP explains the Information-screen check in more detail.
A festive collector game, with its own payout details
Pragmatic Play released Christmas Big Bass Bonanza on 2 December 2021. Santa, the sleigh and the decorated tackle make its identity easy to spot. The mathematical differences matter too: its five low symbols all pay five line bets for three matches and 100 line bets for five.
The fisherman in Big Bass Bonanza 1000
Big Bass Bonanza 1000 uses the fisherman and a different low-symbol paytable. Its A and K award two line bets for three, while five Q, J or 10 symbols award 50 line bets. That edition has a 20,000x round cap and documented additions including a two-Scatter rescue, bazooka and hook features. Its ante and 100x or 450x feature-buy options belong to that edition.
The Christmas rules described here start free spins with three or more Scatters and do not specify a feature-buy price, ante setting or gamble option. Use Christmas's own Information and bet menu for its available controls. A buy button or bonus price from a Big Bass Bonanza 1000 review does not establish the same option for Santa's game.
Christmas Big Bass Bonanza suits a reader who likes watching one collector feature progress through stronger batches and wants a fixed ten-line layout. Choose between the editions by those mechanisms, their actual settings and their caps. A higher advertised cap cannot show which edition will return more during a short session.
Compare Big Bass Bonanza 1000's fisherman feature with Santa's batch progression.
Open the exact demo page, then compare casino choices
Open Pragmatic Play's Christmas Big Bass Bonanza page for the exact Santa edition. Check the game's Information pages before treating its RTP and stakes as a reference: a casino can offer a different configuration.
- Open the Information icon for the rule pages. The arrows move between pages; the close control returns to the game.
- Use Coins per line and Coin value in the bet menu to change the stake. Read the total bet shown in coins and cash.
- Click the Credit or Bet labels to switch the display mode, and keep the total stake separate from the line stake.
Sound, display and spin controls
- Ambient switches the background sound and music.
- Sound FX switches the sound effects.
- Intro Screen switches the introduction on or off.
- Game History opens the history page.
- Quick Spin changes how quickly the reels run. It does not increase fish values or the 2,100x cap.
Space and Enter are also documented spin controls. Check the displayed stake before starting a round through any of these controls.
For a casino choice, compare the wider catalogue, account currency and bonus funding conditions together. The Vavada review explains those choices and its bonus options. Its general casino information is a separate decision from the RTP or availability of this exact Christmas game.
Vavada
Slots and live games from Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming and Hacksaw Gaming, with monthly cashback and six account statuses.
- Cashback
- 10% of cumulative net losses, less prior cashback; x5 wageringCalculated from account debits minus credits, less cashback already paid.
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