Big Santa
The Big Santa video slot from Realtime Gaming brings players into an excellent North Pole holiday adventure. You’ll see Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and a lot of their helpers on the reels. They help to bring you all kinds of different payouts in this festive holiday slot experience.
Casinos with Big Santa
- Big Santa
An Introduction to Big Santa
If there’s a holiday, season or festive event, you can bet that you’ll find plenty of slots for it. That’s why the Big Santa online slot from Realtime Gaming had so much competition within its sub-genre to overcome. They were able to do that to the point that it stands out quite a bit, and this happened for two primary reasons.
First, the graphics and visual appeal in this game are excellent. Second, the gameplay is straightforward while still bringing a lot of value.
Graphical quality is something that gets looked over a lot. One reason for that is that the graphics of online slots naturally improve over time. However, for a company like RTG that’s been around for so long, they push beyond that. Instead, they put themselves as far ahead of the curve as they can. You can see the results of that effort in the presentation and aesthetics involved in this slot. Every single character has been handled wonderfully. Additionally, you’ll find plenty of detail in the characters and in the background scene.
Gameplay is important as well, and RTG doesn’t like to over-complicate things too much. Keeping their games relatively simple and easy to follow while still offering a great value is what they’re known for, and you can see that trend in this title as well. You get plenty of ways to win, but the features add value too. That’s a great mix that produces a solid experience for players.
Betting and Layout
The betting format is about as straightforward as it can get in this game. As a result, it’s very friendly for anyone no matter their level of experience. Here’s what you can expect:
- The grid of symbols has five vertical reels and three horizontal rows. Note that this game does not have vertical lines separating the reels. Instead, some symbols have boxes around them to highlight their importance. Don’t let that throw you off when you first start playing.
- A total of 25 paylines are available in this title, and that’s set for every spin. While many RTG games allow you to change the number of lines, this is not one of them.
- From there, you should know that the paylines only run from left to right. You only get paid for winning combinations on lines that start from the far-left reel and run toward the right on consecutive reels.
- The minimum bet size for this video slot is €0.25 per spin. Additionally, you have a number of betting increments up to a maximum of €6.25 per turn.
- Winnings in this game are mostly based on the value of the individual coins. You’re assumed to be wagering 25 coins per turn with coin sizes ranging from €0.01 to €0.25 each.
What we really like about this game in terms of the overall feel is that the volatility is below-average. Likewise, the hit-rate is a bit above-average. This makes it great for people who just want to relax and not have to worry about the swings taking their account balance all over the place.
Gameplay and Features
When it comes to features, the Big Santa online slot offers a few of them that give a great value. However, you don’t have a ton that you need to learn before you can get started. That’s a great combination that makes it easy to get in, learn what’s going on and relax while you play. We can tell that RTG made this game for the more casual player in terms of the intensity of the experience.
Wild Rudolph Symbols
Of all of the reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh, Rudolph is the most famous of all. He’s found here with his shiny nose and with a red bow around his neck as the wild symbol. You can find this shiny fellow on every one of the five reels. Additionally, he gives some great payouts:
- Five of a Kind – 500x
- Four of a Kind – 100x
- Three of a Kind – 25x
Something to notice once again is that these wins are based on the number of coins being won. You can divide these values by 25 to see what they would be as a multiple of your total bet size.
Wild symbols will either count toward their own winning combinations or substitute for non-scatters to give you the best available payout per payline. As a result, a single wild can actually work in different ways on different paylines on the same spin. This allows you to get the best payout possible, which is exactly how you would expect a software developer to handle this sort of thing.
Scattered Present Sack Payouts
Santa’s sack of presents is the scatter symbol in the Big Santa video slot. Because it’s such an important part of his mythology, it’s not surprising that it shows up on every reel. While this is a bonus symbol, it also gives you some solid payouts on its own. Note that these prizes are multiples of your entire wager.
- Five of a Kind – 5x
- Four of a Kind – 2x
- Three of a Kind – 1x
For reference, these would be like 125x, 50x and 25x wins if they were based on payline wins. Additionally, you get payouts for these no matter where they are located on the board. They are the only symbols that do not have to land on paylines on reels from left to right. Instead, they pay no matter their location.
Oversized Symbols
In both the regular game mode and free spins (see below), you can get oversized symbols at random. These are symbols that are larger than usual and take up a 2×2 or 3×3 area. They all count as the same symbol for the spots they take up.
The idea is that you get better chances for wins with lots of the same symbols on the reels. What’s more is that it makes it easier to get multi-line payouts as well. This is a cool feature that Realtime Gaming has included right in the fabric of the game so that it can appear at random on any spin.
Free Spins and Multipliers
Three or more of the scattered sacks of presents will trigger a free spins bonus round. However, the number of free spins you get is determined by the number of scatters that start the feature.
- Five Scatters – 20 free spins
- Four Scatters – 15 free spins
- Three Scatters – 10 free spins
Beside of the grid of symbols, there is a position that shows the current multiplier during the free spins. This varies from turn to turn, and it’s randomly chosen to be from 2x to 5x. Additionally, this multiplier applies to all of the payouts you get on that given spin. This includes scattered payouts, but it does not multiply the number of free spins you get if you re-trigger the feature.
As an aside, we want to point out that you can re-trigger this feature as many times as three or more scatters come. No outside limit is put on them.
How to Win at Big Santa
With its medium-low volatility, the Big Santa online slot is ripe for a minor betting adjustment that some players believe gives them a better experience. By increasing your bet size slightly (in the range of 25 to 33 percent), you get two effects.
The first is obvious: Your payouts are proportionately larger. However, the second effect isn’t so obvious. Because you start with a volatility that’s lower than average, a small betting increase like this will bump it up to around average with respect to your starting bet size. That means your swings will still be pretty reasonable on average.
Note that this is a completely optional betting adjustment. You should always bet what you’re comfortable with. However, you should make sure to consider whether this type of adjustment is right for you.
Payout Structure for Big Santa
Santa is the best regular symbol in terms of payouts. He awards 250x for five of a kind combinations on a payline. You can also earn 150x for five of Mrs. Claus or 100x for five of the elf helper.
Lower-tier symbols are all holiday-themed, and the level of detail put into them is tremendous. The stocking full of candy and goodies is worth 60x for five. Additionally, five of a kind combinations of the golden present or cup of hot chocolate will get you 50x. Finally, the stack of cookies and pair of golden bells are worth 30x for five on a line.
Overview
The graphics level and visual tone of the Big Santa video slot offers a fun feel that’s up there with much that the online slots world overall has available. It’s also worth noting that if excitement is what you’re looking for in your play, then you’ll really love the style of play that this title offers to your play.
Along with that, the holiday concept put into play as the center for this video slot is a great foundation for the style of gameplay and excitement. The thing slot players will absolutely love with this title is the additional value that the range of features add to your account balance, and this game is a strong component of RTG’s whole portfolio because of its aesthetic appeal and gameplay style.
FAQ
Which online casinos have Big Santa?
Use the list of Big Santa casinos to see all online casinos that have Big Santa. We filter the casino top list to only show Big Santa casinos that accept players from your location.
What is the Return to Player (RTP) for Big Santa?
The Big Santa RTP is 96.0%. An RTP of 96.0% puts Big Santa among slots with an average Return to Players. To be a high RTP slot it would have to be 98% or more.