Gaming software developer Novomatic’s 3D digital slots title Big Catch is a game for those who like their slots uncomplicated and pleasant-looking. There is no complicated plot; the five reels are framed very simply against an underwater background, filled with colourful undersea growth and gurgling bubbles. A happy-looking fish and the game’s logo surmount the screen.
The symbols, displayed three to a reel, continue the undersea theme, with the Big Catch poker symbols 10 to A fashioned in colourful sponges. Players can adjust the number of pay lines they play from 5 to 20 in increments of 5, and the bets per pay line can be varied from 1 to 500 coins. Thus, with a minimum bet per spin of 5 coins and a maximum bet of 10,000 coins, Big Catch truly does cater to small-stakes players and big spenders alike.
Pay Table Adjusts According to Bet
Instead of presenting prize values as multiples of the player’s line bet, the Big Catch pay table adjusts according to the bet per line value the player has selected. So instead of having to do any sums in their heads, players can tell at a glance what the value of any winning combo is. Wins require three or more identical symbols on a pay line, running consecutively from Reel 1. All prize values listed below are based on a bet of 1 coin per line, playing all 20 lines.
Apart from the perpetual murmur of bubbles, the reel spins are accompanied by an insistent, hypnotic, marimba-like percussion soundtrack. As each reel spins to a halt one by one, if matching symbols come down along a pay line, a series of tones on an ascending scale alerts the player to the possibility of a win. After two, the more tones, the bigger the win. All symbols in a winning combination will animate, with the white reel behind them turning clear to display more of the undersea backdrop.
No Scatter or Free Spins
Big Catch is not for those who like lots of extras on a casino slots title. There is no Scatter symbol, and no chance to trigger free spins rounds. The only bonus feature is triggered randomly. So the prizes to be won in base play, with 3, 4 or 5 of a kind, become even more important.
To compensate for this simplicity, prizes for all the symbols are higher than usual. Combos of 10s or Js win equal-value prizes for 3, 4 or 5 of a kind: 10, 20 or 40 coins. For Qs or Ks, the prizes are 20, 40 or 60 coins. Aces score 40, 60 or 100.
Big Catch has only two other symbols; an anchor and the Big Catch logo. The anchor wins 60, 100 or 200 coins, and the logo 100, 200 or 500. Icons can also arrive stacked, so in theory a player can get stacks of 3 logos on all 5 reels, covering the whole screen with logos. For this, the player wins 10,000 coins, as long as they are playing all 20 lines.
Starfish Wild and Random Bonus
A bright pink starfish is the Wild, appearing only on Reels 3, 4 and 5, and substituting for any other symbol. The bonus Fishing Feature can be triggered randomly at any time. The player gets a new watery screen, and must cast a line. Players get cash prizes for every fish they haul in, until they catch a boot, or the top prize, which is 500X the total spin bet.