Jungle Bucks Slots
Jungle Bucks is a 5-reel OpenBet video slot set deep in the forest. Which forest? Beats me; but suffice to say there’s a decidedly Tarzan esque feel, with a brawny shirtless male the primary protagonist!
Jungle Bucks boasts 20 paylines and three separate bonus games, in addition to scatters, wilds and even ‘super’ wilds. Your aim, as ever, is to spin the reels and line up matching combinations of three, four or five symbols. Jungle Bucks is also a progressive slot, giving players the chance to win a colossal ‘Cannibal Cashpot Jackpot’. Ready to try your luck? Hey, not so fast: you’ve still to read the rest of the review!
Lines and Stakes
As is the case in almost every casino game known to man, all wins in Jungle Bucks pay from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. There are a maximum of 20 paylines, which the player can regulate according to his preference. Indeed, the gamer can play on a single line if he prefers. The minimum coin size is 0.01, while the maximum is 20, and one line can be waged per line. As such, if playing at max bet, up to 400 credits can be staked on a single spin.
Jungle Bucks features a 3D reel grid and some excellent animations when a player hits a win. There’s also some terrific sound effects in the form of crickets (or is it cicadas?) chirping, birds squawking, monkeys ooh-aah’ing and gentle drumbeats accompanying each reel-spin.
Jumping for Joy in the Jungle
The 5x3 reel grid is – no surprise – made of bamboo sticks. The title of the game appears in colourful writing above the grid, alongside the running tally associated with the progressive Cannibal Cashpot jackpot, and the whole tableaux is superimposed on a jungle background – a tangle of trees and shrubbery, in other words. What can you say? The visuals are pretty impressive, certainly bright and alluring. Below the reels, you’ll find the usual dashboard, with buttons to regulate the number of paylines, the stake-per-line and the total stake. There are also buttons for Auto Play (25 is the maximum) and Pay Table and the Spin button is, handily, in the centre of the dashboard.
Regular Symbols
There are just nine ‘regular’ symbols in Jungle Bucks, and five of them are playing card icons: a blue 10, a yellow Jack, a green Queen, a red King and a purple Ace. It’s somewhat disappointing when a casino game built around a particular theme then fails to relate 60% of its regular symbols back to that theme!
The four jungle-related icons include an elephant, a zebra, a Barbary lion and a Jungle Bucks logo, which shows the brawny hero among an assorted cast of animals.
As you’d expect, the playing cards are the least lucrative. Even the Ace, the most valuable, pays just 10 for three, 25 for four and 75 for five. The best-paying symbol is the Jungle Bucks logo, which grants 50 for three, 100 for four and 500 for five in a line.
Where the Wilds Are
Of course, there are quite a few extra symbols making up the bonus features. For example, there are both wild and super wilds, both of which can substitute for any of the nine base game icons to help you form wins. The wilds cannot, however, replace any of the four bonus symbols.
The Slippery Spin bonus is activated by finding three or more green snake icons. The gamer will be awarded a number of free spins, played out on a new set of reels.
The Jungle Run bonus is triggered by finding three or more ostrich symbols. The mini-game will commence, and you’ll need to select which ostrich you think will win the race. Not only will you win prize money for your finishing position, but you could earn some multipliers along the way.
The Monkey Madness Round is brought into play when you find three or more swinging monkeys. In the ensuing game, you’ll be tasked with shaking the palm tree so that cash value coconuts tumble to the sand. All wins are cumulative and knockouts end the feature.
Lastly, five elusive Cannibal Cashpot icons anywhere on the screen pays out the bumper progressive jackpot.
Jungle Jive
There’s much to like about this instant-play video slot. It’s one with bonus features aplenty, not to mention a progressive jackpot, and if the theme feels like it’s been done before – well, you can say that about most slots, can’t you? Give this one a shot and see if you can’t become King of the Jungle.
