Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch  (Bigwinboard.com)

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch  (Bigwinboard.com)

$/€1000 bonus

300 free spins

Get Bonus

18+ | terms apply

$/€1000 bonus

10% cashback

Get Bonus

18+ | terms apply

$/€1000 bonus

200 free spins

Get Bonus

18+ | terms apply

$/€1500

7500 free spins

Get Bonus

18+ | terms apply

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch: Slot Overview

Create something which achieves success in online gambling, and dang it, you gotta jump right back on pronto. Push Gaming has done a similar thing with Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch, a follow-up slot that builds on the success of Fish ‘n’ Nudge, released around two years prior, give or take a few months. The original was a sort of Big Bass, Fishin’ Frenzy, Razor Shark hybrid that let gamblers catch Instant Prizes in less obvious ways. Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch does, too, while altering the free spins multiplier system and dropping a few new special symbols onto the board.

Back beneath the ocean surface we go in Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch, to an aquatic world of water, weeds, and bubbles. Static screenshots aren’t overly amazing, but the animations are as smooth as you could ask for, and the blue sea base game to purple sea bonus round doesn’t look half bad on a big screen. It’s all very close to the first Fish ‘n’ Nudge at this stage, but stats and features are where the two slots branch apart.

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot
Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot – base game

Push Gaming has pulled the volatility back for this one, dropping from the medium setting of the previous slot down to a low setting for Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch. Max RTP is slightly higher, though, at 96.44%, while the stake range of 10c to $/€100 remains the same. As does the gaming area, where symbols drop onto a 5×4 matrix, with 20 paylines. Push Bet is available, too, and for an extra 20% on the stake, free spins have a greater chance of triggering.

Parked on the paytable are three seashell symbols, two hook symbols, then Fish, fishing rods, fishing boxes, and light houses. Landing 5 OAK winning combinations of these symbols pays 1x to 20x the bet. The Fisherman wild, which lands on all reels, has the same payout value as the lighthouse, and is also able to substitute for anything in the base game except scatters or Nets.

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch: Slot Features

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot
Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot – free spins

Tweaks are in store for returning gamblers, as the list of features in Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch includes Net, Fisherman, and Fish symbols, Instant Prizes, free spins, Boat and Boost symbols, as well as bonus buys.

Net, Fisherman & Fish Symbols

  • Net symbols – overlays that highlight symbol positions in stacks of 4 and can appear anywhere in the base or bonus game. In the base game, after wins have been evaluated and the spin button is pressed, Net symbols nudge down one position as the reels spin, repeating this process until there are no more Net symbols on the reels.
  • Fisherman symbols – Fisherman symbols can land at any time. In the base game, the Fisherman symbol is a wild that substitutes for all regular pay symbols. In the base game and free spins, when the Fisherman lands in a Net symbol, it collects all of the Instant Prizes on the reels, whether they are in a Net or not.
  • Fish symbols – The Fish symbols also land with Instant Prize values of 0.5x to 100x attached. The attached Instant Prize value is awarded when a Fish symbol lands in a Net symbol, whether there is a Fisherman on the reels or not. When Fish symbols and a Fisherman symbol both land in a Net symbol, the Fish symbol Instant Prize is awarded even after being collected by the Fisherman.

Free Spins

Hitting 3 or more scatters in the base game triggers the free spins feature. When triggered by 4 or 5 scatters, free spins get a starting reel multiplier of x5 or x10, respectively. During free spins, only Fish, Fisherman, Boat, Boost, and blank symbols may land. In addition, above each reel is a Lock Meter and a Multiplier Meter.

The round starts with reels 2 and 4 filled with Net symbols, and all 3 lock positions on the respective Lock Meters are filled. On each spin, a lock on the meter is removed. When all locks are removed from a meter, the Net symbols on that reel nudge down 1 position for each spin. The free spins feature continues as long as there are Net symbols on the reels, and new Net symbols in stacks of 4 may land. Fish symbols do not create line wins, but their Instant Prizes are collected when they land in Nets and/or by the Fisherman. Reel multipliers apply to Fish symbols on their respective reel, and are applied before Fish symbols in nets are collected by the Fisherman.

Boat and Boost Symbols

These symbols only appear in free spins. Boost symbols increase the reel multiplier on the Multiplier Meter above the reel by +1 step before wins are evaluated. When a Boat symbol lands, its effect depends on Net symbols and the state of the Lock Meter. If the Lock Meter is inactive and no Net symbols are present, the meter is activated with 3 active locks, and the reel fills with Net symbols. When the Lock Meter is inactive and Net symbols are present, the meter is activated with 3 active locks, and the rest of the reel fills with Net symbols. When the Lock Meter is active, it resets to 3 active locks.

Feature Buy

Players may buy free spins with initial Reel Multipliers of x1, x5, or x10 for 68.6x, 209.5x, or 359x the bet, respectively, or random free spins for 180x.

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot
Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch slot – free spins

Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch: Slot Verdict

Having the ‘Big Catch’ there in the title suggested the sequel was going to be a more expansive game than the original, and in terms of features, there are more things happening. But interestingly, Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch has been mathematically toned down from medium to low volatile, and winning potential has been drastically cut back. It’s an unusual, not necessarily bad, move, perhaps prompted by player feedback? Though in saying that, a lower max win isn’t often high on a gambler’s bucket list. To put an end to the suspense, the 10,000x max win to be chased in Fish ‘n’ Nudge has now been bumped back to 3,094x the bet.

The free spins multiplier feature is another puzzle, as having several multipliers, applying their effects to individual reels isn’t a clear-cut improvement over the previous global multiplier, which applied to all Instant Prizes regardless of their reel. More so since every free spin increases the global multiplier in Fish ‘n’ Nudge, whereas you need to land Boost symbols in order to increase a reel’s multiplier this time. The RTP is slightly higher, so these things apparently balance out in the long run, but it just feels harder to gain traction in Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch compared to the previous slot, and there’s less of a prize waiting for lucky players at the end of it.

Given some of the changes, it’s hard to declare Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch a big improvement over the original. But Push Gaming knows how to put a well-made slot together. So, on a positive note, Fish ‘n’ Nudge Big Catch might be ideal for gamblers shopping around for a low volatile fish slot, though landing Fisherman symbols in Net symbols can be a challenge, at worst, well, it’s another fishing option, and consumer choice is a critical part of economic liberalism, after all.

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