Panda Bonanza

Panda Bonanza: Slot Overview

For decades, China has gifted or leased panda bears to numerous countries around the world as part of what's been labelled 'panda diplomacy', using the bears to strengthen relations and as a sign of friendship. Panda bears are cute, and this form of soft power does tug the heartstrings harder than a container ship full of reasonably priced consumer goods. Pandas have also been flexing their soft power in the online gambling world, too. Following releases such as Cash Pandas, Pandastic Adventure, Fat Panda, Eye of the Panda, Panda Money Megaways, and Shaolin Panda Chaos Reels, Games Global studio Northern Lights Gaming is getting in on the black and white furball act with Panda Bonanza.

Panda Bonanza is linked to Monkey Bonanza, another cute animal slot, released roughly a year or so before this one. Monkeys are on a break this time, as panda bears take the leading role. Part of Northern Lights Gaming's success with Monkey Bonanza surely must be attributed to the game's charming look, which the studio has poured on for Panda Bonanza, too. A bamboo forest is where the game lies, and a friendly panda can be found on one side of the screen while his friendly pals land on the reels. The sun dips for the free spins round, where the panda character dons a pair of shutter shades, so you know he's getting ready to party, and hopefully sling some coins players' way.

Mathematically, Panda Bonanza is a medium volatile online slot, maxing its RTP at 96.01% of the three models available. The stake range is 20 c to $/€40 per spin, and players can buy free spins or use a gamble feature to attempt entering them. The bamboo-lashed game grid makes use of a 5x3 layout while 10 paylines are included for landing winning combinations along.

Royals covered in forest stuff, J-A are Panda Bonanza's lower pay symbol group, awarding 0.5 to 2 times the bet for a 5 OAK winning combination. Its higher symbols are a bird, a mouse, a snake, and another furry friend, paying 2 to 8 times the bet for a 5-matching symbol win. Wilds substitute all regular pay symbols and appear on all reels in the base game, as well as the Pandamonium Bonus. Hitting a line of 5 wilds pays 10 times the bet.

Panda Bonanza: Slot Features

Panda Bonanza does largely what Monkey Bonanza did - plus a bit more. The features in the game are the Pandamonium Bonus, Pandemonium Spin, Piggy Bank & Win, Pot Bonus, free spins, and bonus buys.

Pandamonium Bonus & Panadamonium Spin

The Jumbo Panda appears on the centre reel as a 1x3, 2x3, or 3x3 sized symbol in the base game. The 1x3 and 2x3 versions can be nudged randomly into a 3x3 Jumbo Panda symbol. When the Jumbo Panda lands fully in the base game, it triggers the Pandamonium Bonus. The Pandamonium Bonus starts with 3 respins on reels that land only Pandas or wilds. If any Panda or wild symbol lands, the number of respins returns to 3. Wild symbols which land are held on the reels. Panda symbols that land remove symbols on the Bamboo Splat bar from lowest to highest. When no respins remain, 1 Pandemonium spin occurs: The reels spin with the held wilds and any symbols remaining on the Bamboo Splat bar. Wins are awarded after the spin. Each wild can pay up to 5x.

Piggy Bank & Win

Coin symbols appear in the base game and in free spins. Each coin reveals a cash prize of 0.2 to 10 times the bet. Landing a +1 Coin symbol adds to the Panda Coin Multiplier, which can go up to x10 and applies to any Piggy Bank wins. +1 Coins appear in the base game and in free spins. The multiplier resets to x1 after being used in a Piggy Bank feature. A random multiplier is used when buying or gambling into free spins. The Collect symbol is present on the rightmost reel. It collects and awards the Cash Prizes on the reels. The Piggy Bank & Win is available in the base and free spins game.

Pot Bonus

In the main game or free spins, landing a Yin and a Yang symbol on the leftmost and rightmost reels, respectively, triggers the Pot Bonus. Players win 1 Pot Prize - the 20x Mini, the 50x Minor, the 500x Major, or the 5,000x Grand.

Free Spins

Free spins scatter symbols land on reels 1, 3, and 5 in the base game. Landing 3 scatters awards 8 free spins where jumbo symbols appear on the centre 3 reels. Jumbo symbols can be 1x3, 2x3, or 3x3 in size. All regular symbols in free spins can appear as jumbo symbols, which split into individual symbols to pay. Jumbo coins and +1 coins may also land.

Bonus Buy

At the bonus buy, players can buy the free spins round for 100x the bet or gamble on an adjustable wheel to try and win free spins.

Panda Bonanza: Slot Verdict

Like a lot of follow-ups or sequels, Panda Bonanza builds off the slot that came before it by reusing pretty much everything (mechanically as well as vibe) while adding a bit more. Monkey Bonanza's set of features is back: the Banana Bonanza, the Super Monkey Spin, the Piggy Bank & Win, and free spins, though tweaked around the edges. Many have been renamed to reflect the leading animal change-up. Even if Northern Lights Gaming had left things here, players who fell for the charms of Monkey Bonanza would likely have been able to effortlessly transition to its panda counterpart. However, the studio did not just switch skins but expanded the game with an extra feature or two. Not the max win, though. That stays the same at 5,000 times the bet.

The additions, while by no means negative changes, aren't crazy amazing. The Pot Bonus, for one, is a standard quad jackpot feature. Trigger it, win a Pot Prize, done, the sort of stuff you find in countless Games Global studios' slots. The other is the coin multiplier. Again, it's a handy add-on but not the most innovative idea Northern Lights Gaming might have come up with. But Panda Bonanza isn't a game that's trying to freak gamblers out from the fringes, show them things they didn't dare believe were possible. Like the Monkey Bonanza before it, Panda Bonanza is a well presented game, packing colourful characters and a familiar batch of features, the likes of which should sit well amongst followers of the Games Global family's style of work. Those weary of the local jackpot trend that the almost every Games Global studio seems adamant on sticking too, however, are unlikely to have their opinions swayed by this release.