Sweet Bonanza Pop review
Pragmatic Play
Pragmatic Play has added some sugary flavouring to its rapidly expanding POP range of slots in the form of Sweet Bonanza POP. Built on a slot that needs no introduction, but let's do one anyway, Sweet Bonanza was released in 2019 and was an early adopter of the scatter pays mechanic that later swept the gambling industry. It also dropped multiplier symbols into the free spins round, sweetening the deal in a blend which proved so popular, the studio followed up with a number of titles such as Sweet Bonanza 1000 and Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter. Now we've got Sweet Bonanza POP, a mobile-focused version that might fit in the pocket but which nevertheless boasts impressive potential, and a repeat of the winning scatter pay, multiplier symbol formula.
As POP games usually go, playing Sweet Bonanza POP on anything larger than a mobile screen means the play area is condensed into the middle while a blurry background takes up the rest of the space. For the record, that space depicts the sort of sweet-filled wonderland often used in candy-themed slots, the same sort of thing which appeared in the original Sweet Bonanza when it glazed players' screens all those years ago. There's not a lot to say about the audiovisuals. They're sweet, sugary, the sort of thing candy gamblers will be very well acquainted with by now; nothing special to report there.
Sweet Bonanza POP has a grid size of 3x5, creating wins with a scatter pays system. When 5 or more matching symbols land anywhere on the reels, they pay out, then the winning symbols vanish. Symbols then drop to fill the reels, repeating until no new winning combination appears. The RTP is a healthy 97.05%, and players may stake $/€0.10 to $/€250 in this medium volatile game.
Pay symbols that land are bananas, grapes, plums, and three hard candy symbols. Five-of-a-kind winning combinations pay 0.2x-10x the bet, and the largest combinations are 9+ OAK in size, worth 2x-50x when they hit.
Sweet Bonanza POP keeps it simple with Multiplier symbols, POP symbol wins and free spins.
Multiplier symbols land with a value of x2 to x1,000. Though the pay table did not specifically say they only appeared in free spins, Multiplier symbols never landed in the base game, so it seems safe to assume they are bonus-only features. Landed Multiplier symbols stay on the grid till the tumble sequence ends, then the values of all Multiplier symbols in view are added together and applied to the win.
Scatter symbols and POP symbols are present on all reels. Landing 3 scatters or POP symbols triggers 10 free spins. In addition, combinations of 3 scatters or POP symbols with at least 1 POP symbol also pay a prize. When 1, 2, or 3 POP symbols land in combination of 3 scatters, players also win 50x, 500x, or 25,000x the bet, respectively. Landing 2 or 3 scatters during the free spins round awards an extra 5 or 10 free spins, respectively.
Pragmatic Play is a studio which enjoys squeezing every last drop of juice out of its success stories, and that Sweet Bonanza POP made its way into the POP comes as no surprise. It is a fairly straightforward addition, taking the familiar Sweet Bonanza formula and compressing it into a 3x5 format. It's a game which should feel immediately recognisable to anyone who has played the original or its many offshoots, while the POP makeover and mobile-first presentation give it a slightly different identity. Sweet Bonanza POP gives the POP range extra candy clout, adding a scatter paying legend amongst its ranks, but it is also a predictable release, adding very little that wasn't already present in the Sweet Bonanza range.
The formula manages to work quite well on the reduced grid space, helped by the fact that wins are created by 5 or more matching symbols rather than 8. Wins lead to tumbles, which are then boosted by multiplier symbols in free spins should any land during the sequence. It's a straightforward process which has entertained gamblers over the years, and still has the magic to do so now. At the same time, Sweet Bonanza POP offers little to nothing that's new or particularly interesting. The three POP prizes add appeal, as the possibility of landing enough POP symbols for a payout of up to 25,000x the stake gives the game its headline potential, though again Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter already had those, while also possessing far greater values.
Whilst a sweet enough addition to Pragmatic Play's POP series, players looking for any sort of innovation may find the experience familiar to the point of redundancy. Much of Sweet Bonanza POP's appeal comes from established ingredients rather than new ways of thinking. The game is perhaps best viewed as a streamlined mobile interpretation of a proven Pragmatic Play formula. It doesn't reinvent or revolutionise anything, but safely delivers the recognisable mechanics and fun gameplay that made Sweet Bonanza such a well-known title in the first place on a smaller grid.
Sweet Bonanza POP successfully squeezes the familiar formula onto a smaller grid, though aside from the downsizing, some players may feel it brings little new to the table.
As POP games usually go, playing Sweet Bonanza POP on anything larger than a mobile screen means the play area is condensed into the middle while a blurry background takes up the rest of the space. For the record, that space depicts the sort of sweet-filled wonderland often used in candy-themed slots, the same sort of thing which appeared in the original Sweet Bonanza when it glazed players' screens all those years ago. There's not a lot to say about the audiovisuals. They're sweet, sugary, the sort of thing candy gamblers will be very well acquainted with by now; nothing special to report there.
Sweet Bonanza POP has a grid size of 3x5, creating wins with a scatter pays system. When 5 or more matching symbols land anywhere on the reels, they pay out, then the winning symbols vanish. Symbols then drop to fill the reels, repeating until no new winning combination appears. The RTP is a healthy 97.05%, and players may stake $/€0.10 to $/€250 in this medium volatile game.
Pay symbols that land are bananas, grapes, plums, and three hard candy symbols. Five-of-a-kind winning combinations pay 0.2x-10x the bet, and the largest combinations are 9+ OAK in size, worth 2x-50x when they hit.
Sweet Bonanza POP keeps it simple with Multiplier symbols, POP symbol wins and free spins.
Multiplier symbols land with a value of x2 to x1,000. Though the pay table did not specifically say they only appeared in free spins, Multiplier symbols never landed in the base game, so it seems safe to assume they are bonus-only features. Landed Multiplier symbols stay on the grid till the tumble sequence ends, then the values of all Multiplier symbols in view are added together and applied to the win.
Scatter symbols and POP symbols are present on all reels. Landing 3 scatters or POP symbols triggers 10 free spins. In addition, combinations of 3 scatters or POP symbols with at least 1 POP symbol also pay a prize. When 1, 2, or 3 POP symbols land in combination of 3 scatters, players also win 50x, 500x, or 25,000x the bet, respectively. Landing 2 or 3 scatters during the free spins round awards an extra 5 or 10 free spins, respectively.
Pragmatic Play is a studio which enjoys squeezing every last drop of juice out of its success stories, and that Sweet Bonanza POP made its way into the POP comes as no surprise. It is a fairly straightforward addition, taking the familiar Sweet Bonanza formula and compressing it into a 3x5 format. It's a game which should feel immediately recognisable to anyone who has played the original or its many offshoots, while the POP makeover and mobile-first presentation give it a slightly different identity. Sweet Bonanza POP gives the POP range extra candy clout, adding a scatter paying legend amongst its ranks, but it is also a predictable release, adding very little that wasn't already present in the Sweet Bonanza range.
The formula manages to work quite well on the reduced grid space, helped by the fact that wins are created by 5 or more matching symbols rather than 8. Wins lead to tumbles, which are then boosted by multiplier symbols in free spins should any land during the sequence. It's a straightforward process which has entertained gamblers over the years, and still has the magic to do so now. At the same time, Sweet Bonanza POP offers little to nothing that's new or particularly interesting. The three POP prizes add appeal, as the possibility of landing enough POP symbols for a payout of up to 25,000x the stake gives the game its headline potential, though again Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter already had those, while also possessing far greater values.
Whilst a sweet enough addition to Pragmatic Play's POP series, players looking for any sort of innovation may find the experience familiar to the point of redundancy. Much of Sweet Bonanza POP's appeal comes from established ingredients rather than new ways of thinking. The game is perhaps best viewed as a streamlined mobile interpretation of a proven Pragmatic Play formula. It doesn't reinvent or revolutionise anything, but safely delivers the recognisable mechanics and fun gameplay that made Sweet Bonanza such a well-known title in the first place on a smaller grid.
Sweet Bonanza POP successfully squeezes the familiar formula onto a smaller grid, though aside from the downsizing, some players may feel it brings little new to the table.
