Bison Bonanza: Slot Overview

An old debate that seems to split people into camps is salty vs sweet. Some crave a sugary treat, while others prefer something savoury. And of course, plenty of folks are happy with either. For players who lean toward the savoury side, there’s Bison Bonanza, a slot from Blueprint Gaming that has clearly taken a few pointers from Pragmatic Play’s hit, Sweet Bonanza.

In truth, beyond the switch in theme, the two titles share a lot of DNA. Both run on a 6-column, 5-row layout and use a scatter pays mechanic. Both also feature huge multiplier symbols during free spins. Visually, though, they head in completely different directions. As the name suggests, Bison Bonanza is set in an American wilderness scene among rocky canyons, with wildlife and cacti for company. This kind of setting is hardly rare, and Blueprint has done very well with similar vibes before in games like Buffalo Rising Megaways and Wolf Legend Megaways. This time, Blueprint sticks to a more classic presentation rather than pushing for something unusual, so fans of a traditional, polished style should feel right at home.

Bison Bonanza is a chunky, hard-hitting slot, rated highly volatile and charging along with a return value of 96.5%. Stakes can be set from 20 p/c to $/€10 per spin, or players can enable the Bison Bet, which increases the stake by 25% and doubles the chance of triggering the bonus game (RTP remains the same). There are no paylines or ways here. Instead, whenever 8 or more matching symbols appear anywhere on the grid, that’s a win and the payout rolls in.

As for the symbol set, there are nine standard pay symbols – four lower-value card suits and five higher-value icons: lynxes, wolves, eagles, bears, and bison. Landing 8-9 matching premium symbols pays 1-10x the bet, increasing to 10-50x for 12+ on screen. The low symbols return 0.25-0.8x for 8-9, climbing to 2-8x the bet when 12+ are visible.

Bison Bonanza: Slot Features

Bison Bonanza lifts plenty of familiar mechanics, so alongside scatter pays you’ll find cascades, free spins featuring multiplier symbols, and a bonus buy option where available.

Cascades

Whenever a scatter win hits, the winning symbols are taken off the board, and the remaining symbols drop down to fill the empty spaces. If the new layout produces another scatter win, the same cycle continues.

Free Spins

For anyone chasing enormous multipliers, the action starts when at least 4 bonus symbols land on the screen, triggering free spins. This is the mode where the special multiplier symbols can show up. Before the spins begin, players choose which free spins package they want from the following:

• 12 free spins with multipliers of x2 to x100.
• 8 free spins with multipliers of x4 to x200.
• 5 free spins with multipliers of x8 to x500.
• Mystery choice which awards random spins and multiplier limits from a pick ‘n click screen.

During free spins, if a multiplier symbol appears while a cascade win sequence is in progress, it awards a multiplier within the limits listed above. Once the cascades end, the total win is boosted by that multiplier. If multiple multipliers land, their values are added together first and then applied to the payout.

Bonus Buy

If you’d rather skip the wait, you can purchase the bonus round directly. Two options are available. The first costs 100x the bet, carries an RTP of 96.6%, and mirrors the standard trigger of landing at least 4 bonus symbols, as explained above. The second lets you buy a spin on the Bison Wheel for 248x the bet. This option spins a three-tier wheel that awards 10-20 spins, an x2 to x10 minimum multiplier, and an x100 to x500 maximum multiplier. The RTP for this is 96.82%.

Bison Bonanza: Slot Verdict

Let’s be honest: what you’ve got here is basically Sweet Bonanza swapped from sweets to wildlife. That’s hard to ignore, and if those similarities are a deal-breaker, then Bison Bonanza is just as guilty of being a copycat as any other. Hacksaw has done something similar with Joker Bombs and The Bowery Boys, and Blueprint have already used this style themselves in Deal or No Deal Banker’s Bonanza, so the pattern is well established. You could also argue Blueprint didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel with the theme choice either. It’s no secret how many North American wildlife slots are already out there, especially ones led by buffalo. Still, if you can look past that—or simply don’t mind—Bison Bonanza delivers a full-on stampede of entertainment with plenty to dig into.

Of course, if you’ve already played Sweet Bonanza or one of its variants, you’ll have a good idea of what Bison Bonanza brings to the table. If you haven’t, it’s a solid title for getting to grips with how a scatter pays setup works. Helping it stand out against close rivals are the smooth overall execution, the massive multipliers, and the Bison Wheel.

Yes, there’s nothing especially groundbreaking going on here. Even so, Bison Bonanza remains a strong pick for anyone looking for a fresh scatter win slot. As for potential, it’s interesting: after seeing Blueprint Gaming push their 50,000x max win line in so many other releases, Bison Bonanza’s 10,000x cap doesn’t feel tiny in comparison. With multipliers reaching up to x500, that 10,000x top prize seems at least within reach.

As mentioned, the theme and mechanics aren’t exactly new—no arguing that. But there’s a reason these formulas keep returning, and for dependable, hard-hitting gameplay, Bison Bonanza’s mix of scatter pays and huge multipliers, paired with a favourable RTP and respectable potential, makes it a worthwhile option.