Here's a question for you players, what does Mt Olympus have in common with the sport of ice hockey? As far as we know, absolutely nothing, except now they kind of do, thanks to developer Pragmatic Play. The reason why is that the studio has taken much of the mechanics from its popular Gates of Olympus slot (and some which followed it) and put it all together in an ice hockey-fronted online slot. Pretty random, sure, but the underlying gameplay has proven to be a winning formula, so the question is, will it be just as joyful in a sports game?
The name of the game is Hockey Bonanza, and it takes place on the ice in an arena of fans who have come to see some skating and scoring. Just why Pragmatic Play decided to make a hockey clone is up for discussion, but fans of slots and ice hockey now get two pastimes mashed into one place for their convenience. Considering the popularity of ice hockey in some countries, it's no wonder there are a few hockey slots sliding around for players' consideration. On a side note, Hockey Bonanza's crowd sound effects were actually pretty good at creating a ringside mood.
Hockey Bonanza is a scatter paying/pay anywhere slot, which means that as long as at least eight matching symbols are in view, anywhere on the grid, a win is created. Winning symbols disappear from the reels, and symbols fall down from above to replace them. Should another win appear after the tumble, then the mechanic kicks in again, only coming to a stop when no win is created. The grid itself consists of 6 reels holding 5 positions each, dropping in 30 symbols on each spin. Players can wager 20 p/c to $/€100 and have the option of activating the Bet Double, which increases the stake by 25%, increasing the chance of triggering the feature. Or, they can buy the feature right away for 100 times the bet. No matter how the game is played, default, Ante Bet on, or bonus buy, the maximum RTP clocks in at 96.5%.
Metallic 10-A card ranks make up Hockey Bonanza's low symbols, while its high pays are a thumbs-up sign, skates, a helmet, and a puck and stick. When 8 or 9 matching symbols create a win, the payout is worth 0.25 to 10 times the bet, or for a 12 to 30 matching symbol win, players collect 2 to 50 times the bet. No wilds make their way into Hockey Bonanza at any point.
Other features that players may come across while skating about Hockey Bonanza are multiplier symbols and free spins.
Multiplier symbols can randomly land on any base game or bonus game spin. Multiplier symbols hit with values of x2 to x500. When tumbling ends, all of the multiplier values on the grid are added up and applied to the total win of the spin.
The ice hockey player scatter symbol may land on all reels. When 3, 4, or 5 of them hit, players are awarded 3x, 5x, or 100x, respectively, plus 15 free spins. When multiplier symbols land on a free spin, and a win is also present, the multiplier value is added to a global win multiplier. The global win multiplier is applied to the total win at the end of a free spin as long as a multiplier symbol also hit during the spin. Should you hit 3 or more scatters during the feature, then +5 additional free spins will be awarded.
Games like Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus must be a real cash cow for Pragmatic Play because the studio has cloned, copied, or redone them using a variety of different themes on numerous occasions, and the freight train is unlikely to come grinding to a halt any time soon. Hockey Bonanza is just another in a long list of them, which only really stands out from the pack for players interested in the sport. Take away the pucks, goals, and ice, and you've got a formula that has appeared several times before, so if you don't manage to catch Hockey Bonanza, there are others just or very close like it, and a good chance there are more to come.
Technically, it's hard to pick too many holes in Hockey Bonanza. Clearly, the scatter pay/win anywhere setup is on the up and up amongst players as well as game makers alike because they are flying off production lines at an impressive rate of knots. Admittedly, the job is made easier when providers are happy to enthusiastically clone prior works. Anyway, with a max win of 5,000x the bet, and a fun scatter/tumble multiplier combo, it's hard to fault Hockey Bonanza, mechanically speaking.
Here's a thought. When you think about it, Ice hockey is a pretty brutal game full of big hits and the occasional fisticuffs. Perhaps the link between a game like Sweet Bonanza and Hockey Bonanza is the potential to lose teeth? Obviously, not while playing the slot unless some particularly vigorous celebrating gets completely out of hand. Eh, what else is there to say? Hockey Bonanza slips around, as well as others in its squad.
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