Book of Bass

Book of Bass by Realistic Games is a captivating slot that seamlessly blends the allure of ancient Egypt with the excitement of fishing. This unique combination creates an intriguing gaming experience set to be released on October 24, 2024. The game features a 5-reel, 3-row layout with 10 fixed paylines, offering players a medium volatility adventure with an RTP of 96%.

The slot's theme ingeniously merges two seemingly disparate worlds: the mystique of ancient Egypt and the thrill of fishing. The background showcases a sun-drenched desert landscape, complete with iconic pyramids rising in the distance. This setting serves as a striking backdrop for the game's reels, which are adorned with symbols that reflect both aspects of the theme.

The main characters of Book of Bass are the Fisherman and the Fisherwoman, who stand on opposite sides of the reels. These characters play crucial roles in the game's bonus features, adding an extra layer of engagement to the gameplay. The slot's symbol set is a carefully curated mix of Egyptian-inspired icons such as the Pharaoh, Cleopatra, scarab beetles, and hieroglyphics, alongside fishing-related symbols like fishing rods, tackle boxes, fish, and boats. Traditional card symbols (10, J, Q, K, A) round out the lower-paying symbols, maintaining a balance between thematic elements and familiar slot iconography.

Core Game and Mechanics

The base game of Book of Bass unfolds on a standard 5×3 grid with 10 fixed paylines. Players aim to land matching symbols across these paylines, with wins calculated from left to right. The game's paytable reveals a wide range of symbol values, with the highest-paying symbols offering substantial rewards for five-of-a-kind combinations.

Two wild symbols feature in the game: a generic wild that substitutes for all symbols except the Book scatter and Fisherwoman, and the Book symbol itself, which acts as both a wild and a scatter. This dual functionality of the Book symbol adds an extra layer of excitement to the base game, as it can contribute to regular payline wins while also triggering the Free Spins bonus.

The game's medium volatility strikes a balance between frequent smaller wins and the potential for larger payouts, catering to a broad range of player preferences. With a minimum bet of 0.10 and a max win multiplier of 10,000x, Book of Bass offers both accessibility and high-reward potential.

Bonus Features

Book of Bass shines in its bonus features, offering players multiple ways to enhance their winnings and engage with the game's unique theme.

Book Free Spins: This feature is triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 Book scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. Players are awarded 10 free spins, along with an additional payout based on the number of scatters landed. Before the free spins begin, a symbol is randomly selected to become an expanding symbol. After each spin, if enough of these symbols appear to form a win, they expand to cover entire reels. These expanded reels then pay out on all 10 paylines, significantly increasing win potential. Notably, when fish symbols expand, they retain their original values, adding an extra layer of strategy to the feature. The Book Free Spins can be retriggered, awarding an additional 10 spins while keeping the same expanding symbol.

Fish Free Spins: Activated by landing 3, 4, or 5 Fish scatter symbols, this feature awards 10, 15, or 25 free spins respectively. The Fish Free Spins use a separate set of reel bands, potentially offering different symbol distributions and win frequencies compared to the base game. This feature can also be retriggered, with the potential to award up to 25 additional free spins.

Catch Fish Bonus: This innovative feature is triggered when one or more Fisherwoman symbols appear on the reels alongside Fish symbols. All visible Fisherwomen will “catch” all Fish symbols in view, with the values of the caught fish added together for each Fisherwoman. A Free Spin Multiplier is then applied to the total value caught by each Fisherwoman, potentially leading to substantial wins.

Can of Worms Bonus: Exclusive to the Fish Free Spins, this feature activates when one or more Fisherwoman symbols land without any Fish symbols in view. Random symbols on the reels are replaced with Fish symbols, which are then caught by all Fisherwomen present. This clever mechanic ensures that the Fisherwoman symbols remain valuable even in the absence of initial Fish symbols.

Retrigger Multiplier: A dynamic feature that enhances the excitement of bonus rounds. The multiplier starts at 1x and increases by 1 each time a bonus is triggered or retriggered within another bonus. This multiplier is applied to all wins on each bonus spin and persists until all bonus spins on both types of free spins are completed, creating the potential for escalating wins throughout extended bonus sessions.

Bonus Buy: For players seeking immediate access to the game's bonus features, Book of Bass offers a Bonus Buy option. Players can choose to buy into either the Book Free Spins (at 103x the current bet) or the Fish Free Spins (at 83x the current bet). These options come with slightly elevated RTPs of 96.62% and 96.18% respectively, offering a trade-off between immediate bonus access and long-term expected returns.

An interesting feature of Book of Bass is its innovative blending of the popular “book” slot mechanic with a fishing theme. This combination allows for unique interactions between expanding symbols and fish values, creating a fresh take on both genres. The Can of Worms bonus, in particular, stands out as a clever way to ensure the Fisherwoman symbols remain valuable even when Fish symbols are scarce, adding an extra layer of anticipation to every spin in the Fish Free Spins feature.