Happy Bamboo: Slot Overview
As part of Push Gaming‘s re-categorisation of its portfolio, the studio has come up with a Reel Hot Games concept, which is a sub-brand dedicated to more traditional, classic slots, shall we say, three-reel titles, those with a land-based influence, that sort of thing. An early example of this type of release to cross the review desk is Happy Bamboo, an offshoot of the popular 2022 slot Big Bamboo, rejigged to fit a three-reel format. Accompanying the smaller play area are jackpot prizes, a hold ‘n’ win round, and mystery symbol reveals, bringing together elements of old and new.
Visually, Happy Bamboo has close links to Bamboo Ways, set as it is amidst clouds and drenched in Asian inspired imagery. A traditional building pops up in the background, though everything has a shrunken-down feel to it, mostly on account of the smaller game grid, in keeping with the Reel Hot Games ethos. Jackpot prizes are listed next to the grid to help motivate the target gambling audience, while a Panda appears above it, collecting Coins in a pot in order to sooner or later trigger the bonus game, hopefully. It’s all pleasantly presented, not overly special, but inviting enough to see what else is on offer.
Happy Bamboo’s gaming grid has been reduced to a 3×3 size and supplies just 5 ways to win, meaning only 3 OAK combinations are possible. Push Gaming has eased the volatility to a medium setting and capped the three RTP variants with a 96.31% version. The stake range is $/€0.10 to $/€100 per spin, and Happy Bamboo has neither a bonus buy nor an ante bet.
On the low side of the paytable are diamonds, spades, hearts, and clubs, followed by gourds, scrolls, monkeys, and pandas. Card suit wins pay 0.5x to 1x, the two mids pay 3x to 5x, while the character wins are worth 25x to 100x the bet. Wild symbols substitute all other paying symbols, helping complete winning combinations. All wild wins are also worth 100x the stake.
Happy Bamboo: Slot Features
Pretty familiar stuff here to go over, such as Mystery Bamboo symbol reveals, a Swapper feature, and a Hold and Respin round.
Mystery Bamboo Symbols
Mystery Bamboo symbols land anywhere, and after landing, they all reveal matching symbols – wilds, pay symbols, or Golden Mystery Bamboo symbols. Golden Mystery Bamboo symbols spin to reveal:
- Coins – Also referred to as Instant Prize symbols bearing values of 1x to 100x the bet.
- Collectors – Collect the value of all other Instant Prize symbols, Jackpot symbols, and Collector symbols. Instant Prize symbols are removed and their positions respin.
- Multipliers – Have a value of x2 to x10, which gets sent to each Instant Prize symbol, Mystery Jackpot symbol, and Collector symbol. It is then removed to spin in another prize. The multiplier is applied at the end of the spin.
- Mystery Jackpot Symbols – Reveal the 10x Mini, 25x Minor, 100x Mega, or 500x Grand prize which gets awarded.
Swapper Feature
When the Panda high pay lands at the top of the reels, two symbols swap positions to create a winning combination.
Hold and Respin
Golden Coins are collected by the Panda Pot. When a Golden Coin is collected, there is a chance that the Hold and Respin feature triggers. On triggering, a wheel spins to determine an end-of-round multiplier of x2 to x10. During the feature, Mystery Bamboo symbols or duds may land. Mystery symbols landing in view keep the respin sequence going and lock in place. The sequence ends when Mystery Bamboo symbols are no longer landing or all positions are filled. Then the Mystery Bamboo symbols reveal either a pay symbol or a Golden Mystery Bamboo symbol. At the end of the round, the win is multiplied by the end-of-round multiplier.
Happy Bamboo: Slot Verdict
Happy Bamboo sees Push Gaming take one of its high-power juggernauts and reimagine it through a classic(ish) lens. For the most part, this approach works nicely, and you can see how the mix of older and newer elements might capture the interest of gamblers it’s got in its sights. Happy Bamboo is by no means some generic old fruit slot, but the somewhat classic approach might open the Bamboo phenomenon up to a new group of people who may find the new format more accessible. The grid might have shrunk, but Happy Bamboo squishes a lot of action onto the space provided, including the exciting reveal sequence this range of slots is famous for.
Just this time, it might not be as exciting as the thrills its bigger siblings are able to produce. Winning potential for one thing has dropped a notch or two from the lofty 50,000x heights down to a more modest, though still respectable 6,060x the bet. Instant Prizes are less potentially lucrative, and the four jackpots aren’t exactly supersized, though there is the chance of combining them with multis, so that’s something. But Happy Bamboo isn’t focused on being the biggest game on the block. It’s all about getting an entertaining Bamboo-style experience on a three-reel machine, and this it delivers, in a typically polished Push Gaming manner.
In some ways, Happy Bamboo might be perceived as a lesser game than others it’s related to, but that shouldn’t be too much of a concern for the sorts of gamblers the game is trying to attract. Its glossy looks, smooth execution, and refined features fit just fine on the smaller gaming area, making it easy to assume that Happy Bamboo has achieved all of the objectives its maker had in mind.
