Bugs Money - GAME REVIEW

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Reflex Gaming, a partner of Yggdrasil Gaming, has created a cleverly named online slot game about bees called “Bugs Money” (a play on Bugs Bunny). Unlike other games that feature classic cartoon characters, Bugs Money offers unique features such as Glow Wilds, free spins with the possibility of large win multipliers, and an impressive maximum win amount. These elements combine to make Bugs Money one of Reflex Gaming’s most significant slot games to date, replacing Bugs Bunny’s famous catchphrase with an exciting new gaming experience.

At first glance, Bugs Money doesn’t make a big impact. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The game presents a simple forest scene with trees flanking the game grid and bushes in the foreground. The graphics are basic, cartoonish, and unlike other Reflex Gaming slots that feel outdated. Initially, Bugs Money doesn’t give away much about its complex math model, unique features, or impressive winning potential. Instead, it feels like a friendly bumblebee gathering pollen from flowers and bringing it back to the hive for honey production.

Bugs Money – Game Properties

Examining Bugs Money’s math model and features is the next step. It’s important to note that the game has four different RTP configurations, with the highest being 95.5%. The volatility of the game is generally rated as high, but players can influence the volatility of the bonus round with four different free spins options.

In terms of betting, players can start with a base level of EUR/USD 0.20 per spin, and they also have the option to click on the Golden Bet, which increases the stake by 50% and doubles the chance of triggering free spins. To minimize liability, the default max bet is limited to EUR/USD 100, but it may vary depending on the operator’s settings.

Symbols

Bugs Money features a simple 5-reel, 3-row game grid with 10 fixed paylines. Winning combinations start on the left side of the grid and require at least three low pay symbols or two high pay symbols to be aligned over consecutive reels.

The low pay symbols are colorful patterned clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades, which can earn players 5x the bet for five-of-a-kind. The high pay symbols include a flower, a blue-winged butterfly, a ladybug, and a purple/yellow butterfly, which can award players 20 to 100 times the stake for a winning line of five.

The game also features stoppered bottles with fireflies as wild symbols, which can substitute for all regular pay symbols.

Bonus Features

While Bugs Money doesn’t have an extensive list of features, the ones that it does have, can be quite surprising in terms of their potential payouts. The two features worth discussing are Glow Wilds and free spins.

Glow Wilds

The Glow Wilds feature can activate on any base or bonus game spin in Bugs Money. Once triggered, glow bugs will appear on random reel positions, adding wild symbols to the game.

Free Spins

If players land 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols in the main game of Bugs Money, they will trigger the free spins round and receive a payout of 8x, 40x, or 200x the bet, respectively. After triggering the free spins, players will need to select one of four different options:

3 free spins with win multipliers of x5, x10, x20 or x50
7 free spins with win multipliers of x3, x5, x10 or x20
10 free spins with win multipliers of x2, x3, x5 or x10
15 free spins with win multipliers of x1, x2, x3 or x5

During the free spins round in Bugs Money, each spin will award a win multiplier from the selected range. If players land three scatter symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5 during the round, they will trigger a retrigger and receive the same amount of originally chosen free spins again.

The free spins round introduces a new symbol, the Queen Bee, which appears exclusively on reel 3. Whenever the Queen Bee symbol lands, the win multiplier is increased by x10. This means that in the best-case scenario, for example, the x50 win multiplier would become x500. Additionally, the Queen Bee symbol acts as a wild and can substitute for all other symbols except scatters.

Conclusion

To create a higher-quality game, Reflex Gaming has streamlined the audio-visuals and features in Bugs Money. Unlike some of their other products, the game’s visuals are not overwhelming, and the paytable is intriguing. Bugs Money’s main selling point is its huge winning potential, with the chance to win up to 55,028 times the bet. The bonus round, although basic in its free spins with a win multiplier, is highly volatile and has the potential to produce significant payouts, especially when the Queen Bee symbol increases the win multiplier. Overall, Bugs Money is a well-designed game that balances simplicity and potential for big payouts.