Roman Bonanza: Slot Overview

The previous time we checked in with Hacksaw Gaming partner Backseat Gaming was the Ancient Rome-inspired, Money Cart-style title Gladius Death or Glory. The studio clearly enjoys dressing its slots in a toga (or full legionary kit), because it’s back with another history-themed release. Called Roman Bonanza, it will feel instantly familiar to fans: not only does it revisit the Ancient Roman setting, it also brings back the gameplay seen in Pirate Bonanza, featuring tumble wins boosted by a running total multiplier built via Multiplier Bomb symbols, plus a couple of bonus rounds to finish things off.

Pirate Bonanza was a great-looking slot, and Roman Bonanza delivers strong visuals as well. It’s not entirely clear which corner of the Empire you’re in, but the glowing sky, impressive buildings, and martial touches set the scene. Unlike its sister game, which parked a grizzled sailor beside the grid, this time you spin alone—though the absence of a character doesn’t change what happens on the reels. Roman-themed slots are everywhere, but Backseat Gaming still manages to use the setting to create an attractive backdrop.

As a scatter pays slot, Roman Bonanza runs on a 6×5 grid, paying when 8 or more identical symbols appear anywhere. Players set their stake using the up/down buttons beside the spin control, with wagers starting at 10 c per spin or as high as $/€100. The game is driven by a highly volatile math model, and the top RTP available is 96.31%.

Lower-value symbols are green, orange, red, blue, and purple gems, while boots, rings, cups, and helmets make up the higher pays. Scatter wins for 8 matching symbols return 0.1 to 1 times the bet, and the largest scatter wins of 19+ OAK pay 50 to 400 times the bet. There are no wild symbols here, so nothing substitutes. Every win is tallied in the Tumble Win display above the reels. Once the win is counted, the winning symbols disappear and fresh symbols fall in from above, which can form another combination. When the spin ends, the full Tumble Win total is paid out.

Roman Bonanza: Slot Features

Roman Bonanza’s feature set includes a Tumble Win feature, a Catapult feature, Arm the Catapults, Siege Command, and bonus buys.

Catapult Feature

Whenever a winning combination lands, the spaces behind the winning symbols become highlighted. If a Catapult symbol is present on the grid, it activates any highlighted positions after the winning combinations have paid, but only if the spin produced a win. When triggered, those positions reveal Multiplier Bombs, which detonate to show a multiplier that feeds into a running total multiplier from top to bottom, left to right—either being added to the total multiplier or multiplying it. That total multiplier then boosts the Tumble Win value before it’s awarded. Low Value Bombs add x2 to x5, Medium Value Bombs add x10 to x25, High Value Bombs add x50 to x100, while Golden Multiplier Bombs multiply by x2 to x10.

Arm the Catapults

Hitting 4 scatters launches 10 free spins in the Arm the Catapults bonus round. The base game rules stay in place, but Catapult symbols have a higher chance of appearing. In both bonus rounds, landing 3 scatter symbols grants an extra +5 free spins.

Siege Command

Landing 5 scatters in the base game starts Siege Command with 10 free spins. The core mechanics remain, along with a higher chance of landing the Catapult symbol. On top of that, highlighted positions remain highlighted for the full duration of the bonus.

Bonus Buy

For 3x the bet, BonusHunt FeatureSpins make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. Centurion FeatureSpins cost 50x and ensure every spin drops at least one Catapult symbol. Either bonus round can be purchased for 100x for Arm the Catapults or 250x for Siege Command.

Roman Bonanza: Slot Verdict

Since these are essentially the same features we’ve already seen, Roman Bonanza doesn’t land with quite the same impact as Pirate Bonanza. That’s often the downside of doing the same thing twice, and it’s largely unavoidable with a reskin. It also doesn’t help that Pirate Bonanza may or may not have taken inspiration from Hacksaw Gaming’s Joker Bombs to begin with, but that’s another discussion. To be fair, Backseat Gaming has given Roman Bonanza a polished presentation, although Roman settings are hardly rare in slots. Choosing a fresher theme could have added a touch more originality and helped the repeated gameplay feel less like a straight reskin.

Putting the complaints aside, Roman Bonanza is undeniably easy on the eyes, and the recycled feature set is still a solid one. Because scatter pays games let symbols connect from anywhere, the Catapult feature benefits from being able to highlight positions across the entire grid, which helps open things up. Catapult symbols also add tension during tumbles as the highlighted spaces build, knowing a multiplier is waiting to lift the final payout, and the maximum reward for launching those winning symbols is a hefty 10,000x the bet. Why Backseat Gaming chose to release another Roman-themed title so soon after Gladius Death or Glory is hard to say—maybe it was intended as a warm-up ahead of Pirate Bonanza 2?