As the latest online slot in Push Gaming’s popular Bamboo series, the bar was set high for Bamboo Ways. It gave me everything I wanted and more, including a huge bounty of features, adorable characters and intuitive gameplay. Unlike the original, the main thing it lacks is actual bamboo. This is one of many noticeable departures from the last game, and a lot of these risks really paid off.
| RTP | 96.3% |
|---|---|
| Free Spins | Yes |
| Wheels | 6 |
| Paylines | 729 - 46,656 |
| Effort | - |
| Bonus features | - |
Play For Free
If you want to play Bamboo Ways, you can try it here in the demo mode.
Here are Some Screenshots I Took of the Game
Straight off the bat, I think Bamboo Ways looks amazing. Push Gaming kept the characters and symbols from earlier entries like Big Bamboo and gave the whole roster a facelift. The simple colourful animal characters have since upgraded their wardrobe with glowing eyes and traditional outfits dripping in gold. Even the suit symbols got a makeover - now embellished with ancient carvings.
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Should You Play the Bamboo Ways Slot?
- 🤪 Perfected the art style from the series so far
- 🎰 Rich free spins feature
- ▶️ Immersive soundscape
- 😥 Three locked rows by default gets claustrophobic
- 😔 Row unlocker symbol locked behind bonus buy
- 😟 Underwhelming expander symbols
Absolutely. Bamboo Ways has a lot to offer visually and doesn’t fail to back it up with substance. The ‘Golden Bamboo’ and mystery symbols exude potential, each carrying six great features. The free spins round whisks you away into the sunset and manages to deliver a frenetic yet polished bonus game that I couldn’t help but enjoy.
Bamboo Ways delivers on so many levels - except the top three rows. Their locked rows mechanic felt restrictive to me at first, but seeing how well it worked with the bonus features, it wasn’t long before I changed my mind.
How to Place Your First Bet on Bamboo Ways?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to trying your luck on Bamboo Ways. First, you’ll need to find a casino that carries it. On Irishluck, you can find many different casinos listed, so check out one of our handy lists to find the best casinos offering Bamboo Ways.
Choose your casino and make an account. If you’ve already registered, you can skip to step four. Click the ‘Register’ or ‘Log In’ button, which is usually found in the top right-hand corner.
Your casino will conduct a couple of KYC verification checks and quiz you on your name, age, address, and date of birth. Create a unique and memorable username and a strong password.
You may have to confirm your email or phone number. After this, you’ll be taken to your account.
You’ll either be dropped off at the casino’s homepage or straight into Bamboo Ways. In the case of the former, just stick ‘Bamboo Ways’ in the search bar.
When you load the game, you’ll be shown the three main mechanics: expanding rows, the golden bamboo feature and free spins. Familiarise yourself with the symbols and click to continue.
Before you start, click the button with three horizontal lines at the top right corner to see the paytable. This will give you a solid understanding of the other symbols and payways.
Once you’re an expert, set your betting amount and smack that ‘Spin’ button - sensei-tional!
My First Moments Playing Bamboo Ways
When I first opened up Bamboo Ways, I was immediately taken by its charming art style. Speaking of being ‘taken’, I instantly noticed that the top half of the board was missing. More on that later.
Push Gaming clearly reflected on Big Bamboo before designing Bamboo Ways. They carried forward everything that worked, and upgraded areas where it fell flat. We’re no longer deep in a mystical bamboo forest, and find ourselves at the entryway of a grand palace ascending above the clouds. It’s a well-designed, intuitive play that drew me in the second it popped up on my screen.
Paw-fect Design
I usually find that sound effects only stand out when they’re bad, not when they’re good. In Bamboo Ways, the music and soundscaping is integrated perfectly with the action on screen. All the elements come together to create stunningly multidimensional gameplay. The animations are seamless, the colour palette is bright without being garish, and there’s not really anything to fault here.
Bamboozling Layout
Here’s where opinions might divide. Objectively speaking, there’s a ton going on in Bamboo Ways. But at times, the layout left me feeling a little cramped.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the top half of the board is concealed. The top three rows are shrouded in clouds, and only the bottom three are in play. Whilst these can be accessed with each win, the fact that you can see what lands behind the clouds feels a little frustrating at times. I don’t always want to know what I’m not winning.
Let's Talk About the Bonus Games You'll Find
Bamboo Ways is exceptionally generous with its bonus features, and somehow, the gameplay never feels overwhelming or confusing.
This is thanks to the simple and logical way that these features interact with each other; whether you like the quirky row mechanic or not, the game works very intentionally around it.
The paytable provides clear explanations of the features and symbols, but I’ll give you the rundown.
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Expanding Rows
This was the feature I was always happiest to land on. Landing any cascade or an Instant Prize win will unlock one extra row. This resets at the start of every round, but it appears fairly often.
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Expanding Wilds
Visually, this is one of the coolest symbols in the game. A golden dragon will rise and fill the unlocked part of the row, helping me boost my winnings as it did. This can land directly or appear from a mystery symbol. For a chance to boost your wins, sometimes it will be attached to a 2x, 3x or 5x multiplier.
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Scatters
Three or more scatters will trigger the Free Spins Feature. This looks like an amplified Yin and Yang symbol with ‘Bonus’ slapped across the front, but replacing the usual black and white look with fire and water. The number of these symbols you land will determine your starting layout, initial multiplier and the number of low symbols removed from the feature:
Three Scatters: 6 free spins, 1x multiplier, 3x6 grid.
Four Scatters: 8 free spins, 2x multiplier, 4x6 grid, 1 low symbol removed.
Five Scatters: 10 free spins, 3x multiplier, 5x6 grid, 2 low symbols removed.
Six Scatters: 10 free spins, 5x multiplier, 6x6 grid, 3 low symbols removed.
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Mystery Symbols
Mystery Symbols shroud themselves with bamboo, which rustles to reveal one of the following:
Paying symbols
Expanding wild symbols
Wild symbols
Converter into wild symbols
Golden bamboo symbols
Expander symbols
They can appear in the base game or free spins, and add a lot of entertainment to both. The animated bamboo, slowly revealing the hidden symbol, created a sense of anticipation that I really loved.
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Golden Bamboo Symbol
These are only found beneath mystery symbols and trigger the Golden Bamboo Feature. Here, you can win the following:
Instant prize symbols: Bet multipliers of x1, x2, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, x250, x500 and x1,000.
Multiplier symbols: Multiplies the value of all Instant Prize Symbols and Collector Symbols by x2, x3, x5 or x10.
Collector symbols: Collects the value of all other Collector and Instant Prize Symbols.
Scatter symbols
Converter symbols
Row unlocker symbols: Available in bonus buy only.
I found it a little unnecessary that the Row unlocker symbols are locked behind bonus buys. If there were more ways to break through the clouds, maybe using the expanding wilds or expander symbols, I wouldn’t mind so much.
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Converter Symbol
What this symbol lacks in an imaginative name, it makes up for in chaos. These can land directly or be revealed by mystery symbols. They cycle through paying symbols and, when one lands, all paying symbols of the same type are turned into wilds, including the Converter symbol.
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Free Spins Feature
The free spins feature is triggered by landing three or more scatters. Clouds crowd the screen and dissipate to reveal a beautiful sunset over the board, which is cloaked in a mysterious blue glow. This is where you tend to find the big wins, due to the potential to axe all the low symbols before the round even begins.
In this round, you can win extra rows, extra spins and, of course, extra cash, the win potential can scale very quickly. The music swells in tandem with the pace of the game (another point to the sound designer), which is a nice touch.
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Expander Symbols
Revealed through mystery symbols, Expander Symbols point in a random direction and cover the row or column with bamboo-shrouded mystery. Cool in theory, often cool in practice, unless it points into the locked rows. The symbol only expands into rows you’ve unlocked, which dampened things a little.
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Row Unlocker Symbols
These are only available in the free spins round and are one of the stronger symbols in the game. The unlocked row will stick around until the end of the free spins round, unlike in the expanding rows feature. Landing one of these at the start of a free spins round sets you up for absolute carnage, although returning to the main game mode can feel restrictive afterwards.
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Bonus Buy
Here’s what’s in stock at the Bonus Buy shop:
8x Mystery symbols: Throws some guaranteed excitement into the mix.
Grand Golden Bamboo: This covers all 18 slots with Golden Bamboo - visually impressive and potentially fruitful.
3 Scatters: Triggers a guaranteed Free Spins Feature.
Random scatters: The more scatters you land, the better position you’ll start the Free Spins Feature in. Best for high-rollers chasing high octane thrills.
Some Technical Considerations About Bamboo Ways
I went over all the documentation I could find, so you don’t have to, let’s get mathematical for a second.
Bamboo Ways has a theoretical return to player (RTP) of 96.30%. This is the percentage of money a slot will, in theory, return over time. This can vary across casinos, so always double-check the RTP where you’re spinning. This is above the industry standard - I wouldn’t recommend slot games with an RTP below 94% for most players.
Bamboo Ways has high volatility. This means it tends to pay out less often than some other games, but is likely to be more generous when it does. You’re able to win up to 25,000x your base bet, which can be set between €0.10 and €100. As Bamboo Ways is a variable ways game, there’s between 729-46,656 paylines, depending on which reels are open.
Why Do I Think Bamboo Ways Stands Out?
I had a great time playing Bamboo Ways. The locked rows mechanic feels a little claustrophobic to start, but I was surprised by how quickly I acclimated to it. Despite the volume of features, the gameplay feels remarkably simple and intuitive. This is a testament to how well thought-out every corner of this game is - from the bonus games to the sound design, Bamboo Ways delivers a seamless experience.
The stand-out features are the Row Unlocker and Expanding Rows. They appear often enough that they feel within arms reach, but disappear quickly to keep the mystique around the clouds.
Bamboo Ways delivers an ever-evolving gameplay experience where huge win potential can appear out of nowhere - if you like high volatility, frenetic slots, this game will panda to you.
Some Q&As That Might Interest You
That was a fair bit of information I just threw at you - if you’re feeling bamboozled, here’s a couple of questions you might have.
Does Bamboo Ways Offer a Bonus Buy?
Yes. You can buy eight mystery symbols, a ‘full’ (6x3) grid of Golden Bamboo, three Scatters or random Scatters. I liked the three Scatters option, which guarantees a Free Spins round.
Is Bamboo Ways a Sequel?
Yes. Bamboo Ways is a sequel to Big Bamboo, and draws on a lot of the features of Razor Ways. These are two of Push Gaming’s most popular games, which made Bamboo Ways a great title to launch their Push Originals category with.
Is There a Demo Version of Bamboo Ways?
Yes, there’s a demo version of Bamboo Ways in this article. It’s a great way to gain an understanding of the game’s mechanics before putting any real money on the line. Some casinos offer their own demo versions of the game so you can get a feel for their chosen RTP.
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Having been in the industry for the past 7 years, Kolade specialises in online slots and now spends most of his time playing and writing slot reviews.
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